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Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 28, 1882: The birth of Arthur Eddington

Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 27, 1571: The birth of Johannes Kepler

Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 26, 1995: Comet C/1955 Y1 is discovered

Sky This Week, The Sky This Week

The Sky This Week from December 26 to January 2: Our last views of Mercury

Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 25, 1642: The birth of Isaac Newton

Human Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 24, 1968: Apollo 8 broadcasts from the Moon

Isaacman charts commercial course in first NASA town hall

Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 23, 1672: Saturn’s moon Rhea is discovered

Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 22, 2015: Falcon 9 launches

Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 21, 2021: JWST sees its final delay

Today in the History of Astronomy

Dec. 20, 1900: The discovery of 21P/Giacobini-Zinner

DECam captures the dark heart of Circinus the Compasses

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This artist’s conception illustrates one of the most primitive supermassive black holes known (central black dot) at the core of a young, star-rich galaxy. Astronomers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope have uncovered two of these early objects, dating back to about 13 billion years ago. The monstrous black holes are among the most distant known, and appear to be in the very earliest stages of formation, earlier than any observed so far. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Science

Explore the science of space, from the astrophysics of stars to the ultimate fate of the universe.

Credit: Tim Doucette.

Observing

Learn about upcoming observing events such as eclipses, meteor showers, comets, conjunctions, and more.

This 2016 Curiosity rover selfie shows the vehicle at the “Okoruso” drilling site on Mount Sharp’s Naukluft Plateau. The Martian scene is a mosaic of images taken with the arm-mounted Mars Hands Lens Imager (MAHLI). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Space Exploration

Human and robotic missions are helping humanity explore our solar system and beyond.

Sky This Week

Sky This Week, The Sky This Week

The Sky This Week from December 26 to January 2: Our last views of Mercury

Sky This Month

December 2025: What’s in the sky this month? The giant planets delight overnight and the Geminids put on a show

Picture of the Day

Holiday setting

Rod Pommier, taken from Portland, Oregon

The Christmas Tree Cluster is an open cluster of stars in Monoceros the Unicorn, but its name refers to the tree-like shape of the surrounding nebulosity. The cluster is also associated with the smaller Cone Nebula (NGC 2264), which lies at the top of the “tree.” The imager took 8 hours of Hα exposure and 2⅔ hours of additional data in LRGB filters.

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