APOD: 2025 March 12 Б NGC 772: The Fiddlehead Galaxy
12.03.2025

Why does this galaxy look like a curly vegetable? The Fiddlehead spiral galaxy likely gets its distorted spiral appearance from a gravitational interaction with its close-by elliptical companion NGC 770, seen just below. Cataloged...

APOD: 2025 September 13 Б Star Trails over One Mile Radio Telescope
13.09.2025

The steerable 60 foot diameter dish antenna of the One-Mile Telescope at Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cambridge, UK, is pointing skyward in this evocative night-skyscape. To capture the dramatic scene, consecutive 30 second exposures were recorded over a period of 90 minutes.

APOD: 2023 October 9 Б A Distorted Sunrise Eclipse
9.10.2023

Yes, but have you ever seen a sunrise like this? Here, after initial cloudiness, the Sun appeared to rise in two pieces and during a partial eclipse in 2019, causing the photographer to describe it as the most stunning sunrise of his life.

APOD: 2007 February 23- Dust and the Helix Nebula
23.02.2007

Dust makes this cosmic eye look red. The eerie Spitzer Space Telescope image shows infrared radiation from the well-studied Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) a mere 700 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius.

APOD: 2020 August 18 Б TYC 8998 760 1: Multiple Planets around a Sun Like Star
18.08.2020

Do other stars have planets like our Sun? Previous evidence shows that they do, coming mostly from slight shifts in the star's light created by the orbiting planets. Recently, however, and for the first time, a pair of planets has been directly imaged around a Sun-like star.

APOD: 2024 February 27 Б Supernova Remnant Simeis 147
27.02.2024

It's easy to get lost following the intricate, looping, and twisting filaments of supernova remnant Simeis 147. Also cataloged as Sharpless 2-240, the filamentary nebula goes by the popular nickname the Spaghetti Nebula.

APOD: 2024 March 17 Б NGC 7714: Starburst after Galaxy Collision
17.03.2024

Is this galaxy jumping through a giant ring of stars? Probably not. Although the precise dynamics behind the featured image is yet unclear, what is clear is that the pictured galaxy, NGC 7714, has been stretched and distorted by a recent collision with a neighboring galaxy.

APOD: 2024 May 1 Б IC 1795: The Fishhead Nebula
1.05.2024

To some, this nebula looks like the head of a fish. However, this colorful cosmic portrait really features glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds in IC 1795, a star forming region in the northern constellation Cassiopeia.

APOD: 2024 May 11 Б AR 3664: Giant Sunspot Group
11.05.2024

Right now, one of the largest sunspot groups in recent history is crossing the Sun. Active Region 3664 is not only big -- it's violent, throwing off clouds of particles into the Solar System. Some of these CMEs are already impacting the Earth, and others might follow.

APOD: 2025 May 7 Б Galaxy Wars: M81 versus M82
7.05.2025

In the upper left corner, surrounded by blue arms and dotted with red nebulas, is spiral galaxy M81. In the lower right corner, marked by a light central line and surrounded by red glowing gas, is irregular galaxy M82.