APOD: 2025 July 3 Б Nova V462 Lupi Now Visible
3.07.2025

If you know where to look, you can see a thermonuclear explosion from a white dwarf star. Possibly two. Such explosions are known as novas and the detonations are currently faintly visible with the unaided eye in Earth's southern hemisphere -- but are more easily seen with binoculars.

APOD: 2024 April 15 Б The Cigar Galaxy from Hubble and Webb
15.04.2024

Something strange happened to this galaxy, but what? Known as the Cigar Galaxy and cataloged as M82, red glowing gas and dust are being cast out from the center. Although this starburst galaxy...

APOD: 2025 March 18 Б LDN 1235: The Shark Nebula
18.03.2025

There is no sea on Earth large enough to contain the Shark nebula. This predator apparition poses us no danger as it is composed only of interstellar gas and dust. Dark dust like that featured here is somewhat like cigarette smoke and created in the cool atmospheres of giant stars.

APOD: 2023 September 24 Б A Ring of Fire Sunrise Solar Eclipse
24.09.2023

What's rising above the horizon behind those clouds? It's the Sun. Most sunrises don't look like this, though, because most sunrises don't include the Moon. In the early morning of 2013 May 10, however, from Western Australia, the Moon was between the Earth and the rising Sun.

APOD: 2023 December 27 Б Rainbow Aurora over Icelandic Waterfall
27.12.2023

Yes, but can your aurora do this? First, yes, auroras can look like rainbows even though they are completely different phenomena. Auroras are caused by Sun-created particles being channeled into Earth's atmosphere by Earth's magnetic field, and create colors by exciting atoms at different heights.

APOD: 2024 December 24 Б Fox Fur, Cone, and Christmas Tree
24.12.2024

What do the following things have in common: a cone, the fur of a fox, and a Christmas tree? Answer: they all occur in the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). Considered as a star...

APOD: 2024 March 10 Б A Total Eclipse at the End of the World
10.03.2024

Would you go to the end of the world to see a total eclipse of the Sun? If you did, would you be surprised to find someone else there already? In 2003, the Sun, the Moon, Antarctica, and two photographers all lined up in Antarctica during an unusual total solar eclipse.

APOD: 2024 October 16 Б Colorful Aurora over New Zealand
16.10.2024

Sometimes the night sky is full of surprises. Take the sky over Lindis Pass, South Island, New Zealand one-night last week. Instead of a typically calm night sky filled with constant stars, a busy and dynamic night sky appeared.

APOD: 2025 January 28 Б Comet G3 ATLAS over Uruguay
28.01.2025

Comets can be huge. When far from the Sun, a comet's size usually refers to its hard nucleus of ice and rock, which typically spans a few kilometers -- smaller than even a small moon.

APOD: 2025 March 17 Б Thors Helmet
17.03.2025

Thor not only has his own day (Thursday), but a helmet in the heavens. Popularly called Thor's Helmet, NGC 2359 is a hat-shaped cosmic cloud with wing-like appendages. Heroically sized even for a Norse god, Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across.