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Astronomy Picture of the Day · May 2025

APOD, May 2025

31 entries from May 2025: 28 images and 3 videos. 13 carry a copyright notice from the credited creator.

MESSENGER's Last Day on Mercury

MESSENGER's Last Day on Mercury

Image Credit: NASA , Johns Hopkins Univ. APL , Arizona State Univ., CIW

Young Star Cluster NGC 346

Young Star Cluster NGC 346

Science – NASA , ESA , CSA , Olivia C. Jones (UK ATC), Guido De Marchi (ESTEC), Margaret Meixner (USRA) Processing – Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Nolan Habel (USRA), Laura Lenkić (USRA), Laurie E. U. Chu (NASA Ames)

Titan: Moon over Saturn

Titan: Moon over Saturn

Image Credit: NASA , JPL-Caltech , Space Science Institute

An artistic illustration of a black hole is shown. The black spot in the center is the black hole, while the accretion disk of gas surrounding it is shown in orange. Stars and the darkness of space is shown near the top in the background. P

Spin up of a Supermassive Black Hole

Illustration Credit: Robert Hurt , NASA / JPL-Caltech

The featured image shows a night sky over some choppy water. The planet Venus shines high in the night sky, while a faint Saturn in on the far right. The crescent Moon is visible near the image center. A bright boat beacon is also visible o

May 5, 2025 · Copyrighted

Planet Lines Across Water

Image Credit & Copyright: Jose Antonio Hervas

The Doubly Warped World of Binary Black Holes

May 6, 2025 · Video

The Doubly Warped World of Binary Black Holes

Scientific Visualization Credit: NASA , GSFC , Jeremy Schnittman & Brian P. Powell ; Text: Francis J. Reddy

Two large galaxies are shown against a dark starfield. The galaxy on the upper left has blue spiral arms speckled with red nebulae. The galaxy on the lower right has a white line with red filaments on each side. Thin wisps cover some of the

May 7, 2025 · Copyrighted

Galaxy Wars: M81 versus M82

Image Credit & Copyright: Collaborative Astrophotography Team (CAT)

The Crab Nebula, M1, is shown as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope. The rollover image is the same Crab Nebula but this time from the Hubble Space Telescope. The Webb image is in near infrared light, while the Hubble image is in visi

M1: The Incredible Expanding Crab

Image Credit: NASA , ESA , CSA , STScI ; Jeff Hester (ASU), Allison Loll (ASU), Tea Temim (Princeton University)

An artist's illustration of what the surroundings of the supermassive black hole at the center of BL Lac is shown. A white jet protrudes horizontally toward the bottom of the image, emanating from a orange accretion disk surrounding a black

IXPE Explores a Black Hole Jet

Illustration Credit: NASA , Pablo Garcia

Yogi and Friends in 3D

Yogi and Friends in 3D

Image Credit: Mars Pathfinder Mission , JPL , NASA

A black & white image shows an empty flat landscape filled with flattened rocks. At the bottom is part of the spacecraft that captured this image of the planet Venus. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

May 11, 2025 · Copyrighted

The Surface of Venus from Venera 14

Image Credit: Soviet Planetary Exploration Program , Venera 14 ; Processing & Copyright: Donald Mitchell & Michael Carroll (used with permission)

A dark field of space surrounds a thin but colorful band horizontally across the center. The band is nearly straight but curves at its outer edges. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Gaia Reconstructs a Side View of our Galaxy

Illustration Credit: ESA , Gaia , DPAC , Stefan Payne-Wardenaar

A dark field surrounds a spiral galaxy with multiple arms. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Gaia Reconstructs a Top View of our Galaxy

Illustration Credit: ESA , Gaia , DPAC , Stefan Payne-Wardenaar

A dark starfield highlights a blue and pink nebula in its center. Some dark lanes of dust are seen inside nebula's center. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

May 14, 2025 · Copyrighted

NGC 1360: The Robin's Egg Nebula

Image Credit & Copyright: Andrea Iorio , Vikas Chander & ShaRA Team

A Plutonian Landscape

A Plutonian Landscape

Image Credit: NASA , Johns Hopkins Univ./APL , Southwest Research Institute

Messier 101

Image Credit: NASA , ESA , CFHT , NOAO ; Acknowledgement – K.Kuntz ( GSFC ), F.Bresolin ( U.Hawaii ), J.Trauger ( JPL ), J.Mould ( NOAO ), Y.-H.Chu ( U. Illinois )

Ares 3 Landing Site: The Martian Revisited

Ares 3 Landing Site: The Martian Revisited

Image Credit: HiRISE , MRO , LPL (U. Arizona) , NASA Video May 18, 2025 · Video

Pluto Flyover from New Horizons

Video Credit: NASA , JHUAPL , SwRI , P. Schenk & J. Blackwell ( LPI ); Music Open Sea Morning by Puddle of Infinity Video May 19, 2025 · Video

Charon Flyover from New Horizons

Video Credit: NASA , JHUAPL , SwRI , P. Schenk & J. Blackwell ( LPI ); Music: Juicy by ALBIS

A wide starfield is shown with the dark and light band arching horizontally across the middle. On the right is a colorful and complex nebula, and near the top center is a red circular nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed inf

May 20, 2025 · Copyrighted

Milky Way over Maunakea

Image Credit & Copyright: Marzena Rogozinska

The Sun is pictured complete with active regions, filaments, and prominences. Down the Sun's face is a series of silhouettes that are the International Space Station passing right in front. Please see the explanation for more detailed infor

May 21, 2025 · Copyrighted

International Space Station Crosses the Sun

Image Credit & Copyright: Pau Montplet Sanz

Curly Spiral Galaxy M63

May 22, 2025 · Copyrighted

Curly Spiral Galaxy M63

Image Credit & Copyright: Alberto Pisabarro

NGC 6366 vs 47 Ophiuchi

May 23, 2025 · Copyrighted

NGC 6366 vs 47 Ophiuchi

Image Credit & Copyright: Massimo Di Fusco

Deimos Before Sunrise

Deimos Before Sunrise

Image Credit: NASA , JPL-Caltech

A close-up image is shown of the planet Jupiter. Many clouds are visible including clouds colored blue near the bottom, on the left, and white oval clouds on the upper right. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

May 25, 2025 · Copyrighted

Beneath Jupiter

Image Credit & Copyright: NASA , Juno , SwRI , MSSS ; Processing & License: Gerald Eichstädt & Seán Doran

An oval galaxy is shown against a field of stars. The outer rings shows many bright blue stars. In the center is a bright nucleus with eight spikes jutting out. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Spiral Galaxy NGC 2566 from Webb

Image Credit: ESA/Webb , NASA & CSA , A. Leroy

A very colorful sky field is shown featuring many stars and nebulas that appear red, yellow, blue, and brown. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

May 27, 2025 · Copyrighted

Zeta and Rho Ophiuchi with Milky Way

Image Credit & Copyright: Ireneusz Nowak

Herbig-Haro 24

Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage ( STScI / AURA ) / Hubble-Europe Collaboration Acknowledgment: D. Padgett ( GSFC ), T. Megeath (University of Toledo), B. Reipurth (University of Hawaii)

Irregular Dwarf Galaxy Sextans A

May 29, 2025 · Copyrighted

Irregular Dwarf Galaxy Sextans A

Image Credit & Copyright: Franz Hofmann , Gemsbock Observatory

Mars in the Loop

May 30, 2025 · Copyrighted

Mars in the Loop

Image Credit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel ( TWAN )

Afterimage Sunset

May 31, 2025 · Copyrighted

Afterimage Sunset

Image Credit & Copyright: Marcella Giulia Pace

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day — NASA Science, science.nasa.gov/apod/archive

The images and explanations belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.