Astronomy Picture of the Day · October 2026

APOD, October 2026

28 entries from October 2026: 25 images and 3 videos. 14 carry a copyright notice from the credited creator.

Rise of the Harvest Moon over the slopes of Mount Etna and the simultaneous play of colors in the anti-twilight. October 1, 2026 · Copyrighted

Harvest Moon with Erupting Mount Etna

Dario Giannobile313 separate images of nebulae that resemble a variety of shapes and brightnesses. Some are dim and whispy, others are bright and create structure. Each image traces the complex behavior of interstellar gas. October 2, 2026

The Complete Sharpless Catalog: 313 Nebulas

Bing XinFisheye wide-angle image of the Curiosity rover on Mars. October 3, 2026

Selfie at Vera Rubin Ridge

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS – Panorama: Andrew BodrovThe top of a house is shown beneath a dark and cloudy sky. Many rainbow stripes are seen above the house. October 4, 2026 · Copyrighted

Supernumerary Rainbows over New Jersey

John EntwistleA starfield has an bright blobby mess in middle. Running vertically through the very middle is a dark streak. A diagonal ring of brightness surrounds the central blob. October 5, 2026 · Copyrighted

M104: The Sombrero Galaxy's Tidal Streams

Engelbert VollmerA round Earth takes up most of the video. The dayside and nightside are visible. A swirling, moving aurora is visible surrounding Earth's North Pole. There are some bright objects that speckle the background. October 6, 2026

A Complete Auroral Oval from SMILE

ESA, CAS, SMILE, UVIA red explosion extending radially like a firework over a dark field of stars. October 7, 2026

Supernova Remnant Pa 30

International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA. Acknowledgment: PI: T. Cunningham (Center for Astrophysics – Harvard & Smithsonian). Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab).Saturn sits near the center of the image. The layers of different colored atmosphere are clear. Its large rings are tilted with respect to the image's horizontal axis. The gaps and spokes within the rings are clear. A few of Saturn's moons October 8, 2026

The Saturn System Smörgåsbord

Tom WilliamsA color enhanced close-up image of Stickney Crater on Phobos. October 9, 2026

Stickney Crater

HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASAA mosaic image of the farside of the Moon. October 10, 2026

Lunar Farside

NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance OrbiterA dark cable descends into a deep carved hole of ice. The hole is so deep that it disappears into darkness. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. October 11, 2026

Ice Fishing for Cosmic Neutrinos

NSF, B. Gudbjartsson, IceCube CollaborationIn front of a dark background an image of Earth's Moon appears with a lower crescent brightly lit. The rest of the Moon is also faintly visible. Above the Moon is a bright point of light surrounded by four fainter points of light in row. October 12, 2026 · Copyrighted

Jupiter and the Moons

Chirag UpretiThe Milky Way galaxy rises from the horizon and curves upward in the sky. In the foreground, a rock pathway is seen that culminates in a staircase that ends abruptly. The Milky Way band appears to be a continuation of the staircase. Please October 13, 2026 · Copyrighted

Desert Stairway to Heaven

Julien LootenThe bright Mars is near the center of the Beehive cluster (M44) in the sky's horizon. A colorful aurora sits above in the sky, looking like a curtain of light. Dark trees and a river line the foreground. October 14, 2026

Mars and the Beehive Under an Aurora

Petr Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava), Josef Kujal, Vojan HöferA black and white view of the Manhattan skyline merges into a night sky with stars and a visible, though faint, Milky Way. Please see explanation for more details. October 15, 2026 · Copyrighted

The Milky Way over Manhattan

Jason Kurth, Ty BuckleyVideo October 16, 2026 · Video

Chasing the International Space Station

Eric HollandRed/blue stereo anaglyph of comet 67P. October 17, 2026

3D 67P

ESA , Rosetta , MPS , OSIRIS – Stereo Anaglyph: Philippe Lamy and The TeamSonified: Eagle Nebula Pillars October 18, 2026 · Video

Sonified: Eagle Nebula Pillars

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, & The Hubble Heritage Project (STScI/AURA); Sonification: NASA, CXC, SAO, K. Arcand, M. Russo & A. SantaguidaTreble Clef: Unusual X-ray Hot Radio Source October 19, 2026

Treble Clef: Unusual X-ray Hot Radio Source

X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF-IRA/A. Botteon et al.; Infrared: UKIDSS–GPS; Radio: ASTRONLOFAR; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. WolkHills are seen in the distance below a partly cloudy sky. A group of orange rays appears to eminate from one area behind the hills. Across this fan of rays, near the top of the image, a short rainbow can be seen. Please see the explanation October 20, 2026 · Copyrighted

An Anticrepuscular Rainbow Fan

Aurelia Degli EspostiThe sky is speckled with stars. Bright tufts of emission nebulae trace across the image's equator. Arcs and smudges of ionized oxygen emission also included. October 21, 2026 · Copyrighted

New Ghosts Revealed in Cassiopeia

Louis Leroux-Géré, Thibault Rouillée, Vincent Martin, Cédric de Decker (Starfront Observatories)A star shines with a greenish hue in front of a dark field with more distant stars, surrounded by a greenish disk with debris. October 22, 2026 · Copyrighted

The First Green Star, WD J1330+6435

Mark A. Garlick/University of WarwickThe Andromeda galaxy above rolling hills. October 23, 2026 · Copyrighted

Andromeda in Southern Spring

Lucy Yunxi HuImage of a Rosetta spacecraft solar array in foreground and the nucleus of comet 67P in background. October 24, 2026

Rosetta's Selfie

ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVAThe picture shows a computer simulation of the matter distribution in our universe with dark matter shown in a dark color on a light background. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. October 25, 2026 · Copyrighted

Dark Matter in a Simulated Universe

Tom Abel & Ralf Kaehler (KIPAC , SLAC), AMNHA starfield features a large and colorful nebula in its center, filled with dark dust and glowing gas in red and blue. October 26, 2026 · Copyrighted

M42: The Great Nebula in Orion

Roberto PalaiaA dark night sky is pictured over a green field bounded by trees in silhouette. Across the image middle are blue filamentary glows -- noctilucent clouds. Dark clouds are seen across the top of the image. Please see the explanation for more October 27, 2026 · Copyrighted

Noctilucent Clouds over Sweden

V. Höfer, D. Večerník & B. VečerníkováVideo October 28, 2026 · Video · Copyrighted

The Mutual Occultation of Ganymede and Io

Michael Wong

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