The Omega nebula, also known as the Swan nebula or M17, is visible through binoculars and glorious through a telescope. Here's how to find it. The post The Omega nebula is a star-forming region first appeared on EarthSky.| Clusters Nebulae Galaxies | EarthSky
M5 in Serpens Caput is a refreshing sight through a small telescope, as thousands of stars cluster together into the tightly packed ball of this globular cluster. The post M5, your new favorite globular star cluster first appeared on EarthSky.| Clusters Nebulae Galaxies | EarthSky
The Eagle nebula - aka Messier 16 or M16 - is home to several well-known cosmic structures, including the stunning Pillars of Creation and Stellar Spire. The post The awesome beauty of the Eagle nebula first appeared on EarthSky.| Clusters Nebulae Galaxies | EarthSky
Omega Centauri is the Milky Way's largest globular star cluster and contains about 10 million stars. It's even visible from parts of the Northern Hemisphere. The post Meet Omega Centauri, a giant globular star cluster first appeared on EarthSky.| Clusters Nebulae Galaxies | EarthSky
Many stargazers call it the finest globular cluster in the northern half of the heavens. It's M13, also known as the Great Cluster in Hercules. The post Meet M13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules first appeared on EarthSky.| Clusters Nebulae Galaxies | EarthSky
View larger. | This Hubble Space Telescope mosaic is of part of the immense Coma Berenices galaxy cluster. Be sure to use the view larger link and zoom in to see how much larger the football-shaped elliptical galaxies are in contrast to the spiral galaxies. Image via NASA/ ESA/ J. Mack (STScI)/ J. Madrid (Australian Telescope National Facility).Your support = more science, more stars, more wonder.| EarthSky
One of the most colorful regions of the sky, Rho Ophiuchi showcases clusters and nebulae galore. This region is a great target for August nights. The post Rho Ophiuchi is filled with glorious color first appeared on EarthSky.| Today's Image | EarthSky
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Randy Strauss in Papillion, Nebraska, captured this telescopic view of the Orion Nebula on March 4, 2024. Thank you, Randy! The Orion Nebula is one of the most familiar celestial objects, easily visible to the unaided eye below the 3 stars of Orion’s Belt. But it’s a vast stellar nursery, a place where new stars are forming.The 2025 EarthSky Lunar Calendar is now available! A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar. Makes a great gift. Get yours today!| EarthSky
Shireen Gonzaga is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about natural history. She is also a technical editor at an astronomical observatory where she works on documentation for astronomers.| earthsky.org
Larry Sessions has written many favorite posts in EarthSky's Tonight area. He's a former planetarium director in Little Rock, Fort Worth and Denver and an adjunct faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He's a longtime member of NASA's Solar System Ambassadors program. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Space.com, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy and Rolling Stone. His small book on world star lore, Constellations, was published by Running Press.| earthsky.org
Bruce McClure served as lead writer for EarthSky's popular Tonight pages from 2004 to 2021, when he opted for a much-deserved retirement. He's a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also wrote and hosted public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York.| earthsky.org
Paul Scott Anderson has had a passion for space exploration that began when he was a child when he watched Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. He studied English, writing, art and computer/publication design in high school and college. He later started his blog The Meridiani Journal in 2005, which was later renamed Planetaria. He also later started the blog Fermi Paradoxica, about the search for life elsewhere in the universe. While interested in all aspects of space exploration, his primary passion is pl...| earthsky.org
Kelly Kizer Whitt - EarthSky’s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube - writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She's been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children's picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.| earthsky.org
This image of the Crab Nebula is a composite of 5 images taken using 5 telescopes, spanning wavelengths from radio to X-ray. Colors represent wavelengths as follows: VLA (radio) in red; Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared) in yellow; Hubble Space Telescope (visible) in green; XMM-Newton (ultraviolet) in blue; and Chandra X-ray Observatory (X-ray) in purple. Image via JPL.A supernova explodes| EarthSky
Closest spiral galaxy: Andromeda is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy.| EarthSky