2026-10-23
NASA Science
Look up and wonder. Today's cosmic highlight is NASA Science:
Why this matters
Today's highlight centers on deep-space objects, the Moon, the planets. Understanding how these objects form and move is the bridge between a pretty photo and the live, data-driven sky we render on the globe.
See it live on ObjectTracer
This connects to what you can track in real time on our 3D globe — explore Deep Space galaxy map · Moon tracker · Solar System view. Or open the live globe to watch flights, satellites, the ISS and spacecraft move right now.
The science, from NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day
Looking toward the north from Mullion, New South Wales, Australia, the Andromeda Galaxy never gets more than a few degrees above the horizon. During the southern hemisphere spring, Andromeda is highest in the sky around midnight though. And in this telephoto scene from October 10/11, multiple exposures were used to reveal the spiral galaxy in tantalizing detail as it climbed above rolling Australian hills. Also known as M31, the Andromeda Galaxy is one of the brightest objects in the Messier catalog, but is only visible to the unaided eye as a small, faint, fuzzy patch. Digitally tracked and stacked frames were combined with a foreground shot in the deep astro-image composite to reveal the galaxy's greater extent in planet Earth's night. In the springtime night skyscape,the closest large spiral galaxy spans nearly 6 full moons.Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
Source: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (public domain)
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