6+ hour, 25+ min ago  (153+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: Comet R3 Pan STARRS might be best remembered as an Orion comet. A key reason is because Comet C/2025 R3 (Pan STARRS) was near its most spectacular -- in terms of tail visibility -- when passing…...

23+ hour, 14+ min ago  (147+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: Across the center of this spiral galaxy is a bar. And at the center of this bar is smaller spiral. And at the center of that spiral is a supermassive black hole....

1+ day, 11+ hour ago  (176+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: What are some of the most interesting astronomical objects you can see in the night sky? Armed with a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope, if you live in the…...

1+ day, 23+ hour ago  (214+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: The New General Catalog of star clusters and nebulae really isn't so new. In fact, it was published in 1888 - an effort by J. L. E. Dreyer to consolidate the work of astronomers William, Caroline, and…...

2+ day, 21+ hour ago  (193+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: Today's composite image features something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue! Comet R3 Pan STARRS, streaking across the right of the image, likely originated from the Oort Cloud, meaning it is…...

5+ day, 22+ hour ago  (175+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: Many bright nebulae and star clusters in planet Earth's sky are associated with the name of astronomer Charles Messier from his famous 18th century catalog. His name is also given to these two…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago  (199+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: What does it mean for Saturn and Neptune to be in retrograde? Featured is a composite of images taken over 34 nights from May 2025 to February 2026 tracing Saturn (brighter, foreground) and Neptune (dimmer,…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago  (150+ words) 2026 May 5 " Orion over Mount Teide'NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: Orion is rarely seen like this. To achieve this majestic vista, you need a camera capable of taking such long duration exposures that faint features in the night…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago  (161+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: Dust pillars are like interstellar mountains. They survive because they are more dense than their surroundings, but they are slowly being eroded away by a hostile environment. Visible in the featured picture…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago  (157+ words) NASA (. gov) Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: Shrouded in a thick atmosphere, the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is really hard to see. Small particles suspended in Titan's upper atmosphere cause an almost impenetrable haze, strongly scattering light…...