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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Auroras from Space
3+ hour, 12+ min ago (288+ words) Explanation: What do auroras look like from above? Behold! From the ground, auroras dance high above clouds, frequently causing spectacular displays. From space, they look a bit different. As the International Space Station (ISS) circles the Earth every 90 minutes, it…...
Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Cotton Candy Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi
1+ week, 5+ day ago (286+ words) Explanation: Although they look like cotton candy, you cannot eat these clouds! Taken in Cádiz, Spain, today's image features the Rho Ophiuchi complex, a rich tapestry of young and old astronomical phenomena. This colorful cloud complex is a nearby star-forming…...
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Unusually Smooth Sections of Asteroid Itokawa
1+ week, 5+ day ago (360+ words) Explanation: Why are parts of this asteroid's surface so smooth? The answer seems likely to do with the dynamics of an asteroid that is a loose pile of rubble rather than a solid rock. The unusual asteroid Itokawa was visited…...
Astronomy Picture of the Day - AR 4478: Giant Sunspot Group
2+ week, 1+ day ago (187+ words) “Active Region 4478 is not only big — it’s violent, showing tangled magnetic fields capable of throwing off huge clouds of particles into the Solar System.” And some people think MAN can control the weather! LOL! Little Sister would look Mom in…...
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Mars Marathon by Perseverance
2+ week, 2+ day ago (254+ words) Explanation: In this recent HiRISE view from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the little green dot indicated on the surface of the big Red Planet is the Perseverance Mars rover. Recorded on June 13, the car-sized, six-wheeled robot was imaged a day…...
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Anticrepuscular Rays over Sicily
2+ week, 4+ day ago (121+ words) Explanation: The Sun has just set... in the opposite side of the sky. Pictured here are anticrepuscular rays apparently converging in the east in this image of the limestone plateau in the heart of the Hyblaean Mountains of southeastern Sicily,…...
Astronomy Picture of the Day - SDO Observes a Coronal Mass Ejection
2+ week, 4+ day ago (46+ words) Today's image is a short video at the source link. Bet the Sun felt a little better after that. That fusion stuff is not a cakewalk in the park to contain. The amount of energy thrown off is mind boggling....
The Unpredictable June Bootids
2+ week, 6+ day ago (160+ words) The June Bootid meteor shower is active each year from June 26th until July 2nd. It peaks on June 27th. Normally the shower is very weak, but occasional outbursts produce a hundred or more meteors per hour.The shower's radiant lies in the…...
Astronomy Picture of the Day - M27: The Dumbbell Nebula
3+ week, 2+ hour ago (289+ words) Explanation: Is this what will become of our Sun? Quite possibly. The first hint of our Sun's future was discovered inadvertently in 1764. At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of diffuse objects not to be confused with comets....
stronomy Picture of the Day - Daytime Moon Meets Evening Star
3+ week, 2+ day ago (302+ words) Explanation: Venus is now appearing on the celestial stage as Earth's brilliant evening star, performing with the Moon, other wandering planets, and bright stars in western skies. For evening sky gazers on June 17, the celestial beacon rose after sunset close…...