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Galactic snapshot

Science, Solar System

Nature’s paintbrush

Exotic Objects, Science, Stars

Fleeing pulsars

How the LMC took shape

Science, Solar System

Planetary science awards

Science, Solar System

Rings in UV

New view of a stellar nursery

Stellar stakeout

Science, Solar System

A “totally alien” world

Robotic Spaceflight, Science, Solar System, Space Exploration

Cassini takes a ringside seat

Spirit hits the jackpot

Lowell Star Party recap

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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

Photograph of the Beehive Cluster (M44) as a loose scattering of blue-white stars with a few orange stars across the lower center of the frame, set against a black sky filled with fainter stars. Mars appears at upper right as a bright, glowing orange-red disk.

Sky This Week, The Sky This Week

The Sky This Week from October 9 to 16: Mars passes through the Beehive

Sky This Month

Photograph of Saturn against a dark background, seen nearly edge-on with its ring system stretching horizontally across the globe and casting a thin shadow band on the planet. The pale gold and tan cloud bands are visible, with a bright white storm feature swirling in the planet's southern hemisphere.

October 2026: What’s in the sky this month?

Picture of the Day

A thin, bright crescent Moon curves along the lower left edge of a pale gray disk near the top of a tall, dark navy frame, wrapped in a soft brownish glow. Far below, near the bottom left, a small bright dot sits in a short diagonal line of tiny specks, three above it and one below.

Jove and Luna

Giovanni Passalacqua from Ragusa, Sicily, Italy

A waning crescent Moon hangs less than 3° from Jupiter in western Leo before dawn on Oct. 6, 2026, hours before it occulted the planet for viewers in North America. All four Galilean moons flank Jupiter at lower left. The photographer shot a single 0.5-second exposure at f/6.3 and ISO 800 with a Canon mirrorless camera and 600mm zoom lens.

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