Category: Image of the Day
Milky Way Over Quiver Tree Forest
In front of a famous background of stars and galaxies lies some of Earth’s more unusual trees. Known as quiver trees, they are actually succulentaloe plants that can grow to tree-like proportions. The quiver tree name is derived from the...
ISS and Mercury Too
Transits of Mercury are relatively rare. Monday’s leisurely 7.5 hour long event was only the 2nd of 14 Mercury transits in the 21st century. If you’re willing to travel, transits of the International Space Station can be more frequent though,...
Saturn and Mars visit Milky Way Star Clouds
After recently getting a telescope for my birthday I’m awaiting a clear night in the UK to gaze upon Mars and Saturn late at night. While I’m not sure my entry level scope can gather such amazing images, I’m excited...
Auroras and the Magnetosphere of Jupiter
Jupiter has auroras. Like near the Earth, the magnetic field of our Solar System‘s largest planet compresses when impacted by a gust of charged particles from the Sun. This magnetic compression funnels charged particles towards Jupiter‘s poles and down into...
Big Dipper to Southern Cross
Welcome to an equatorial night. This remarkable 24 frame night skyscape was captured from Maba Beach on the Indonesian island of Halmahera during the evening of March 4. Seen from a mere 0.7 degrees northern latitude, both famous northern and...
Orions Belt and Sword over Teides Peak
I love the southern part of Orion, mainly because I’m from the Southern Hemisphere and for the first 27 years of my life I saw Orion standing proudly upside down. The southern part of Orion, the famous constellation and mythical...
Close Comet and the Milky Way
Comet 252P/Linear’s lovely greenish coma is easy to spot in this expansive southern skyscape. Visible to the naked eye from the dark site near Flinders, Victoria, Australia, the comet appears tailless. Still, its surprisingly bright coma spans about 1 degree,...
The W in Cassiopeia
A familiar, zigzag, W pattern in northern constellation Cassiopeia is traced by five bright stars in this colorful and broad mosaic. Stretching about 15 degrees across rich starfields, the celestial scene includes dark clouds, bright nebulae, and star clusters along...
Dark Nebulas across Taurus
Sometimes even the dark dust of interstellar space has a serene beauty. One such place occurs toward the constellation of Taurus. The filaments featured here can be found on the sky between the Pleiades star cluster and the California Nebula....
Moons and Jupiter
In this wonderful picture you can see our own moon along with the faint glow of Jupiter and it’s own surrounding moons. March is a wonderful month for spotting Jupiter and it’s moons as it has it’s closest approach to...