Near the center of this sharp cosmic portrait, at the heart of the Orion Nebula, are four hot, massive stars known as the Trapezium. Gathered within a region about 1.5 […]

Supergiant star Gamma Cygni lies at the center of the Northern Cross, famous asterism in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Known by its proper name, Sadr, the bright star also […]

Reddened by scattered sunlight, the Moon in the center is passing through the center of Earth’s dark umbral shadow in this July 27 lunar eclipse sequence. Left to right the […]

The total phase of the July 27 lunar eclipse lasted for an impressive 103 minutes. That makes it the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century. The Moon passed […]

What blue flower grows in this field of dark interstellar dust? The Iris Nebula. The striking blue color of the Iris Nebula is created by light from the bright star […]

What lies beneath the layered south pole of Mars? A recent measurement with ground-penetrating radar from ESA’s Mars Express satellite has detected a bright reflection layer consistent with an underground […]

What wonders lie at the center of our Galaxy? In Jules Verne’s science fiction classic A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Professor Liedenbrock and his fellow explorers encounter […]

Taken on the same night, from the same place, with the same telescope and camera, these postcards from our Solar System are shown at the same scale to provide an […]

Look opposite the Sun in the sky tonight and you’ll see Mars at its brightest. Also within days of its closest approach Mars rises at sunset, near its brightest and […]

These dark markings on the sky can just be found in silhouette against a rich, luminous background of stars. Seen toward the southern constellation of Lupus the Wolf, the dusty, […]