This popular group leaps into the early evening sky around the March equinox and the northern hemisphere spring. Famous as the Leo Triplet, the three magnificent galaxies found in the […]

Across the heart of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster lies a string of galaxies known as Markarian’s Chain. Prominent in Markarian’s Chain are these two interacting galaxies, NGC 4438 (left) and […]

What’s that at the end of the road? The Sun. Many towns have roads that run east-west, and on two days each year, the Sun rises and sets right down […]

A bright comet will be visible during next month’s total solar eclipse. This very unusual coincidence occurs because Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks’s return to the inner Solar System places it by chance […]

The southern winter Milky Way sprawls across this night skyscape. Looking due south, the webcam view was recorded near local midnight on March 11 in dry, dark skies over the […]

Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is a dominant member of a small galaxy group a mere 60 million light-years away toward the aquatically intimidating constellation Cetus. Seen edge-on, the […]

What phase of the Moon is 3.14 radians from the Sun? The Full Moon, of course. Even though the Moon might look full for several days, the Moon is truly […]

A broad expanse of glowing gas and dust presents a bird-like visage to astronomers from planet Earth, suggesting its popular moniker: the Seagull Nebula. This portrait of the cosmic bird […]

What’s that over the horizon? What may look like a strangely nearby galaxy is actually a normal rocket’s exhaust plume — but unusually backlit. Although the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket […]

What glows in the night? This night featured a combination of usual and unusual glows. Perhaps the most usual glow was from the Moon, a potentially familiar object. The full […]