2019 September 1 M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Lorenzi (Glittering Lights) Explanation: Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as dusty as this. Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright s […]
2019 August 31 Spitzer’s Orion Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech Explanation: Few cosmic vistas excite the imagination like the Orion Nebula, an immense stellar nursery some 1,500 light-years away. Spanning about 40 light-years across the region, this infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telesc
2019 August 30 NGC 7129 and NGC 7142 Image Credit & Copyright: Steve Cannistra (StarryWonders) Explanation: This wide-field telescopic image looks toward the constellation Cepheus and an intriguing visual pairing of dusty reflection nebula NGC 7129 (right) and open star cluster NGC 7142. The two
2019 August 29 M27: Not a Comet Image Credit & Copyright: Bob Franke Explanation: While hunting for comets in the skies above 18th century France, astronomer Charles Messier diligently kept a list of the things he encountered that were definitely not comets. This is number 27 on his now famous n
2019 August 28 Messier 61 Close Up Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, ESO, Amateur Data; Processing & Copyright: Robert Gendler & Roberto Colombari Explanation: Image data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the European Southern Observatory, and small telescopes on planet Earth are combined in t
2019 August 27 Dark Dust and Colorful Clouds near Antares Image Credit: David McGarvey Explanation: Why is the sky near Antares and Rho Ophiuchi so dusty yet colorful? The colors result from a mixture of objects and processes. Fine dust illuminated from the front by starlight produces blue reflectio
2019 August 26 NGC 2170: Angel Nebula Still Life Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Lozano de Haro Explanation: Is this a painting or a photograph? In this classic celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170, also known as the Angel Nebula, shines near the image center.
2019 August 25 Leaving Earth Video Credit: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab/Carnegie Inst. Washington Explanation: What it would look like to leave planet Earth? Such an event was recorded visually in great detail by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it swung back past the Earth, eight years ago, on its way i
2019 August 24 Millions of Stars in Omega Centauri Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Miller, Jimmy Walker Explanation: Globular star cluster Omega Centauri, also known as NGC 5139, is some 15,000 light-years away. The cluster is packed with about 10 million stars much older than the Sun within a
2019 August 23 NGC 1499: The California Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Sara Wager Explanation: Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of the United States. Our own Sun also lies within the Mi
