Like an illustration in a galactic Just So Story, the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the high and far […]

What’s that next to the Moon? Saturn. In its monthly trip around the Earth — and hence Earth’s sky — our Moon passed nearly in front of Sun-orbiting Saturn earlier […]

This is a good month to see Jupiter. To find our Solar System’s largest planet in your sky, look toward the southeast just after sunset — Jupiter should be the […]

If you saw a total solar eclipse, would you do a double-take? One astrophotographer did just that — but it took a lake and a bit of planning. Realizing that […]

Twenty-one years ago results were first presented indicating that most of the energy in our universe is not in stars or galaxies but is tied to space itself. In the […]

Peering from the shadows, the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Mimas lies in near darkness alongside a dramatic sunlit crescent. The mosaic was captured near the Cassini spacecraft’s final close approach on […]

A small constellation hiding near the south celestial pole, The Chamaeleon boasts no bright stars. Stars are forming within its constellation boundaries though, in a complex of dark, dusty molecular […]

To some, this nebula looks like the head of a fish. However, this colorful cosmic portrait really features glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds in IC 1795, a star forming […]

What’s happening in the Statue of Liberty nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming and being liberated. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57, […]

What could create such a large circular shadow on the Moon? The Earth. Last week’s full Moon — the Buck Moon — was so full that it fell almost exactly […]