APOD: 2024 September 16 Б Mercurys Vivaldi Crater from BepiColombo
16.09.2024

Why does this large crater on Mercury have two rings and a smooth floor? No one is sure. The unusual feature called Vivaldi Crater spans 215 kilometers and was imaged again in great detail by ESA's and JAXA's robotic BepiColombo spacecraft on a flyby earlier this month.

Stardust in the Perseus Molecular Cloud
25.01.2025

Clouds of stardust drift through this deep skyscape, across the Perseus molecular cloud some 850 light-years away. Dusty nebulae reflecting light from embedded young stars stand out in the nearly 4 degree wide field of view. With a characteristic bluish color reflection nebula NGC 1333 is prominent near center.

A Very Large Array of Radio Telescopes
27.07.1997

Pictured above is one of the world's premiere radio astronomical observatories: The Very Large Array (VLA). Each antenna dish is as big as a house (25 meters across) and mounted on railroad tracks. The VLA consists of 27 dishes - together capable of spanning the size of a city (35 kilometers).

Unexpected Impact on Jupiter
8.09.2009

Two months ago, something unexpected hit Jupiter. First discovered by an amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley on 2009 July 19, the impact was quickly confirmed and even imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope the very next day.

M1: The Crab Nebula
20.11.2014

The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object on Charles Messier's famous 18th century list of things which are not comets. In fact, the Crab is now known to be a supernova remnant, debris from the death explosion of a massive star, witnessed by astronomers in the year 1054.

A Perseid Meteor
11.08.2002

The ongoing Perseid Meteor Shower should be at its strongest on August 12 and 13. The best time to watch will be between 2:00 AM and dawn on Monday morning (so plan on setting your alarm tonight!) and then again on Tuesday.

Small Galaxy NGC 4449
3.05.2007

Grand spiral galaxies often seem to get all the glory. Their newly formed, bright, blue star clusters along beautiful, symmetric spiral arms are guaranteed to attract attention. But small irregular galaxies form stars too, like NGC 4449, located about 12 million light-years away.

Tianwen 1 Mission to Mars
25.07.2020

On July 23, this Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket rose into a blue morning sky from China's Hainan Island Wenchang Satellite Launch Center. The rocket carried an orbiter, lander, and rover to ask Heavenly Questions on the ambitious Tianwen-1 mission to Mars.

Perseid Outburst at Westmeath Lookout
24.09.2021

This year an outburst of Perseid meteors surprised skywatchers. The reliable meteor shower's peak was predicted for the night of August 12/13. But persistent visual observers in North America were deluged with...

APOD: 2023 July 24 Б Chemicals Glow as a Meteor Disintegrates
24.07.2023

Meteors can be colorful. While the human eye usually cannot discern many colors, cameras often can. Pictured here is a fireball, a disintegrating meteor that was not only one of the brightest the photographer has ever seen, but colorful.