Topic: Celestial Antiquity

  • October 6, 2025
    This ESA/Webb Picture of the Month shows eight stunning examples of gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing, which was first predicted by…
  • October 5, 2025
    NGC 5248 (also known as Caldwell 45) is a compact intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Boötes. Its velocity with…
  • October 4, 2025
    NGC 7380 is a young open cluster of stars in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus, discovered by Caroline Herschel…
  • October 3, 2025
    NGC 1365, also known as the Fornax Propeller Galaxy or the Great Barred Spiral Galaxy, is a double-barred spiral galaxy…
  • October 2, 2025
    The Triangulum Galaxy is a spiral galaxy 2.73 million light-years (ly) from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. It is catalogued as…
  • October 1, 2025
    Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light would suddenly have appeared in the…
  • September 30, 2025
    It may look like these comets are racing, but they are not. Comets C/2025 K1 ATLAS (left) and C/2025 R2…
  • September 29, 2025
    Stars of all ages are on display in today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week. This sparkling spiral…
  • September 28, 2025
    SNR G65.3+5.7 is a large, faint supernova remnant in the constellation Cygnus, noted for its extensive, diffuse filamentary structure and…
  • September 27, 2025
    The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebulain the Milky Way situated…
  • September 26, 2025
    Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) sports a long ion tail extending diagonally across this almost 7 degree wide telescopic field of…
  • September 25, 2025
    The Sculptor Galaxy (also known as the Silver Coin Galaxy, Silver Dollar Galaxy, NGC 253, or Caldwell 65) is an…
  • September 23, 2025
    Estimates made from distance, brightness and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24 over…
  • September 22, 2025
    Today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a galaxy that’s hard to categorise. The galaxy in question…
  • September 21, 2025
    NGC 5248 (also known as Caldwell 45) is a compact intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Boötes. Its velocity with…
  • September 20, 2025
    NGC 5907 (also known as NGC 5906, Knife Edge Galaxy, or Splinter Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy located approximately 46.5…
  • September 19, 2025
    A study in contrasts, this colorful cosmic skyscape features stars, dust, and glowing gas in the vicinity of NGC 6914.…
  • September 18, 2025
    A new visitor from the outer Solar System, comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) also known as SWAN25B was only discovered late…
  • September 17, 2025
    18th-century astronomer Charles Messier cataloged only two of them: the bright Lagoon Nebula (M8) at the bottom, and the colorful…
  • September 16, 2025
    Sh 2-185 is an H II region centered on the massive star system Gamma Cassiopeiae (γ Cas) in the northern…
  • September 15, 2025
    What lurks behind the dense, dusty clouds of this galactic neighbour? There lies the star-powered heart of the galaxy Messier…
  • September 14, 2025
    The Helix Nebula (also known as NGC 7293 or Caldwell 63) is a planetary nebula(PN) located in the constellation Aquarius.…
  • September 13, 2025
    VdB 134 is a reflection nebula visible in the constellation of Cygnus. The nebula reflects the light of the star…
  • September 12, 2025
    NGC 4631 (also known as the Whale Galaxy or Caldwell 32) is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes…
  • September 11, 2025
    The dark, inner shadow of planet Earth is called the umbra. Shaped like a cone extending into space, it has…
  • September 10, 2025
    It is one of the largest nebulas on the sky -- why isn't it better known? Roughly the same angular…
  • September 9, 2025
    For this new Picture of the Month feature, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has provided a fantastic new view…
  • September 8, 2025
    This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a cloudy starscape from an impressive star cluster. This…
  • September 7, 2025
    RCW 100, also catalogued as the “Fine Ring Nebula” or Shapley 1, is an elegant planetary nebula situated in the southern constellation…
  • September 6, 2025
    The image shows, in detail, the impact craters Copernicus (93 km x 3.8 km) and Eratosthenes (59 km x 3.6…
  • September 5, 2025
    Messier 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered…
  • September 4, 2025
    Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow…
  • September 3, 2025
    This supernova remnant surrounds Circinus X-1, an X-ray emitting neutron star and the companion star it orbits. The image, from…
  • September 2, 2025
    The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most famous nebulae on the sky. It is visible as the dark indentation…
  • September 1, 2025
    For this new Picture of the Month feature, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has provided a fantastic new view…
  • August 31, 2025
    Dubbed the Pillow Nebula and the Flying Carpet Nebula, NGC 7027 is one of the smallest, brightest, and most unusually…
  • August 30, 2025
    IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula, the Lambda Centauri Nebula or the λ Centauri Nebula, is an…
  • August 29, 2025
    The diffuse hydrogen-alpha glow of emission region Sh2-27 fills this cosmic scene. The field of view spans nearly 3 degrees…
  • August 28, 2025
    This well-composed telescopic field of view covers over a Full Moon on the sky toward the high-flying constellation Pegasus. Of…
  • August 27, 2025
    To see more stars and faint nebulosity in the Pleiades star cluster (M45), long exposures are made. Many times, less…
  • August 26, 2025
    NGC 281, IC 11 or Sh2-184 is a bright emission nebula and part of an H II regionin the northern…
  • August 25, 2025
    Today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a galaxy whose asymmetric appearance may be the result of…
  • August 24, 2025
    At the core of the Crab Nebula lies a city-sized, magnetized neutron star spinning 30 times a second. Known as…
  • August 23, 2025
    On the nights of August 22–23, the sky will host a rare Black Moon, an event that occurs only once…
  • August 22, 2025
    This colorful telescopic view towards the musical northern constellation Lyra reveals the faint outer halos and brighter central ring-shaped region…
  • August 21, 2025
    The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611, and also known as the Star Queen…
  • August 20, 2025
    Over 500,000 light years across, NGC 6872 (bottom left) is a truly enormous barred spiral galaxy. At least 5 times…
  • August 19, 2025
    A gorgeous spiral some 100 million light-years distant, NGC 1309 lies on the banks of the constellation of the River…
  • August 18, 2025
    Today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week offers a closeup of a nearby spiral galaxy. The subject is…
  • August 17, 2025
    Although their cause is presently unknown, such unusual atmospheric structures, as menacing as they might seem, do not appear to…
  • August 16, 2025
    NGC 2403 (also known as Caldwell 7) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis. It is an outlying…
  • August 15, 2025
    This image shows the region of the well-known Markarian’s Chain, a visually striking alignment of galaxies located in the constellation…
  • August 14, 2025
    The Sculptor Galaxy (also known as the Silver Coin Galaxy, Silver Dollar Galaxy, NGC 253, or Caldwell 65) is an…
  • August 13, 2025
    Trapezium: four bright stars, that can be found near the center of this sharp cosmic portrait. Gathered within a region…
  • August 12, 2025
    This stunning new mosaic of images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope showcases the nearby star-forming cluster, NGC 1333.…
  • August 11, 2025
    This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week zooms in on the feathery spiral arms of the galaxyNGC 45,…
  • August 10, 2025
    IC 4592 (also known as the Blue Horsehead Nebula) is a reflection nebula in the constellation of Scorpius that is…
  • August 9, 2025
    Discovered in 2022 by amateur astronomers, the faint arcs -- dubbed SDSO 1 -- span nearly the same angular size…
  • August 8, 2025
    Today’s Picture of the Week is reminiscent of the 3D images that you require flimsy paper red and cyan glasses…
  • August 7, 2025
    This stunning starfield spans about three full moons (1.5 degrees) across the heroic northern constellation of Perseus. It holds the…