NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

In today's image, we see a view from the Apollo 14 lunar module, looking back out over the lunar surface at various items left behind during the exploration of the lunar surface back in 1971. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the...

In today's image, we see the reflection nebula known as the Iris Nebula. The blue light is caused by reflection of starlight off of dust grains. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the im...

In today's image, we see a small region of the Moon showing the large, flooded crater named Plato as well as the mountains of the lunar alps. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the image...

In today's image, we see the galaxy known at the Whirlpool Galaxy - a galaxy relatively close to our Milky Way showing prominent spiral arms possibly due to the nearby galaxy interacting with it gravitationally. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astro...

In today's image, we see a coronal mass ejection as imaged by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. This is an eruption of material from the solar surface, pushed off by the Sun's magnetic field and expelled out into space. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at:...

In today's image, we see dust drifting away from a meteor in this image taken during the Geminid meteor shower last month. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the image to select the phot...

In today's image, we see M104 - The Sombrero Galaxy as imaged in infrared light recently by the Spitzer Space Telescope. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo...

In today's image, we see an image of Jupiter from a few days ago. Jupiter is at opposition today, when it is closest to Earth and visible all night long. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link bel...

In today's image, we see two images showing halos in the sky. to the left, we see halos around our Moon and to the right, halos around our Sun. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the ima...

In today's image, we see that would be one of the brighter galaxies were it not for its location near the plane of our galaxy. This means its light is dimmed and reddened by intervening dust, making it harder to image. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at...

In today's image, we see the remnant left behind by an exploded star from a supernova that occurred 40,000 years ago. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo cor...

In today's image, we see m image from the Juno spacecraft from a close approach to Jupiter last month. We can see the storms in the polar regions which are quite different from the banding structures seen in the equatorial regions of the planet. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the im...

In today's image, we see the Red Rectangle Nebula, formed from the outflow from a binary star system. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to th...

In today's image, we see the gravitational lens known as the Einstein Cross for its distinctive pattern which occurs because a distant quasar is imaged multiple times as its light passes through the gravitational field of the intervening galaxy. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the im...

In today's image, we see an image of the full moon. The first full moon of 2026 occurs today, Jan 3. It will also be a supermoon - the moon being close to perigee and the Earth being close to perihelion. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Pic...

In today's image, we see images of NanoSail-D2 from 2011. This was a ship used to test the feasibility of sailing on the solar wind, using the pressure of solar light to propel the spacecraft. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the...

In today's image, we see an image of the aurora as seen over Iceland. This image was taken in March of 2025 after a solar storm that gave prominent aurora such as the one seen here. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You...

In today's image, we see what is known as the Waterfall Nebula for its distinct shape and appearance to a waterfall on Earth. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the image to select the p...

In today's image, we see an image showing some of the thousands of Starling satellites. This is s combination of multiple 20 second exposures which cause the satellites appear as short streaks in the sky. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Pi...

In today's image, we see the supernova remnant known as the Crab Nebula. This is the remnant of a star that was seen to explode here on Earth nearly 1000 years ago. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archi...

In today's image, we see a globular star cluster located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this...

In today's image, we see Challenger - the lunar module (specifically the ascent stage) as it returned two astronauts from the surface of our Moon in December 1972. One of the Astronauts is visible through the triangular shaped window of the craft. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the...

In today's image, we see an image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS a week or so ago - shortly before its closest approach to Earth. (This was about twice the Earth-Sun distance, so it was never close!) It is now heading back out to interstellar space - the third object like this that has now been positively identified. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This P...

In today's image, we see a star forming region in the constellation of Monoceros, the Unicorn. Within it are the Christmas Tree Star Cluster and the Fox Fur Nebula. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day . You can use the archi...

In today's image, we see several LRDs - Little Red Dots which existed in the early universe. These have been recently discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope. What they actually are is unknown although several possible explanations have been proposed. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can ac...