Astronomy Picture of the Day

Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe long with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer is provided by the Goddard Spaceflight Center

Jun 12, 2011
"The Sleeping Beauty galaxy may appear peaceful at first sight but it is actually tossing and turning."
Jun 11, 2011
"Remarkably, in the last 6 years two Type II supernovae, representing the death explosions of massive stars, have been detected in nearby spiral M51."
Jun 10, 2011
"On June 7, the Sun unleashed only a medium sized solar flare as rotation carried active regions of sunspots toward the solar limb. But that flare was followed by an astounding gush of magnetized plasma seen erupting at the Sun's edge in this extreme ultraviolet image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory."
Jun 10, 2011
"A jewel of the southern sky, the Great Carina Nebula, also known as NGC 3372, spans over 300 light-years, one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions."
Jun 8, 2011
"[D]uring the Space Shuttle Endeavour's last trip to the International Space Station two weeks ago, a supply ship departed the station with astronauts that captured a series of rare views."
Jun 7, 2011
I"n a rare night landing last week, Endeavour glided onto a runway in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA completing a 16-day mission that included a visit to the International Space Station (ISS)."
Jun 6, 2011
"If you travel several kilometers off a main highway through Wyoming, you may see an unusual sight."
Jun 5, 2011
"One of the brightest supernovas in recent years has just been recorded in the nearby Whirlpool galaxy (M51)."
Jun 4, 2011
"After more than a month, the lovely lineup of four naked-eye planets in dawn skies is coming to a close."
Jun 3, 2011
"On June 1, the shadow of the New Moon was cast across a land of the midnight Sun in this year's second partial solar eclipse."