You’ll find M20, the Trifid nebula, in a dark sky near the spout of the Teapot in Sagittarius. Notice the 3 westernmost (right-hand) stars of the Teapot spout, then get ready to star-hop! If you use binoculars, go about twice the spout’s distance upward until a bright hazy object glares at you in your binoculars. That’s the Lagoon nebula (Messier 8), which is visible to the unaided eye on a dark, moonless night. Once you locate the Lagoon nebula, look for the Trifid nebula as a hazy obj...| EarthSky
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
M11, imaged by the European Southern Observatory’s 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, is an open star cluster. The blue stars near the center of the Wild Duck Cluster are young, hot stars. Image via ESO. Used with permission.The Wild Duck Cluster, also known as Messier 11 or M11, is a distant open star cluster. The cluster lies in the direction of the constellation Scutum the Shield. Its distance of 6,120 light-years means it’s quite faint. So, you’ll need binocul...| EarthSky
Two spectacular star clusters glitter near the “stinger stars” – Shaula and Lesath – in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. Messier 6 and Messier 7 – or M6 and M7 – are open star clusters. Each cluster is a group of stars formed from the same interstellar cloud. The two clusters are visible on summer evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, or winter evenings in the Southern Hemisphere. They’re best viewed in a dark sky, and are a stunning sight through binoculars.| EarthSky
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
A beautiful red aurora australis – or southern lights – on the horizon, captured on January 19, 2013 by EarthSky friend Colin Legg at Wilson’s Promontory in southernmost Australia. You can also see the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds in this photo alongside the edgewise view into our Milky Way galaxy. The blue in the water is bioluminescence. Thank you, Colin!The Magellanic Clouds from the Southern Hemisphere| EarthSky
The 3 brightest stars in this image make up the asterism of the Summer Triangle, a giant triangle in the sky composed of the bright stars Vega (top left), Altair (lower middle) and Deneb (far left). Also in this image, under a dark sky and on a moonless night, is the Great Rift, that passes right through the Milky Way and the Summer Triangle. Image via NASA/ A. Fujii/ ESA.| EarthSky
What is the Local Group? It’s a gravitationally bound system of the galaxies nearest to our Milky Way. Image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5 DEED).What is the Local Group?| EarthSky
