Pinwheel

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Messier 33, the Triangulum or Pinwheel Galaxy, in the constellation of (surprise) Triangulum.

Great Nebula

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us my favorite winter observing object, certainly not as I have ever seen it! Messier 42, The Great Nebula of Orion.

Jovian Superstorms

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us an image from the Juno orbiter, currently on a (alas) short-term mission around Jupiter. What a picture!

Unsettled Season

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video showing the recent hurricane season.

Seconds

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video depicting human existence. Timespan: a few beats of the cosmic heart.

Plane Crossing

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day crosses from one horizon to the other.

Stopover at Shorty

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the Apollo 17 crew working at Shorty Crater. Why haven't we been back?

Gems of the Belt

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us to the jewels that make up the Belt of Orion: Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.

What else can you spot in this image? The Horsehead? Pillars of Creation? Bubbles?

The Coming of the Ramans

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is an artist depiction of interstellar visitor Oumuamua. Some jokingly suggested it may be a derelict interstellar visitor. Paging Dr. Clarke...

Dipping In

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Ursus Major, The Big Bear, The Plough, call it what you will: The Big Dipper. "Mouseover" the image in the link for a guide.

Red Rover

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a "selfie" courtesy of one of the two working rovers on the surface of Mars, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity, working it's way to Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons).

A WISE Look

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows dust and molecular clouds of NGC 7822, in the constellation of Cepheus, courtesy of the Wide Field Infrared Survey (WISE) satellite.

Triad

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a very "old" Moon in the pre-dawn sky along with Jupiter and Venus.

Sky Fall

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a fireball over the skies of Italy. The dinosaurs, luckily, were spared this time.

Boris the Spider

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day spins a web of gas and dust across more than a thousand light-years. Would a ship be ensnared in the tendrils of The Tarantula Nebula, NGC 2070?

The Rose of Caroline

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 7789, discovered by Caroline Lucretia Herschel. Caroline is often overshadowed by her brother, which is a shame, as she not only was a fine observational astronomer, but carried the burden of the household in many ways. Could William functioned as he did without her help?

More Than Meets the Eye

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows one of our familiar (northern hemisphere) winter sights: Messier 45), but gives us a deeper look than our naked (or assisted) eye can see: the Pleiades with the dust and debris that we normally miss.

Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising thro' the mellow shade,
Glitter like a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid.
(Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Locksley Hall)

Sun Diver

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Comet 96P/Machholz as it dives towards our home star. There are swarms of comets who do the suicide run (for a icy body, making a close approach to a fusion furnace should not be a life goal!) like this yearly. The venerable SOHO spacecraft helps us to study these cosmic Icarus's.

Cosmic Gathering

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows our Moon, and the planets Venus and Jupiter gathering in the skies of 2008.

False Moon

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day sheds a new light on an familiar face: our Moon, color enhanced in order to highlight mineral deposits. Such maps may lead us to target areas of interest for future exploration (and actual use).

Extended Wisp

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day show the remnants of a star's final fury: after effects of a supernova that stretch across the constellation of Cygnus. Williamina Fleming discovered the nebula, so it is tagged as Williamina's Triangular Wisp.

Cetan Spiral

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 1055 in Cetus. This image shows much fine detail that reveals star-forming regions, dust lanes and even a halo around the galaxy.

Variable Ghost

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 2261, Hubble's Variable Nebula, found near Monoceros. Even relatively modest "amateur" instruments can be used to track the changes that one can see in this astronomical object.

Can I Get It On A Watch?

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the famous astronomical clock in Prague. An astounding mechanism and a beautiful piece of art to boot!

Active Bodies

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows activity on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as imaged by the ESA's Rosetta spacecraft which explored that comet for an extended period.

Shine On

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day presents a year of Full Moons. Were any of them "blue"? How about "super"?

Dense Packing

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the beautiful globular cluster Messier 5, between Libra and Serpens.

“He who cannot see gravity at work here has no soul.” (Richard Feynman)

Beware the Cometeers

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a stranger to our parts. A/2017 U1 was first thought to be a comet or asteroid from the far reaches of our solar system. Further analysis showed it to be the first (known) interstellar visitor. Remember: Ramans do everything in threes.

Spot the Spiral

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day features a rich field of distant objects. While centered on a star (HD 14771), and featuring a galaxy (NGC 891), this field also contains a galaxy cluster (Abell 347). How many galaxies can you spot?

The God Nebula

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a deep dive into NGC 2359 (found in Canis Major). Popularly known as "Thor's Helmet", we have a "tiny" bubble of gas being blown by the energetic "breath" of a young star.