Saturn in the Milky Way
10.06.2017

Saturn is near opposition in planet Earth's sky. Rising at sunset and shining brightly throughout the night, it also lies near a line-of-sight to crowded starfields, nebulae, and obscuring dust clouds along the Milky Way.

The Orion Nebula in Infrared from WISE
2.01.2019

The Great Nebula in Orion is an intriguing place. Visible to the unaided eye, it appears as a small fuzzy patch in the constellation of Orion. But this image, an illusory-color four-panel mosaic taken...

The Lagoon Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars
22.07.2009

Stars are battling gas and dust in the Lagoon Nebula but the photographers are winning. Also known as M8, this photogenic nebula is visible even without binoculars towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The energetic processes of star formation create not only the colors but the chaos.

Flame Nebula Close Up
2.02.2007

Of course, the Flame Nebula is not on fire. Also known as NGC 2024, the nebula's suggestive reddish color is due to the glow of hydrogen atoms at the edge of the giant Orion molecular cloud complex some 1,500 light-years away.

Flame Nebula Close Up
26.11.2010

Of course, the Flame Nebula is not on fire. Also known as NGC 2024, the nebula's suggestive reddish color is due to the glow of hydrogen atoms at the edge of the giant Orion molecular cloud complex some 1,500 light-years away.

APOD: 2025 May 12 Б Gaia Reconstructs a Side View of our Galaxy
12.05.2025

What does our Milky Way Galaxy look like from the side? Because we are on the inside, humanity canБt get an actual picture. Recently, however, just such a map has been made using location data for over a billion stars from ESAБs Gaia mission.

The Galaxy Above
15.10.2019

Have you contemplated your home galaxy lately? If your sky looked like this, perhaps you'd contemplate it more often! The featured picture is actually a composite of two images taken last month from the same location in south Brazil and with the same camera -- but a few hours apart.

APOD: 2025 May 13 Б Gaia Reconstructs a Top View of our Galaxy
13.05.2025

What does our Milky Way Galaxy look like from the top? Because we are on the inside, humanity canБt get an actual picture. Recently, however, just such a map has been made using location data for over a billion stars from ESAБs Gaia mission.

Messiers and Mars
28.06.2003

A telescopic tour of the constellation Sagittarius offers the many bright clusters and nebulae of dimensioned space in a starscape surrounding the galactic center. This gorgeous color deep-sky photograph visits two such lovely sights, cataloged by the 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier as M8 and M20.

Messiers and Mars
15.06.2001

A telescopic tour of the constellation Sagittarius offers the many bright clusters and nebulae of dimensioned space in a starscape surrounding the galactic center. This gorgeous color deep-sky photograph visits two such lovely sights, cataloged by the 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier as M8 and M20.