NGC 6995: The Bat Nebula
27.10.2021

Do you see the bat? It haunts this cosmic close-up of the eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil Nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the death explosion of a massive star.

IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula
27.08.2022

Inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing cluster of stars. Cataloged as IC 5146, the beautiful nebula is nearly 15 light-years wide. Climbing high in northern summer night skies, it's located some 4,000 light years away toward the constellation Cygnus the Swan.

APOD: 2025 July 30 Б Coronal Loops on the Sun
30.07.2025

Our Sun frequently erupts in loops. Hot solar plasma jumps off the Sun's surface into prominences, with the most common type of prominence being a simple loop. The loop shape originates from the Sun's magnetic field, which is traced by spiraling electrons and protons.

T Pyxidis: Recurrent Nova
25.09.1997

What happens when a thermonuclear blast occurs on the surface of a white dwarf star? Over the years astronomers have watched (at a safe distance ...) as, 6,000 light years from Earth in the southern constellation Pyxis, a binary star known as T Pyxidis repeatedly produces these fearsome explosions.

Helios Helium
16.05.1998

This image of the relatively quiet Sun was made using ultraviolet light emitted by ionized Helium atoms in the Solar chromosphere. Helium was first discovered in the Sun in 1868, its name fittingly derived from from the Greek word Helios, meaning Sun.

The Elephant s Trunk Nebula in Cepheus
19.01.2017

Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story, the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus. Also known as vdB 142, the cosmic elephant's trunk is over 20 light-years long.

Melotte 15 inthe Heart
10.02.2017

Cosmic clouds form fantastic shapes in the central regions of emission nebula IC 1805. The clouds are sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the nebula's newborn star cluster, Melotte 15.

Stellar Spectral Types: OBAFGKM
30.05.2001

Astronomers divide stars into different spectral types. First started in the 1800s, the spectral type was originally meant to classify the strength of hydrogen absorption lines. A few types that best describe the temperature of the star remain in use today.

Dark Spots on Neptune
21.08.2001

Neptune has spots. The Solar System's outermost gas giant shows a nearly uniform blue hue created by small amounts of methane drifting in a thick atmosphere of nearly colorless hydrogen and helium. Dark spots do appear, however, that are anti-cyclones: large high-pressure systems that swirl in Neptune's cold cloud tops.

Unusual Gas Filaments Surround Galaxy NGC 1275
25.07.2005

How were the unusual gas filaments surrounding galaxy NGC 1275 created? No one is sure. Galaxy NGC 1275 is the central dominant galaxy of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies, a cluster with many member galaxies visible in the above image. In visible light, NGC 1275 appears to show a spectacular collision between two distinct galaxies.