The far side of the Moon seen from Artemis II, revealing a heavily cratered surface that is lit from the right side of the picture. The terminator runs from the bottom middle to the left middle, and craters along that line are sharper in detail.

#PPOD: In this photo taken on April 6, 2026, a portion of the Moon’s far side is seen along the terminator—the boundary between lunar day and night—where low-angle sunlight casts long shadows across the surface. 🧪 🔭

“Oddballs” to us, maybe. But we’re hardly in a position to define what’s strange or normal on a universal scale. Our perspective is narrow. For all we know, they fall into a category that’s entirely ordinary in the wider workings of the universe, something we simply don’t yet understand or recognize

On April 16 Chris Schur captured Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS in the morning sky, showing its notable lack of dust and extremely long ion tail, here measuring some 18°. What a sight it has been! Congrats, Chris!

“What exactly is our mind?” 🤔

We may never fully answer that in our lifetime—even if you stay until the end of this video (sorry!)—but we can still explore its depths, question its nature, and uncover fragments of truth that slowly bring its vast, mysterious inner workings into clearer view.

🙋🏻‍♂️😅

#citizenscience with gorgeous new images from ESA's Euclid mission - great stuff.

A few photos from observing the Pleiades covered by the Moon. Unfortunately, some of them were taken through clouds.

Canon 500D + Tair 3S

#astrophotography #Ukraine #Kropyvnytskyi #Canon500D

Astronauts photograph Lyrid meteor shower from ISS | Space photo of the day for April 21, 2026 NASA's Jessica Meir spotted the Lyrids from aboard the space station.

Astronauts photograph Lyrid meteor shower from ISS | Space photo of the day for April 21, 2026 www.space.com/space-explor...

An astronomical image featuring the backdrop of the dark night sky with a faint grey-blue speckle at the centre. The nebulous cloud has the shape of a four-leaf flower. Four orange laser beams are pointing to it.

This isn't a scene from #StarWars.

What you're looking at is the Tarantula Nebula. While those beams come from the lasers installed on the telescopes that comprise our VLTI.

But why are we sending lasers into the sky? Find out: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2616a/

🔭 🧪
📷 A. Berdeu/ESO

Rubin bags 11,000 new asteroids! This is just the beginning, too. There are more millions more out there waiting to be seen.

The Vera Rubin observatory has already discovered 11,000 *previously unknown* asteroids... and the proper observing sessions haven't even begun yet!

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/rubin-bags...

🧪 🔭

NASA's Hubble Dazzles With Young Stars in Trifid Nebula - NASA Science This Hubble Space Telescope visible light image of the Trifid Nebula marks the 36th anniversary of the mission's launch on April 24.

Space Telescope Science Institute: NASA’s Hubble Dazzles with Young Stars in Trifid Nebula science.nasa.gov/missions/hub...

I’m stunned by nature’s builders. A bird crafts a nest with 0 capital, while [Earth] humans can’t breathe without a fee. They work for the species; we work for the bank. Bizarre contrast—creatures thriving on effort alone while we struggle to afford the very Earth they use for free. Simply sublime.

A peek at the far side of the moon | Space photo of the day for April 20, 2026 The Artemis 2 astronauts captured a unique image of the moon's "dark side."

A peek at the far side of the moon | Space photo of the day for April 20, 2026 www.space.com/astronomy/mo...

🆕 The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a renewed view of the Trifid Nebula, a scene it first observed in 1997.

🔗 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

@science.esa.int @stsci.edu

See the spectacular Lyrid meteor shower at its peak The Lyrid meteor shower hits its peak from April 21 to April 22. Here’s everything you need to know about this annual celestial light show

The Lyrid meteor shower hits its peak from April 21 to April 22. Here’s everything you need to know about this annual celestial light show

First Video of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in Flight, Includes Takeoff and Landing (High-Res) YouTube video by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Martian Memories

Five years ago on this day, April 19, 2021, first flight of Ingenuity, the little Mars Helicopter, at Van Zyl Overlook in Jezero Crater. The historic moment is captured by Perseverance with her Mastcam Zoom camera. #Mars 🧪🔭

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMnO...

A tightly cropped Hubble view of a vast star-forming region known as the Trifid Nebula. The top left is bright blue. Brown and amber colours run from top right through the center in irregular, overlapping lines to the bottom-center. At bottom right, the view is almost black. Tiny, amber-coloured stars appear throughout the scene. Toward the left there is a prominent brown shape that looks like a head with two horns. The left horn points left and is wavy. The right horn is triangular and points up. The brown dust continues, flowing down, as if along a back, and up toward the top right. A prominent line, about the same length as the left horn, appears below the middle of the body, and changes from orange to red. A small, separate semi-transparent pillar is left of the head. A few slightly larger, blue foreground stars with four diffraction spikes appear in the bottom half. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)

🎂 Hubble gets ready for its 36th anniversary this 24 April with a dazzling image of the Trifid Nebula 🤩

The telescope looked at a scene it first observed in 1997, capturing changes over incredibly short cosmic timescales 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

🔭 🧪

Oh myyy! Happy 89th birthday to George Takei, Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, The Animated Series, Voyager, Lower Decks & Very Short Treks, and in six Star Trek films. He's also a director, author, voiceover artist, and activist, and the subject of a great new documentary called Beam Me Up, Sulu.

Here’s to 36 years of groundbreaking science! 🔭✨ #Hubble

A tightly cropped Hubble view of a vast star-forming region known as the Trifid Nebula. The top left is bright blue. Brown and amber colors run from top right through the center in irregular, overlapping lines to the bottom-center. At bottom right, the view is almost black. Tiny, amber-colored stars appear throughout the scene. Toward the left there is a prominent brown shape that looks like a head with two horns. The left horn points left and is wavy. The right horn is triangular and points up. The brown dust continues, flowing down, as if along a back, and up toward the top right. A prominent line, about the same length as the left horn, appears below the middle of the body, and changes from orange to red. A small, separate semi-transparent pillar is left of the head. A few slightly larger, blue foreground stars with four diffraction spikes appear sprinkled throughout.

Hubble marks its 36th anniversary with a shimmering close-up of star-formation in the Trifid Nebula! Tiny, actively forming stars are eating and spewing material all around. (One at top left in brown, and two fiery red jets.) Explore it all: https://news.stsci.edu/4cvi5jL

A bronze statue of a man in long robes holding a bone in one hand, stood under ornate architectural archways.

Have you ever seen this grand statue before?

This statue commemorates Richard Owen, one of the most prominent scientific figures of the Victorian era (and coiner of the word “dinosaur”!)

Possibly my best star trail image to date.
270 minutes imaged with my Seestar S30 Pro doing star
Sunday 19th/Monday 20th April 2026
Shropshire, UK

A deep look at two merging galaxies, nicknamed 'The Mice', captured by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Credit: NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA

ESA/Hubble (@esa.int) images (Apr 30, 2002)

The Advanced Camera for Surveys on Hubble captures the merging galaxies known as 'The Mice', located 300 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices.

esahubble.org/images/heic0206b/

An interesting #sunset, followed by the setting #Venus and crescent #Moon. #timelapse #astronomy

Webb's near-infrared view of galaxy M51, showcasing its bright core and distinct spiral arms. Credit: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope on Flickr (Aug 29, 2023)

M51, or NGC 5194, reveals its striking spiral structure, shaped by the gravitational pull of nearby NGC 5195, as captured by Webb's NIRCam.

flic.kr/p/2oYMHPe

A dead tree branch on the foreground appears to support a spinning wheel of stars on the night sky. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

🔭 South Celestial Tree

Image Credit & Copyright: Kiko Fairbairn

Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

ap260416

[WHAT A VIEW]
#Apollo16 CSM Casper in lunar orbit as Earth rises on the horizon (viewed from LM Orion)
#OTD April 19, 1972

contactlight.de
forallmankind.de

ON THIS DATE IN APOLLO 16 HISTORY:

After several days traveling to the Moon, #Apollo16 initiated its lunar insertion April 19, 1972, setting a course for the Lunar Module, piloted by Charles Duke, to land on the Moon roughly a day later.

contactlight.de

Bright spiral galaxy glowing with swirling arms against a star-filled cosmic background. Text reads "Spiral Galaxy: Extroverted, Organized, Has everything in their bag you could possibly need. Galaxia espiral: Extrovertido, Organizado, Su mochila tiene todo lo que puede necesitar"

Bright elliptical galaxy glowing softly with a smooth, rounded core surrounded by faint stars in deep space. Text reads: "Elliptical galaxy: An old soul, Has a vinyl collection for the sound quality, Online vintage “entrepreneur”. Galaxia elíptica: Es un alma vieja, Tiene una colección de vinilos por la calidad del sonido, “Emprendedor” vintage en línea"

Three galaxies connected by a faint bridge of stars and gas, illustrating the merging process in deep space. Text reads "Merging galaxies: Inseparable besties, “Let’s hang out!” → suddenly it’s 3am, Can be a little clingy. Galaxias en fusión: Son amigos inseparables, “¡Salgamos!” → y de repente son las 3 de la mañana, Tiende a apegarse un poco a las personas."

Dense galaxy cluster with numerous stars and galaxies glowing against a dark space background. Text reads "Galaxy cluster: Knows everyone somehow?, Wants to start a band, but can’t play an instrument, Loves hosting themed parties. Cúmulo de galaxias: Por alguna razón… conoce a todo el mundo, Quiere armar una banda, pero no sabe tocar ningún instrumento, Le encanta organizar fiestas temáticas."

Which astronomical object are you? Comment below! ⬇️ 😉

All of these objects were taken from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory's view of the southern region of the Virgo Cluster, ~55 million light-years from Earth & the nearest large collection of galaxies to our own Milky Way. 🔭🧪

5-frame natural color sequence taken over the course of 13 hours showing Titan growing in Cassini's windshield. Wide-angle RGB composites.

A Wholly Unremarkable Sequence - From Gordan Ugarković (ugordan.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2HJUTJ