Darkness Spreads

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Lynds Dark Nebula 1251. What mysteries lie behind? I mean, look at what we found behind the Coalsack!

Copernicus at Dawn

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Copernicus Crater, one of the easier craters to spot with the "naked eye" (along with Tycho) on the lunar nearside. Hey, let's go explore and do some mountaineering!

Ringed Spiral

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a Hubble Space Telescope image of Messier 95 in the constellation of Leo. The spiral galaxy has a faint ring running around the core, the origin and duration of which is still under investigation.

Clouds of Creation

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a pretty astounding image of NGC 3572, showing rich nebular clouds and young energetic stars in a slowly dispersing cluster.

Another Quiet Night

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the night skies of Guatemala. A quiet scene with the Milky Way and Jupiter overhead, the transient streaks of a meteor and a satellite and the rumblings of an active volcano.

Eruption

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video courtesy of the hard-working Solar Dynamic Observatory (long may it function) of activity on our home star.

Weird Planet

What strange planet are we seeing in today's Astronomy Picture of the Day? Why, it's Earth! A panoramic fish-eye lens is used to make a terrestrial landscape look like something out of a science fiction production.

To a Rocky Moonlet

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us close to the surface of asteroid 101955 Bennu, courtesy of the OSIRIS-REx vehicle. The probe is preparing for a touchdown on the surface of the asteroid in order to collect a sample on July 20, 2019.

Moon Near, Moons Far

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows two astronomical sights under a cloud-decked sky: our Moon and Jupiter with three of its moons.

Red Red Dwarf

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows 2014 MU69, popularly known as Ultima Thule. This dwarf planet was visited by the New Horizons vehicle on January 1, 2019. Data is still being downloaded, months after the flyby, so more surprises may yet be revealed!

In the Depths of the Archer

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows nebulas and star fields around Messier 8, Messier 20 and NGC 6559 in the constellation of Sagittarius, the Archer. Even with a pair of binoculars, the region around Sagittarius (and neighboring constellation Scorpius) are wonderful places to explore.

Planes and Planets

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video showing the relative tilts and spins of the major planets of our local system. Take a careful look at Uranus compared to the rest of the system. What happened there?

Crystal Ship

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows ice crystals manifesting as a rainbow arc over the skies of Ohio.

Three Shepherds

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Atlas, Daphnis and Pan, three of the "shepherd" or inner ring moons that orbit around Saturn and affect that planet's rings.

Variable Deck

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows variable star RS Puppis, in the constellation of Puppis, or, the Poop Deck.

Waning Skies

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the effect of ground lights on the night skies. In addition to ruining our views of the sky, excessive use of ground lights can affect animals and people, waste energy and quite possibly do little to deter crime.

Anemic Spiral

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 4921, part of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies. Why is this galaxy so dim?

Young Cluster

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us a Hubble Space Telescope image of young star cluster Trumpler 14. Is that a planetary system being created or destroyed there (middle left)? What about that arc of gas near the bottom?

Rich Double

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the rich fields of gas and dust around the double star system of Rho Ophiuchi.

The Quiet Earth

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a quiet Icelandic winter scene. So pastoral!

Sky Streak

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the path of a Falcon 9 rocket (launch, MECO, staging, and even the return of the first stage) on May 4, 2019.

Streaks Across the Galaxy

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the arch of the Milk Way crossed by the transient streaks of the Eta Aquarids (which are debris left by Comet Halley).

Into the Cluster

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us an image of Messier 5, a globular cluster between the constellations of Libra and the Serpent. One of my most immersive experiences as an amateur astronomer was observing a globular cluster while Stephen Roach's The Magnificent Void.

Stormy Jove

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a image from the Juno Orbiter of Jupiter. Note the Great Red Spot. It's possible that the storm is "unraveling" as we watch and may soon be gone. Will something as large (and long-lasting) appear in the future?

Carina Tapestry

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us The Great Nebula in the constellation of Carina. Star creation and impending star destruction in one view.

Flyby

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video depicting a flyby of Messier 51, The Whirlpool Galaxy. Imagine being able to do this for real!

Saturn Space

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is not a scene from a movie. It is the reality of Saturn, brought to us by the Cassini Orbiter. Jaw-dropping stuff.

Morning Wisps

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us the pre-dawn sky and a waning Moon, also dimly illuminated by Earthshine ("the da Vinci glow").

Clouds and Bubbles

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows cosmic clouds within the larger cosmic cloud of the Large Magellanic Cloud.

In the Bullseye

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day: Riding over our blue planet, the International Space Station spots the ancient site of an impact site. Watch the skies.

Layers of the Cat

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day combines images in different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (and collected by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory) to bring this picture of the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543).