NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

In today's image, we see the planetary nebula known as the Helix Nebula. This will be the eventual end state of our own Sun in billions of year when it has exhausted its sources of fuel.

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In today's image, we see the return of the lower stage of a SpaceX rocket to Earth. This was the first test of the craft returning directly to the rocket tower from which it launched. This could pote…

In today's image, we see part of the Eagle Nebula, a star forming region. Here we see what look like giant pillar pointing upward. These are the denser areas which have not yet be worn away by the en…

In today's image, we see comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as seen over California recently. The comet was bright with a prominent tail pointing toward the upper left and an antitail to the lower right. This m…

In today's image, we see a simulation of the universe showing the dark matter which is far more prevalent than the ordinary matter that we are used to. Studies have confirmed that it is not possible …

In today's image, we see images of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as it moves away from Earth and Sun and slowly fades in brightness. It will be hard to see now without some sort of aid.

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In today's image, we see am image of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. We can see the prominent tail stretching back to the upper left and an anti tail stretching down to the lower right.

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In today's image, we see the rocket preparing to launch the Europa Clipper to Jupiter. The craft is scheduled to arrive at Jupiter in 2030. In the image, we also see comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS which is …

In today's image, we see a number of effects associated with the aroma as recently seen over New Zealand. These include the auroral activity itself as well as an SAR arc and a STEVE.

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In today's image, we see an animation showing the past and predicted future tails of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. The comet is currently separating from the direction of the Sun in the sky and may become…

In today's image, we see comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS as recently viewed over the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. The comet is currently visible in the evening sky just after sunset and may be at its …

In today's image, we see a timeless of the aurora. This compresses an hour in to just about 8 seconds. We can see the red glow due to oxygen atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere. The atoms glow because …

In today's image, we see the Northern Lights as seen from West Virginia recently. The aurora are seen at lower latitude like this when solar storms - coronal mass ejections and solar flares send larg…

In today's image, we see an image from the annular eclipse of October 11. This type of eclipse occurs when our Moon is near apogee, its greatest distance from Earth. This makes it appear smaller and …

In today's image, we see images of five bright comets from the 21st century as images by the SOHO spacecraft.

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In today's image, we see the galaxy known as M 106. This is a specific type of spiral galaxy known as a Seyfert Galaxy. This is what is known as an active galaxy which emits more energy from its core…

In today's image, we see an image from the annular solar eclipse from this past week. Here, the Moon passes in front of the Sun, but the Moon appears slightly smaller than the Sun because of its dist…

In today's image, we see comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the sky. The comet is currently very close to the Sun, but will likely be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye as it moves away from the Sun…

In today's image, we see the great comet of 2007, Comet McNaught. The comet was one of the brightest to have been seen in several decades. Now, we look for Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS which is brightenin…

In today's image, we see an object which is not a comet, but is actually a planetary nebula. This type of nebula is what forms at the end of the life of a star much like our own Sun as the core compa…