APOD: 2026 August 1 Б Buck Moon and Belt of Venus
1.08.2026

The Buck Moon is a traditional name for the full moon of July. In this colorful Adriatic sea and skyscape captured on July 28 from Krk Island along the coast of Croatia, a full Buck Moon is just rising over distant mountains.

Mariner's Mercury
6.09.1998

Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, remains the most mysterious of the Solar System's inner planets. Hiding in the Sun's glare it is a difficult target for Earth bound observers.

APOD: 2026 September 15 Б A Daytime Eclipse: Moon Occults Venus
15.09.2026

There was something behind the clouds. Upon close inspection, it was the Moon, which was hard to see yesterday around noon above the small village of Cessy, France. But soon, it was not only the Moon. As expected, a bright dot suddenly appeared from behind the Moon -- the planet Venus far in the distance.

An Aurora of Marbles
6.02.2015

It looks like a fine collection of aggies. But this grid of embedded swirls and streaks actually follows the dramatic development of planet Earth's auroral substorms. The sequence of over 600 horizon-to-horizon fisheye images was taken over a 2 hour period near the artic circle in March of 2012 from Lapland, northern Sweden.

An Evening Sky Full of Planets
11.01.2025

Only Mercury is missing from a Solar System parade of planets in this early evening skyscape. Rising nearly opposite the Sun, bright Mars is at the far left. The other naked-eye planets Jupiter, Saturn...

APOD: 2025 September 1 Б Callisto: Dirty Battered Iceball
1.09.2025

Its surface is the most densely cratered in the Solar System -- but what's inside? Jupiter's moon Callisto is a battered ball of dirty ice that is larger than the planet Mercury.

Mercury from Passing BepiColombo
28.06.2022

Which part of the Moon is this? No part -- because this is the planet Mercury. Mercury's old surface is heavily cratered like that of Earth's Moon. Mercury, while only slightly larger than Luna, is much denser and more massive than any Solar System moon because it is made mostly of iron.

Harvest Moon Eclipse
23.09.2016

A Harvest Moon rises over Sesimbra Castle south of Lisbon in this impressive series of telephoto exposures. Captured at its full phase, the golden Moon was also gliding through the Earth's more diffuse outer shadow during September's penumbral lunar eclipse. The eclipse shading is subtle compared to a total lunar eclipse.

Earthshine and Venus Over Sierra de Guadarrama
28.03.2012

What just above that ridge? The Moon. Specifically, the Earth's Moon was caught just above the horizon in a young crescent phase. The familiar Moon might look a bit odd as the exposure shows significant Earthshine -- the illumination of the part of the Moon hidden from direct sunlight by the sun-reflecting Earth.

A Total Eclipse of the Sun
11.03.1998

On February 26th, it was dark during the day. This total solar eclipse was the last visible from the Americas for this millennium. A total solar eclipse is exciting partly because it is so short.