Lunar Flyby

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day has the International Space Station seemingly flying by the Moon. Do a search for "MoonLab" (or variants thereof) for a bit of space-that-never-was (alas).

Southern Panorama

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the southern hemisphere Milky Way rising over Uluru (Ayers Rock). What a view!

Deep Messier

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day allows us to swim deep into Messier 8, the Lagoon Nebula in the constellation of Sagittarius. The wonders towards the galactic center!

European Vacation

Supposedly if you're not in the United States of America and you're visiting this blog, you are supposed to see a notice. Can somebody confirm such notice?

My feelings about this?

Nie moje małpy, nie mój cyrk.

Geometry

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows an end-to-end rainbow and anticrespuscular rays over Bryce Canyon in Utah (United States of America).

Across the Universe

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day uses a little photographic editing to go from one hemisphere to another.

Sidewise Hat

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a spectacular Hubble Space Telescope image of Messier 104, The Sombrero Galaxy in the region of the constellation Virgo.

False Trifid

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day depicts one of my favorite sky objects in a different light.

Hidden Gems

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows what we can see with the "naked eye" plus what can be seen in the ultraviolet range (stacked) when we view Messier 31, the beautiful spiral galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda.

No strain to see why this Andromeda sight is a classic!

Building the Blade

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the building of the models used in the movie Blade Runner.

The Skies of New Zealand

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows some celestial and botanical wonders in New Zealand: a few planets, the Moon and a comet! "Mouseover" the image for a guide.

A Hard Rain Falls

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video showing gamma-ray "rain" falling as a result of an outburst from active galaxy 3C 279.

T&T

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the multiple tails of Comet C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS) and the trails of the stars moving as the subtle detail of the comet was captured during a time exposure.

Oh, you thought I was talking about the other T&T! Sorry!

Three-Tailed Fox

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Comet C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS), currently wowing observers in the Southern Hemisphere.

First Steps

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the first launch of a rocket from Cape Canaveral, a modified "step" version of the German V-2 carrying the WAC Corporal as a second-stage vehicle.

We've come a ways since then.

Flyover Sequence

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video showing two of the regions imaged by the New Horizons vehicle. Pluto flyover!

Rose of Charon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day turns to the other major target in New Horizons dance with Pluto: Charon, Pluto's primary satellite.

To Stride the Plutonian Landscape

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us one step closer to Pluto.

Long Time Coming

Ladies and gentlemen, on today's Astronomy Picture of the Day: PLUTO.

Family Portrait

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Pluto and Charon as imaged by the New Horizons probe on its closest approach to the system.

Charon Face

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the "Charon face" of Pluto as the New Horizons craft makes final approach to Pluto. As of this writing, it is well less than 1 million miles away and will reach point of closest approach in under 24 hours.

The Start of the Journey

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the start of the long road from Earth to Pluto. In 2006, New Horizons was launched, leaping from the Earth to the distance of the Moon in about nine hours. It then "only" took 2006 to 2015 to cross the remaining distance to Pluto.

Geology

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows some of the features discovered by the New Horizons vehicle as it begins its flyby past Pluto. Unfortunately due to that pesky orbital mechanics, we won't be seeing this face again (but what wonders will be found on the face presenting itself to New Horizons on closest approach?).

"Mouseover" the image to have some explanatory text appear.

Overlooked Gems

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day features Messier 43, rich star-forming nebula clouds, often overshadowed by it's more famous neighbor, Messier 42.

The Whale and the Heart

We're close enough to Pluto that we're going to see increasingly "sharp" detail on the surface as New Horizons does its 2015 flyby of the "dwarf" planet. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us one of the latest views, including the so-called "Heart" and "Whale".

Dance of Worlds

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the intricate dance between Saturn, the Rings, and the multitude of moons (represented by Dione) as imaged by the hard-working Cassini orbiter.

Cave of Stars

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a view of the night sky from the mouth of a sea cave. Did a similar view entice our ancestors to dream of a new sea?

Stellar Emissions

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the varied nebula colors present in the region of Antares and Rho Ophiuchi. Emission, absorption, and "dark" nebula and even a much further globular cluster populate a sky already crowded with the stars towards the galactic core.

Bow Shock

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Zeta Ophiuchi, a "runaway star" plowing it's way through the less-than-perfect vacuum of it's local neighborhood.

Southern Sky Show

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows several views of the Aurora Australis (auoral activity over the South Pole).

Conjunction 03

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is another view of the conjunction between Jupiter and Venus, but from the telescopic perspective (lovely details from both planets!).

Conjunction 02

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is another view of the planetary conjunction between Venus and Jupiter, this time with the Moon thrown into the dance mix.

Conjunction 01

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the conjunction between Jupiter and Venus. Worlds in collision (not)!