Lapland Northern Lights
8.04.2016

Early spring in the northern hemisphere is good season for aurora hunters. Near an equinox Earth's magnetic field is oriented to favor interactions with the solar wind that trigger the alluring glow of the northern lights. On March 28/29 the skies over Kaunispää Hill, Lapland, Finland did not disappoint.

La Silla Eclipse Sequence
5.07.2019

The road to the high mountaintop La Silla Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert also led in to the path of July 2nd's total solar eclipse. Recorded at regular intervals before and after...

Eclipse under the ISS
27.06.2020

The dark shadow of the New Moon reached out and touched planet Earth on June 21. A high definition camera outside the International Space Station captured its passing in this snapshot from low Earth orbit near the border of Kazakhstan and China.

NGC 1365: A Nearby Barred Spiral Galaxy
13.04.2003

Many spiral galaxies have bars across their centers. Even our own Milky Way Galaxy is thought to have a bar, but perhaps not so prominent as the one in NGC 1365, shown above. The persistence and motion of the bar imply relatively massive spiral arms.

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3628 Edge On
1.11.1996

This is what a spiral galaxy looks like sideways. This view of NGC 3628 nearly resembles our own Milky Way Galaxy, which is also known to be a spiral. The dark band across the center is absorbed starlight caused by the galaxy's own interstellar dust.

IC 4406: A Seemingly Square Nebula
16.04.2000

How can a round star make a square nebula? This conundrum came to light with the discovery of planetary nebulae like IC 4406. IC 4406 is most probably cylindrical, with its square appearance the result of our vantage point in viewing the cylinder.

Contemplating the Sky
13.12.2010

Have you contemplated your sky recently? Tonight will be a good one for midnight meditators at many northerly locations as meteors from the Geminids meteor shower will frequently streak through. The Geminds meteor shower has slowly been building to a crescendo and should peak tonight.

Martian Chiaroscuro
22.03.2014

Deep shadows create dramatic contrasts between light and dark in this high-resolution close-up of the martian surface. Recorded on January 24 by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the scene spans about 1.5 kilometers across a sand dune field in a southern highlands crater.

The Great Gig in the Sky
8.09.2017

There were no crowds on the beach at Phillips Lake, Oregon on August 21. But a few had come there to stand, for a moment, in the dark shadow of the Moon. From the beach, this unscripted mosaic photo records their much anticipated solar eclipse.

Blood Monster Moon
4.06.2021

On May 26, the Full Flower Moon was caught in this single exposure as it emerged from Earth's shadow and morning twilight began to wash over the western sky. Posing close...