Lunar Eclipse in Two HemispheresSeptember’s total lunar eclipse is tracked across night skies from both the northern and southern hemispheres of planet Earth in these two dramatic timelapse series. In the northern hemisphere sequence (top panel) the Moon’s trail arcs from the upper left to the lower right. It passes below bright planet Saturn, s…Read More

The Umbra of EarthThe dark, inner shadow of planet Earth is called the umbra. Shaped like a cone extending into space, it has a circular cross section most easily seen during a lunar eclipse. And on the night of September 7/8 the Full Moon passed near the center of Earth’s umbral cone, entertaining eclipse watchers around much of our fair planet,…Read More

The Great Lacerta NebulaIt is one of the largest nebulas on the sky — why isn’t it better known? Roughly the same angular size as the Andromeda Galaxy, the Great Lacerta Nebula can be found toward the constellation of the Lizard (Lacerta). The emission nebula is difficult to see with wide-field binoculars because it is so faint, but also usually…Read More

Up from the Earth: Gigantic Jet LightningWhat’s that rising up from the Earth? When circling the Earth on the International Space Station early in July, astronaut Nicole Ayers saw an unusual type of lightning rising up from the Earth: a gigantic jet. The powerful jet appears near the center of the featured image in red, white, and blue. Giant jet…Read More

IRAS 04302: Butterfly Disk Planet FormationThis butterfly can hatch planets. The nebula fanning out from the star IRAS 04302+2247 may look like the wings of a butterfly, while the vertical brown stripe down the center may look like the butterfly’s body — but together they indicate an active planet-forming system. The featured picture was captured…Read More