The only active region observed this week appeared on Dec. 5, 2018 and grew into an average size display of dynamic activity (Dec. 6-7, 2018). As viewed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, the region presented numerous magnetic loops... Continue Reading →
Sometimes it’s all about perspective. This very convincing image of a conjoined moon masquerading as a snowman is actually two separate Saturnian moons – Dione and Rhea – taken from such an angle by the international Cassini spacecraft that they... Continue Reading →
Sand dunes often accumulate in the floors of craters. In this region of Lyot Crater, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows a field of classic barchan dunes on Jan. 24, 2018. Just to the south of the group of barchan... Continue Reading →
With the help of a gigantic cosmic lens, astronomers have measured the magnetic field of a galaxy nearly five billion light-years away. The achievement is giving them important new clues about a problem at the frontiers of cosmology — the... Continue Reading →
What glows in the night? This night, several unusual glows were evident -- some near, but some far. The foreground surf glimmers blue with the light of bioluminescent plankton. Next out, Earth's atmosphere dims the horizon and provides a few... Continue Reading →
The best known asterism in northern skies, The Big Dipper is easy to recognize, even when viewed upside down, though some might see a plough or wagon. The star names and the familiar outlines appear framed in the ruined tower... Continue Reading →
Get out your red/cyan glasses and gaze across the surface of Churyumov-Gerasimenko, aka Comet 67P. The stereo anaglyph was created by combining two images from the Rosetta spacecraft's narrow angle OSIRIS camera taken on September 22, 2014. Stark and jagged,... Continue Reading →
What happens when a black hole devours a star? Many details remain unknown, but recent observations are providing new clues. In 2014, a powerful explosion was recorded by the ground-based robotic telescopes of the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae... Continue Reading →
Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak poses for a Messier moment in this telescopic snapshot from March 21. In fact it shares the 1 degree wide field-of-view with two well-known entries in the 18th century comet-hunting astronomer's famous catalog. Sweeping through northern springtime skies... Continue Reading →
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