First Launch of the Delta IV Heavy
26.01.2005

The new Delta IV Heavy Launch Vehicle is the largest rocket ever to be launched by the US Air Force. The Delta IV Heavy is capable of launching over 23,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit.

Eclipsing the Sun
5.01.2011

Skywatchers throughout much of Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia, were treated to the first eclipse of the new year on January 4, a partial eclipse of the Sun. But traveling to the area...

Eclipsed in Southern Skies
1.10.2015

This stunning panorama in southern skies was recorded on the colorful night of September 27/28 from Carngegie Las Campanas Observatory. A diffuse glow and dark rifts of the central Milky Way hang over domes of the twin 6.5 meter Magellan telescopes. But most eye-catching is the deep red glow of the Moon.

Comet ISON Being Destroyed by the Sun
2.11.2015

Most comets don't survive a close encounter with the Sun. Two years ago this month, though, Comet ISON was thought by some to be big enough to withstand its perilous sungrazing dive. The featured video shows the drama as it was recorded by NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite.

Shell Game in the LMC
29.12.2016

An alluring sight in southern skies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is seen here through narrowband filters. The filters are designed to transmit only light emitted by ionized sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Ionized...

NGC 602 and Beyond
16.05.2021

The clouds may look like an oyster, and the stars like pearls, but look beyond. Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5 million year young star cluster NGC 602.

APOD: 2024 October 29 Б NGC 602: Stars Versus Pillars from Webb
29.10.2024

The stars are destroying the pillars. More specifically, some of the newly formed stars in the image center are emitting light so energetic that is evaporating the gas and dust in the surrounding pillars. Simultaneously, the pillars themselves are still trying to form new stars.

Vela Supernova Remnant in X-ray
12.06.1996

What happens when a star explodes? A huge fireball of hot gas shoots out in all directions. When this gas slams into the existing interstellar medium, it heats up so much it glows in X-rays.

COBE Hotspots:The Oldest Structures Known
9.03.1997

Above are two images of the microwave sky, north and south of our galaxy's equator, based on data from NASA's COsmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite. After computer processing to remove contributions from nearby objects and the effects of the earth's motion, they show "spots".

Dusty Environs of Eta Carinae
15.10.2005

Eta Car is a massive star, but it's not as bright as it used to be. Now only easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope, Eta Carinae has a history of spectacular flaring and fading behavior.