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Webb's infrared view of Jupiter reveals cloud differences, auroras, moons, and magnetic effects from Io. 1 post
Apollo 14's lunar surface mosaic shows equipment, a boulder, and artifacts from astronaut activities. 1 post
Webb is the largest astronomical telescope ever launched, with over six times Hubble's light-collecting area. 1 post
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Latest posts
CTB 1: The Medulla Nebula
CTB 1: The Medulla Nebula Image Credit: Pierre Konzelmann Explanation: What powers this unusual nebula? CTB 1 is the expanding gas shell that was left when a massive star toward the constellation of Cassiopeia exploded about 10,000 years ago. The star likely detonated when it ran o
Jupiter from the Webb Space Telescope
Jupiter from the Webb Space Telescope Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; Processing: Ricardo Hueso (UPV/EHU) & Judy Schmidt Explanation: This infrared view of Jupiter by Webb is illuminating. High-resolution infrared images of Jupiter from the James Webb Spa
Apollo 14: A View from Antares
Apollo 14: A View from Antares Image Credit: Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14, NASA; Mosaic - Eric M. Jones Explanation: Apollo 14's Lunar Module Antares landed on the Moon on February 5, 1971. Toward the end of the stay astronaut Ed Mitchell snapped a series of photos of the lunar surface
NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula
NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Justus Falk Explanation: These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus. Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to evoke the imagery of flowers. Stil
Plato and the Lunar Alps
Plato and the Lunar Alps Image Credit & Copyright: Luigi Morrone Explanation: The dark-floored, 95 kilometer wide crater Plato and sunlit peaks of the lunar Alps (Montes Alpes) are highlighted in this this sharp telescopic snapshot of the Moon's surface. While the Alps of planet Earth
M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Sleeman Explanation: The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only 30 million light years distant and fully 60 thousand light years across, M51, also known as NGC 5194, is one of the brightest and most picture
A Solar Eruption from SDO
A Solar Eruption from SDO Video Credit: NASA, SDO, AIA, Helioviewer; Processing & Text: Ogetay Kayali (MTU) Explanation: What just leapt from the Sun? A towering structure of solar plasma suddenly rose from the Sun's surface and unfurled into space -- a structure so large t
Meteor Dust
Meteor Dust Image Credit & Copyright: Xu Chen Explanation: What's happening to this meteor? It is shedding its outer layers as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere and heats up. The sudden high temperatures not only cause the bright glow along the dramatic streak but also me
M104: The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
M104: The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech, SSC, R. Kennicutt (Steward Obs.) et al., Explanation: This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy, one of the largest galaxie
Jupiter with the Great Red Spot
Jupiter with the Great Red Spot Image Credit & Copyright: Christopher Go Explanation: Jupiter reaches its 2026 opposition today, January 10. That puts our Solar System's most massive planet opposite the Sun and near its closest and brightest for viewing from planet Earth. In fact, ca
Ice Halos by Moonlight and Sunlight
Ice Halos by Moonlight and Sunlight Image Credit & Copyright: Antonella Cicala Explanation: Both Moon and Sun create beautiful ice halos in planet Earth's sky. In fact, the two brightest celestial beacons are each surrounded by a complex of ice halos in these photos of the sky above C
IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis
IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis Image Credit & Copyright: Gaetan Maxant Explanation: Similar in size to large, bright spiral galaxies in our neighborhood, IC 342 is a mere 10 million light-years distant toward the long-necked, northern constellation Camelopardalis. A sprawling
Simeis 147: The Spaghetti Nebula Supernova Remnant
Simeis 147: The Spaghetti Nebula Supernova Remnant Image Credit & Copyright: Saverio Ferretti Explanation: Its popular nickname is the Spaghetti Nebula. Officially cataloged as Simeis 147 and Sharpless 2-240, it is easy to get lost following the looping and twisting filaments o
Jupiters Clouds in High Definition from Juno
Jupiter's Clouds in High Definition from Juno Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS; Processing & License: Thomas Thomopoulos Explanation: How complex is Jupiter? NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter is finding the Jovian giant to be more complicated than expected. Jupiter's mag
The Red Rectangle Nebula from Hubble
The Red Rectangle Nebula from Hubble Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt Explanation: How was the unusual Red Rectangle nebula created? At the nebula's center is an aging binary star system that surely powers the nebula but does not, as yet, ex
The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens
The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens Image Credit & License: NSF, NOIRLab, AURA, WIYN; Processing: J. Rhoads (Arizona State U.) et al. Explanation: Most galaxies have a single nucleus -- does this galaxy have four? The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nuc
Full Moonlight
Full Moonlight Image Credit & Copyright: Zhengjie Wu and Jeff Dai (TWAN) Explanation: The Full Moon is the brightest lunar phase, and tonight you can stand in the light of the first Full Moon of 2026. In fact, the Moon's full phase occurs on January 3 at 10:03 UTC, while only about 7
NanoSail D2
NanoSail-D2 Image Credit & Copyright: Ralf Vandebergh Explanation: In 2011, on January 20, NASA's NanoSail-D2 unfurled a very thin and very reflective 10 square meter sail becoming the first solar sail spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Often considered the stuff of science fiction, saili
Auroral Corona
Auroral Corona Image Credit & Copyright: Roi Levi Explanation: Cycle 25 solar maximum made 2025 a great year for aurora borealis (or aurora australis) on planet Earth. And the high level of solar activity should extend into 2026. So, while you're celebrating the arrival of the new ye
HH 222: The Waterfall Nebula
HH-222: The Waterfall Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby Explanation: What created the Waterfall Nebula? The origin is still being researched. The structure, officially designated Herbig-Haro 222, appears in the region of NGC 1999 in the Great Orion Molecular Cloud com
An Artificial Comet
An Artificial Comet Image Credit & Copyright: Wang Chao Explanation: Yes, but can your comet tail do this? No, and what you are seeing is not the tail of a comet. The picture features a cleverly overlayed time-lapse sequence of a group of satellites orbiting Earth together in
M1: The Crab Nebula
M1: The Crab Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Chen Explanation: This is the mess that is left when a star explodes. The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova seen in 1054 AD, is filled with mysterious filaments. The filaments are not only tremendously complex but app
NGC 1898: Globular Cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud
NGC 1898: Globular Cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Explanation: Jewels don't shine this bright -- only stars do. And almost every spot in this jewel-box of an image from the Hubble Space Telescope is a star. Now, some stars are more red than o
Apollo 17 s Moonship
Apollo 17's Moonship Image Credit: Apollo 17, NASA, (Image Reprocessing: Andy Saunders) Explanation: Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger was designed for flight in the near vacuum of space. Digitally enhanced and reprocessed, this picture taken from
3I/ATLAS Flyby
3I/ATLAS Flyby Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett Explanation: Attention grabbing interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS made its not-so-close flyby of our fair planet on December 19 at a distance of 1.8 astronomical units. That's about 900 light-seconds. This deep exposure captures the c