Space Facts & Astronomy
Discover amazing space facts, astronomy pictures of the day, and fascinating information about our universe from NASA.
Astronomy Picture of the Day (March 29, 2026)
A Message from Earth
What are these Earthlings trying to tell us? The featured message was broadcast from Earth towards the globular star cluster M13 in 1974. During the dedication of an upgrade to the Arecibo Observatory - then the largest single radio telescope in the world - a string of 1's and 0's representing the diagram was sent. This attempt at extraterrestrial communication was mostly ceremonial - humanity regularly broadcasts radio and television signals out into space accidentally. Even were this message received, M13 is so far away we would have to wait almost 50,000 years to hear an answer. The featured message gives a few simple facts about humanity and its knowledge: from left to right are numbers from one to ten, atoms including hydrogen and carbon, some interesting molecules, DNA, a human with description, basics of our Solar System, and basics of the sending telescope. Several searches for extraterrestrial intelligence are currently underway. Explore the Universe: Random APOD Generator
View HD ImagePrevious Days
Auroral Corona
Cycle 25 solar maximum made 2025 a great year for aurora borealis (or aurora australis) on planet Earth. And the high le...
Read More
HH-222: The Waterfall Nebula
What created the Waterfall Nebula? The origin is still being researched. The structure, officially designated Herbig-H...
Read More
An Artificial Comet
Yes, but can your comet tail do this? No, and what you are seeing is not the tail of a comet. The picture features a cle...
Read More
M1: The Crab Nebula
This is the mess that is left when a star explodes. The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova seen in 1054 AD, is fill...
Read More
NGC 1898: Globular Cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Jewels don't shine this bright -- only stars do. And almost every spot in this jewel-box of an image from the Hubble Spa...
Read More
Apollo 17's Moonship
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger was designed for flight in the near vacuum of space. D...
Read More
Unicorn, Fox Fur and Christmas Tree
A star forming region cataloged as NGC 2264, this beautiful but complex arrangement of interstellar gas and dust is abou...
Read More
Mystery: Little Red Dots in the Early Universe
What are these little red dots (LRDs)? Nobody knows. Discovered only last year, hundreds of LRDs have now been found by...
Read MoreRed Sprites and Circular Elves Lightning over Italy
What's happening in the sky? Lightning. The most commonly seen type of lightning involves flashes of bright white light...
Read More
Sunset Solstice over Stonehenge
Yesterday the Sun reached its southernmost point in planet Earth's sky. Called a solstice, many cultures mark yesterday...
Read MoreSolstice on a Spinning Earth
Can you tell that today is a solstice by the tilt of the Earth? Yes. At a solstice, the Earth's terminator -- the divid...
Read More
A Solstice Sun Tattoo
The word solstice is from the Latin for Sun and to pause or stand still. And in the days surrounding a solstice the Sun'...
Read More