Andromeda Island Universe
The most distant object easily visible to the unaided eye is M31, the great Andromeda Galaxy some two and a half million light-years away. But without a telescope, even this immense spiral galaxy – spanning over 200,000 light years –...
The Ion Tail of New Comet SWAN
Newly discovered Comet SWAN has already developed an impressive tail. The comet came in from the outer Solar System and has just passed inside the orbit of the Earth. Officially designated C/2020 F8 (SWAN), this outgassing interplanetary iceberg will pass...
The Kepler 90 Planetary System
Do other stars have planetary systems like our own? Yes — one such system is Kepler-90. Cataloged by the Kepler satellite that operated from Earth orbit between 2009 and 2018, eight planets were discovered, giving Kepler-90 the same number of...
Fresh Tiger Stripes on Saturns Enceladus
How will humanity first learn of extraterrestrial life? One possibility is to find it under the icy surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. A reason to think that life may exist there are long features — dubbed tiger stripes — that...
Edwin Hubble Discovers the Universe
How big is our universe? This very question, among others, was debated by two leading astronomers 100 years ago today in what has become known as astronomy’s Great Debate. Many astronomers then believed that our Milky Way Galaxy was the...
Hubble s Cosmic Reef
These bright ridges of interstellar gas and dust are bathed in energetic starlight. With its sea of young stars, the massive star-forming region NGC 2014 has been dubbed the Cosmic Reef. Drifting just off shore, the smaller NGC 2020, is...
Look Up Together
Watch this video. In only a minute or so you can explore the night skies around planet Earth through a compilation of stunning timelapse sequences. The presentation will take you to sites in the United States, Germany, Russia, Iran, Nepal,...
Lyrid Meteor Streak
Earth’s annual Lyrid Meteor Shower peaked before dawn yesterday, as our fair planet plowed through debris from the tail of long-period comet Thatcher. In crisp, clear and moonless predawn skies over Brown County, Indiana this streak of vaporizing comet dust...
Planet Earth at Twilight
No sudden, sharp boundary marks the passage of day into night in this gorgeous view of ocean and clouds over our fair planet Earth. Instead, the shadow line or terminator is diffuse and shows the gradual transition to darkness we...
Eye on the Milky Way
Have you ever had stars in your eyes? It appears that the eye on the left does, and moreover it appears to be gazing at even more stars. The featured 27-frame mosaic was taken last July from Ojas de Salar...