M51: X Rays from the Whirlpool
10.06.2014

What if we X-rayed an entire spiral galaxy? This was done (again) recently by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory for the nearby interacting galaxies known as the Whirlpool (M51). Hundreds of glittering x-ray stars are present in the above Chandra image of the spiral and its neighbor.

Virtual Flight Over Asteroid Vesta
14.05.2012

What would it be like to fly over the asteroid Vesta? Animators from the German Aerospace Center recently took actual images and height data from NASA's Dawn mission currently visiting Vesta to generate such a virtual movie.

Summer at the South Pole
23.12.2000

The December solstice brings the beginning of Winter to Earth's Northern Hemisphere and Summer time to the South! This view of Earth's Southern Hemisphere near the beginning of Summer was created using images from the Galileo spacecraft taken during its December 1990 flyby of our fair planet.

Hale-Bopp in Stereo
4.04.1997

This stereo pair of Hale-Bopp images combines two pictures from slightly different viewing angles. Simulating stereo vision, the difference was generated by the comet's apparent motion as it cruised through the inner Solar System.

Comet Between Fireworks and Lightning
29.05.2011

Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. In January 2007, people from Perth, Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of Australia Day celebrations. On the far right, lightning from a thunderstorm flashed in the distance.

A Partial Solar Eclipse over Buenos Aires
20.02.2018

What's happened to top of the Sun? Last week, parts of Earth's southern hemisphere were treated to a partial solar eclipse, where the Moon blocks out part of the Sun. The featured image was taken toward the end of the eclipse from the coast of Uruguay overlooking Argentina's Buenos Aires.

Sunset to Sunrise over the Baltic Sea
16.06.2023

This serene view from the coast of Sweden looks across the Baltic sea and compresses time, presenting the passage of one night in a single photograph. From sunset to sunrise, moonlight illuminates the creative sea and skyscape. Fleeting clouds, fixed stars, and flowing northern lights leave their traces in planet Earth's sky.

HR 8799: Discovery of a Multi planet Star System
17.11.2008

How common are planetary systems like our own Solar System? In the twelve years previous to 2008, over 300 candidate planetary systems have been found orbiting nearby stars. None, however, were directly imaged, few showed evidence for multiple planets, and many had a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting inside the orbit of Mercury.

Equinox at Saturn
25.08.2009

What would Saturn's rings look like if the ring plane pointed directly at the Sun? That situation occurred earlier this month when equinox occurred on Saturn. Since the Earth is nearly in the same direction as the Sun from Saturn, the rings appeared to disappear from Earth.

Phobos South Pole from Mars Express
24.01.2011

Where on this moon would you land? The moon pictured above is not Earth's moon but Phobos, the closest moon to the planet Mars. Phobos is so close to Mars that it is expected to break up and crash into the red planet within the next 100 million years.