[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Roberto Colombari] This huge ball of stars predates our Sun. Long before humankind evolved, before dinosaurs roamed, and even before our Earth existed, ancient globs of stars condensed and orbited a young Milky Way Galaxy. Of the 200 or so globular clusters that survive today, Omega Centauri is the […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Bob Franke] Comet C/2014 S2 (PanSTARRS) poses for a Messier moment in this telescopic snapshot from April 18. In fact it shares the 1.5 degree wide field-of-view with two well-known entries in the 18th century comet-hunting astronomer’s famous catalog. Outward bound and sweeping through northern skies just below the […]
[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, 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, Ivo Scheggia] A few days ago, a bright fireball was photographed from the Alps mountain range in Switzerland as it blazed across the sky. The fireball, likely from the Taurids meteor shower, was notable not only for how bright it was, but for the rare orange light it created […]
[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, 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, M31 / Robert Gendler] What is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy? Andromeda. In fact, our Galaxy is thought to look much like Andromeda. Together these two galaxies dominate the Local Group of galaxies. The diffuse light from Andromeda is caused by the hundreds of […]
[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Alexandros Maragos Although it may look like a lighthouse, the rays of light near the horizon actually emanate from the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, Greece. … Although meant to be a monument to the sea, in this image, the temple’s lights seem to be pointing out locations […]
