Astronomyandgalaxies - GalaxyBrain

The celestial object of the day is Phobos!

It's Mars's largest moon with 21 km (13 mi), it orbits Mars at only 6,000 km (3,700 mi) and it gets closer by 1.8 meters every year, at that rate is expected to collide with Mars or form a planetary ring in about 30-50 million years!

Messier 96

Messier 96 (M96) is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Leo.

It is part of the Leo I Group of galaxies and is approximately 35 million light-years away from Earth.

M96 has a diameter of about 100,000 light-years.

Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA and the LEGUS Team; Acknowledgment: R. Gendler

International Space Station (ISS) passing across the field of view of the Moon, as seen from a telescope.

The Boogeyman Nebula and Tarantula Nebula

The Lonely Neutron Star in Supernova E0102 72.3

Credits: NASA, CXC, ESO, F. Vogt et al., ESO, VLT, MUSE, NASA, STScI

Backyard views

Tuesday February 4th 2025 6:39pm & 6:44pm

M42: A Mosaic of Orion’s Great Nebula

Credits: Rice U., NASA

This Comet Lovejoy

Credits: Damian Peach, SEN

Let’s fly into Jupiter! Does this ball of gas have a surface? Let’s see!

Butterfly Nebula

The Butterfly Nebula, also known as NGC 6302, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Scorpius.

It is named for its striking appearance, which resembles the wings of a butterfly when viewed in certain images.

The nebula is approximately 3,800 light-years away from Earth.

Credits: NASA, ESA, and J. Kastner (RIT)