[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, NASA, ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive; Processed & Copyright: Hunter Wilson] Why is this galaxy so thin? Many disk galaxies are actually just as thin as NGC 5866, pictured above, but are not seen edge-on from our vantage point. One galaxy that is situated edge-on is our own Milky Way […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, NASA/GSFC/Arizona State U./Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter] On the Moon, the Earth never rises — or sets. If you were to sit on the surface of the Moon, you would see the Earth just hang in the sky. This is because the Moon always keeps the same side toward the Earth. […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Chris Kotsiopoulos (GreekSky)] A southern exposure and striking symmetry made Lulworth Cove, along the Jurassic Coast of England, a beautiful setting during December’s Solstice. Five frames in this dramatic composite view follow the lowest arc of the Sun, from sunrise to sunset, during the shortest day of the year. […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, ESA/Hubble & NASA and S. Smartt (Queen’s University Belfast), Robert Gendler] 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 […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Yuri Beletsky (Carnegie Las Campanas Observatory, TWAN)] Planet Earth’s horizon stretches across this recent Solar System group portrait, seen from the southern hemisphere’s Las Campanas Observatory. Taken before dawn it traces the ecliptic with a line-up familiar to November’s early morning risers. Toward the east are bright planets Venus, […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Wally Pacholka (AstroPics.com, TWAN)] You don’t have to be at Monument Valley to see the Milky Way arch across the sky but it helps. Only at Monument Valley USA would you see a picturesque foreground that includes these iconic rock peaks called buttes. Buttes are composed of hard rock […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Subaru Telescope (NAOJ), Hubble Space Telescope] Big, bright, and beautiful, spiral galaxy M83 lies a mere twelve million light-years away, near the southeastern tip of the very long constellation Hydra. Prominent spiral arms traced by dark dust lanes and blue star clusters lend this galaxy its popular name, The […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Jimmy Walker] A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully detailed image of the region includes cosmic sculptures made famous in Hubble Space Telescope close-ups of the starforming complex. Described […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Malcolm Park (North York Astronomical Association)] Separated by about 14 degrees (28 Full Moons) in planet Earth’s sky, spiral galaxies M31 at left, and M33 are both large members of the Local Group, along with our own Milky Way galaxy. This narrow- and wide-angle, multi-camera composite finds details of […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION] On a hunch, photographer Laurene Morton drove to Dinosaur Hill Park in Pleasant Hill, California Sunday evening. Sure enough, “a huge crowd was waiting” for the clouds to clear and the total eclipse, on the moon’s closest pass to the Earth. “Everyone’s been talking about” the “Super Blood Moon,” […]
