APOD: 2026 July 27 Б NGC 7635: The Bubble Nebula
27.07.2026

What created this huge space bubble? Blown by the wind from a star, this tantalizing, head-like apparition is cataloged as NGC 7635, but known simply as the Bubble Nebula. Taken from Krakow, Poland, the featured view utilizes a long exposure to reveal the intricate details of this cosmic bubble and its environment.

APOD: 2023 December 25 Б Cathedral, Mountain, Moon
25.12.2023

Single shots like this require planning. The first step is to realize that such an amazing triple-alignment actually takes place. The second step is to find the best location to photograph it. But it was the third step: being there at exactly the right time -- and when the sky was clear -- that was the hardest.

APOD: 2026 January 28 Б M78: Reflecting Blue in a Sea of Red
28.01.2026

In the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex, several bright blue nebulas are particularly apparent. Pictured here in the center are two of the most prominent reflection nebulas - dust clouds lit by the reflecting light of bright embedded stars. The more famous nebula is M78, in the image center, cataloged over 200 years ago.

APOD: 2023 May 10 Б Milky Way over Egyptian Desert
10.05.2023

For ten years the stargazer dreamed of taking a picture like this. The dreamer knew that the White Desert National Park in Egypt's Western Desert is a picturesque place hosting numerous chalk formations sculpted into surreal structures by a sandy wind.

APOD: 2023 August 6 Б SN 1006: A Supernova Ribbon from Hubble
6.08.2023

What created this unusual space ribbon? The answer: one of the most violent explosions ever witnessed by ancient humans. Back in the year 1006 AD, light reached Earth from a stellar explosion...

APOD: 2024 June 5 Б Shadow of a Martian Robot
5.06.2024

What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human? Then you might be the Perseverance rover exploring Mars. Perseverance has been examining the Red Planet since 2021, finding evidence of its complex history of volcanism and ancient flowing water, and sending breathtaking images across the inner Solar System.

APOD: 2024 August 14 Б Meteors and Aurora over Germany
14.08.2024

This was an unusual night. For one thing, the night sky of August 11 and 12, earlier this week, occurred near the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. Therefore, meteors streaked across the dark night as small bits cast off from Comet Swift-Tuttle came crashing into the Earth's atmosphere.

APOD: 2024 December 3 Б Ice Clouds over a Red Planet
3.12.2024

If you could stand on Mars -- what might you see? You might look out over a vast orange landscape covered with rocks under a dusty orange sky, with a blue-tinted Sun setting over the horizon, and odd-shaped water clouds hovering high overhead.

APOD: 2026 June 10 Б The Eagle Nebula and Friends
10.06.2026

What looks as if it is going to swallow the great Pillars of Creation? The Eagle Nebula (M16) is not a bird, a plane, or Superman. M16 is actually a combination of several celestial objects. NGC 6611 is the young star cluster that appears to peak out beneath the EagleБs БwingsБ.

APOD: 2025 March 4 Б A Quadruple Alignment over Italy
4.03.2025

Why does this Moon look so unusual? A key reason is its vivid red color. The color is caused by the deflection of blue light by Earth's atmosphere -- the same reason that the daytime sky appears blue. The Moon also appears unusually distorted.