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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
Saturn from Above
6.03.2007
This image of Saturn could not have been taken from Earth. No Earth based picture could possibly view the night side of Saturn and the corresponding shadow cast across Saturn's rings. Since Earth is much closer to the Sun than Saturn, only the day side of the planet is visible from the Earth.
Illusion and Evolution in Galaxy Cluster Abell 2667
5.03.2007
What's happening to the galaxies of cluster Abell 2667? On the upper left, a galaxy appears to be breaking up into small pieces, while on the far right, another galaxy appears to be stretched like taffy.
Triton: Neptunes Largest Moon
4.03.2007
In October of 1846, William Lassell was observing the newly discovered planet Neptune. He was attempting to confirm his observation, made just the previous week, that Neptune had a ring. But this time he discovered that Neptune had a satellite as well.
Lunar Transit from STEREO
3.03.2007
A million miles from planet Earth, last weekend the STEREO B spacecraft found itself in the shadow of the Moon. So, looking toward the Sun, extreme ultraviolet cameras onboard STEREO B were able to record a stunning movie of a lunar transit (aka solar eclipse), as the Moon tracked across the solar disk.
Solar Eclipse from the Moon
2.03.2007
Parts of Saturday's (March 3) lunar eclipse will be widely visible. For example, skywatchers in Europe, Africa, and western Asia will be able to see the entire spectacle of the Moon gliding through Earth's shadow, but in eastern North America the Moon will rise already in its total eclipse phase.
Rosetta Over Mars
1.03.2007
Panels on ESA's Rosetta spacecraft appear in the foreground of this intriguing image of Mars recorded on February 25 at a range of about 1,000 kilometers. Launched in March 2004, Rosetta...
Stars, Dust and Nebula in NGC 2170
28.02.2007
When stars form, pandemonium reigns. A textbook case is the star forming region NGC 2170. Visible above are red glowing emission nebulas of hydrogen, blue reflection nebulas of dust, dark absorption nebulas of dust, and the stars that formed from them.
Atmospheres Detected on Two Extrasolar Planets
27.02.2007
Do extrasolar planets have water? In an attempt to find out, the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope made detailed observations of the atmospheres of two planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. Unfortunately, water vapor was not detected in either exoplanet.
A Rocket Debris Cloud Drifts
26.02.2007
What's that cloud drifting in space? It's not an astronomical nebula -- those appear to stay put. Atmospheric clouds don't look like this. The answer to last week's sky mystery turned out to be orbiting and expanding debris from the upper stage of a failed Russian rocket that exploded unexpectedly.
The Far Side of the Moon
25.02.2007
Does this moon look familiar? Possibly not, even though it is Earth's Moon. Locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its well-known near side to Earth. But from lunar orbit, Apollo astronauts also grew to know the Moon's far side.
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