Category: Image of the Day
Cygnus: Bubble and Crescent
The clouds of gas and dust that you see are remnants of an exploded star. The gas and dust spreads out into the Universe and awaits an opportunity to once again clump together and reform into a new star, planet...
Enceladus: Ringside Water World
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus poses above the gas giant’s icy rings in this Cassini spacecraft image. The dramatic scene was captured on July 29, while Cassini cruised just below the ring plane, its cameras looking back in a nearly sunward...
Nebulae in Aurigae
Rich in star clusters and nebulae, the ancient constellation of the Charioteer (Auriga) rides high in northern winter night skies. Composed from narrow and broadband filter data and spanning nearly 8 Full Moons (4 degrees) on the sky, this deep...
In the Center of Spiral Galaxy NGC 3521
This huge swirling mass of stars, gas, and dust occurs near the center of a nearby spiral galaxy. Gorgeous spiral NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years distant, toward the constellation Leo. Spanning some 50,000 light-years, its central region...
Dark Sand Cascades on Mars
They might look like trees on Mars, but they’re not. Groups of dark brown streaks have been photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost. The above image was taken in 2008 April...
Rosetta and Comet Outbound
Not a bright comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko now sweeps slowly through planet Earth’s predawn skies near the line-up of planets along the ecliptic. Still, this composite of telescopic images follows the comet’s progress as it moves away from the Sun beyond the...
Planets of the Morning
This is a wonderful image and is a highlight for anyone that is able to rise as the sun nears the horizon int he morning. While Jupiter is by far the largest planet in the Solar System it is surprising...
Aurora over Clouds
Auroras usually occur high above the clouds. The auroral glow is created when fast-moving particles ejected from the Sun impact the Earth’s magnetosphere, from which charged particles spiral along the Earth’s magnetic field to strike atoms and molecules high in...
A 212 Hour Exposure of Orion
The constellation of Orion is much more than three stars in a row. It is a direction in space that is rich with impressive nebulas. To better appreciate this well-known swath of sky, an extremely long exposure was taken over...
Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars
This moon is doomed. Mars, the red planet named for the Roman god of war, has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic. These martian moons may well be captured...