APOD: 2024 October 7 Б The Long Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS
7.10.2024

A bright comet is moving into the evening skies. C/2023 A3 (TsuchinshanБATLAS) has brightened and even though it is now easily visible to the unaided eye, it is so near to the Sun that it is still difficult to see. Pictured, Comet TsuchinshanБATLAS was captured just before sunrise from an Andes Mountain in Peru.

Saturn's Rings Seen Sideways
29.04.1996

Saturn's rings are actually very thin. This picture from the Hubble Space Telescope was taken on August 6, 1995 when the rings lined up sideways as seen from Earth. Saturn's largest moon Titan is seen on the left, and Titan's shadow can be seen on Saturn's cloud tops!

When Mars met Neptune
13.01.2017

On January 1, a Mars-assisted viewing opportunity allowed binocular-equipped skygazers to cross an ice giant off their life list. Remarkably, the line-of-sight to the bright Red Planet could guide you to within 0.02 degrees of a faint, pale Neptune in Earth's night skies.

Uranus's Moon Oberon: Impact World
8.04.1996

Oberon is the most distant and second largest moon of Uranus. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, the properties of the world remained relatively unknown until the robot spacecraft Voyager 2 passed it during its flyby of Uranus in January 1986.

Mammatus Clouds Over Mexico
7.06.2004

When do cloud bottoms appear like bubbles? Normal cloud bottoms are flat because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense into water droplets at a very specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. After water droplets form that air becomes an opaque cloud.

700 Kilometers Below Comet Hartley 2
8.11.2010

What kind of comet is this? Last week, NASA's robotic EPOXI spacecraft whizzed past Comet 103P/Hartley, also known as Comet Hartley 2, and recorded images and data that are both strange and fascinating. EPOXI was near its closest approach -- about 700 kilometers away -- when it snapped the above picture.

All the Water on Planet Earth
15.05.2012

How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth's surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth's radius.

All the Water on Planet Earth
11.09.2016

How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth's surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth's radius.

APOD: 2024 December 29 Б Methane Bubbles Frozen in Lake Baikal
29.12.2024

What are these bubbles frozen into Lake Baikal? Methane. Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Russia, is the world's largest (by volume), oldest, and deepest lake, containing over 20% of the world's fresh water.

APOD: 2025 February 5 Б Comet G3 ATLAS Setting over a Chilean Hill
5.02.2025

Where is Comet ATLAS going? In the featured time-lapse video, the comet is not itself moving very much, but the Earth's rotation makes it appear to be setting over a hill. The Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) sequence was captured with an ordinary camera on January 22 from the Araucanцa Region in central Chile.