Comet G3 ATLAS DisintegratesWhat’s happening to Comet G3 ATLAS? After passing near the Sun in mid-January, the head of the comet has become dimmer and dimmer. By late January, Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) had become a headless wonder — even though it continued to show impressive tails after sunset in the skies of Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. Pictured…Read More

Nacreous Clouds over SwedenVivid and lustrous, wafting iridescent waves of color wash across this skyscape from northern Sweden. Known as nacreous clouds or mother-of-pearl clouds, they are rare. But their unforgettable appearance was captured in this snapshot on January 12 with the Sun just below the local horizon. A type of polar stratospheric…Read More

The Variable Nebula NGC 2261The interstellar cloud of dust and gas captured in this sharp telescopic snapshot is seen to change its appearance noticeably over periods as short as a few weeks. Discovered over 200 years ago and cataloged as NGC 2261, bright star R Monocerotis lies at the tip of the fan-shaped nebula. About one light-year across and…Read More

Hydrogen Clouds of M33Gorgeous spiral galaxy Messier 33 seems to have more than its fair share of glowing hydrogen gas. A prominent member of the local group of galaxies, M33 is also known as the Triangulum Galaxy and lies a mere 3 million light-years away. The galaxy’s central 60,000 light-years or so are shown in this sharp galaxy portrait. The…Read More

Dust Shells around WR 140 from WebbWhat are those strange rings? Rich in dust, the rings are likely 3D shells — but how they were created remains a topic of research. Where they were created is well known: in a binary star system that lies about 6,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus) — a system dominated by the…Read More