#Itwas (June10, 2001) mentionned on apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010611.… « Globular Cluster M2 » ; Beneath the south pole of Milky Way lies a ball of over 100,000 stars: M2 🛰️Img D. Williams, N. A. Sharp, AURA, NOAO, NSF #Space #Astronomy

Newborn stars are forming in the Eagle Nebula. They are gravitationally contracting in pillars of dense gas and dust. The intense radiation of these newly-formed bright stars is causing surrounding material to boil away. This image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in near infrared light, allows the viewer to see through much of the thick dust that makes the pillars opaque in visible light. The giant structures are light years in length and dubbed informally the Pillars of Creation. Associated with the open star cluster M16, the Eagle Nebula lies about 6,500 light years away. The Eagle Nebula is a satisfying target for small telescopes in a nebula-rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake). Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Processing: Luis Romero Ventura

One of the rarest moons of the decade is rising over Earth tonight. On May 30–31, the second full moon of the month will grace the sky, creating what is known as a Blue Moon. This uncommon event occurs only about once every two and a half years. After this weekend, the next monthly Blue Moon will not appear until December 2028. This year’s Blue Moon is especially spectacular because it coincides with a beautiful planetary lineup. Before sunrise, Mars and Saturn will shine low in the eastern sky. After sunset, Venus and Jupiter will glow brightly in the west as the full moon dominates the night. Despite its name, a Blue Moon is not actually blue. The term simply describes the second full moon to occur within a single calendar month. Since the Moon takes roughly 29.5 days to orbit Earth, squeezing two full moons into one month is unusual but not impossible. The best time to view this Blue Moon may surprise you. Although it reaches peak fullness in the early hours of May 31, many skywatchers prefer to observe it rising on the evening of May 30. As it lifts above the horizon near sunset, the Moon often appears larger and takes on striking deep orange and golden hues. This warm coloring is caused by the same atmospheric effect that creates colorful sunsets. Near the horizon, moonlight travels through more of Earth’s atmosphere, scattering shorter blue wavelengths and allowing longer red and orange wavelengths to reach our eyes. The four bright planets sharing the sky with the Blue Moon are not actually close to one another. Jupiter, for example, is currently about 365 million miles (588 million km) from Earth. They only appear grouped together from our perspective here on the ground.

The Near-Earth #Asteroid #2026KT2 was discovered on May 24 and has an estimated diameter of 50–110 meters. It passed Earth on May 28 at 10:15 UTC within 2.5 lunar distances, and was observed with my #eVscope at 14.7 magnitude brightness.

NGC 3184, beautiful capture by @AstroBackyard #Space #Astronomy

#Itwas (May24, 2024) mentionned on apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240524.… « M78 from the Euclid Space Telescope » ; Purple tint in center is caused by dark dust preferentially reflecting the blue light of hot, young stars.🔭Img ESA/Euclid Consortium/NASA;Cuillandre (CEA Paris), Anselmi #Space