EarthSky
@earthskyscience.bsky.social
2.9K followers 240 following 2.4K posts
Updates on your cosmos and world.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Check out the #SilverSlivergalaxy in #Andromeda ... 27 million light-years away! Andy Dungan captured this stunning photo from near Cotopaxi, Colorado, last Thursday. Thank you, Andy! 🌌📸🔭
buff.ly/bSPkTRZ

See more great images, and submit your own recent photos:

buff.ly/moQkn9b
Long, bright shape with brighter center and dark band through its center lengthways, at an angle going from upper left to lower right. Many stars are in the background and text description is at the bottom.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Check out this colorful #nebula! Ernest Jacobs in Eden, New York, captured this view of the #Californianebula on October 4, 2025. Thank you, Ernest! 🌌📸🔭
buff.ly/83NlCUf

Go to EarthSky Community Photos to see more great images, and submit your own recent photos:

buff.ly/moQkn9b
Long, wispy reddish, pinkish and bluish "cloud" in space, with stars in the background.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
It's the #greatblueheron! Cecille Kennedy in Lincoln City, Oregon, saw this handsome fella standing still before he flew away last Friday. Thank you, Cecille! 🐦📸
buff.ly/Ce40q4t

See more great images, and submit your own recent photos at EarthSky Community Photos:

buff.ly/moQkn9b
Large bird with dark bluish patch on top of its head, small yellow eyes, long beak and very long neck.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Tomorrow morning, the waning crescent #moon will lie near bright #Jupiter and the twin stars of #Gemini, #Castor and #Pollux. Don't miss this wonderful trio! For more sky events, visit EarthSky's night sky guide:
buff.ly/6yKOoEM

📹 EarthSky.org.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Lorraine Boyd in New York saw these #reflections on October 9 and wrote: "While photographing a beautiful #pond on a bright blue day, I couldn't help but notice how the reflection of the trees and sky looked like a #painting." Thank you!
buff.ly/ECqAfLl

See more great images:
buff.ly/NBa5ACr
Trees with green and orange leaves reflected in the water of a pond.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Deep within the tropical forests of Asia and Africa lives a creature that seems to have stepped out of an ancient legend. With its body covered in scales, long tongue and curious way of walking, the #pangolin is one of the most unique #animals on the planet:
buff.ly/WwApfvS

📹 EarthSky.org.
Animal covered in scales looks like a ball. None of its vulnerable parts are visible.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
October is a peak month for fall bird #migration across the United States. The BirdCast.info website can give you an idea of what regions will see the highest number of birds passing each night. Read how to help migrating birds at: buff.ly/nQTMAcE

📸 Cornell/ Colorado State Univ.
Map of the US with purple in the west and bright patches in the Great Plains and southeast.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Can #dustdevils help track the Martian wind? New research published Wednesday assembles data about the motion of these twisters. Read about dust devils and wind on Mars at: buff.ly/k2qKKr9

📸 ESA.
View from above of 3 small vertical clouds on a cratered surface.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Best #comet of 2025? Comet Lemmon will be closest to Earth on October 21. The EarthSky community has already captured many glorious images of it as it speeds inward in our solar system. See them here: buff.ly/mfOLi0U

📸 Makrem Larnaout.
A comet with a green head and long, intricate tail with a distant spiral galaxy small at the top.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Are organic molecules found on Saturn's moon #Enceladus created by radiation? Or do they originate in a hidden ocean? Read more at: buff.ly/eD8mu0P

📸 ESA/ NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SSI./ Lunar and Planetary Institute.
Organics in Enceladus' ocean: Planet-like body that is whitish and mostly smooth, with some craters and cracks. Several large plumes are erupting from the surface at the bottom.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Earth is still feeling the effects of solar wind flowing from a large coronal hole on the #sun. It's kept geomagnetic activity near G1 (minor) levels over the past day. #Auroras? See our forecast at: buff.ly/MCvzFfQ

📸 NASA GSFC/ CILJonathan North.
Visualization of solar wind particles streaming from the Sun toward Earth, shaping its magnetic field.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
The #Andromeda galaxy is the nearest large spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. It’s about 2.5 million light-years away. Tonight, if you have a dark sky, star-hop to the Andromeda galaxy from the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen. Read more: buff.ly/cW4fwwM
Star chart of constellations Cassiopeia and Andromeda with labeled Andromeda galaxy between them.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Tomorrow morning the 3rd quarter #moon will lie near bright #Jupiter and #Gemini's twin stars Castor and Pollux. On Tuesday morning, the waning crescent moon floats near the trio in the morning sky.

And for more sky events, visit EarthSky’s night sky guide at: buff.ly/6yKOoEM
2 positions of the moon, one half-lit and the other a crescent, near 2 stars and a planet close to the green ecliptic line.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Andy Dungan in Cotopaxi, Colorado, captured the #LittleRosetteNebula. Andy wrote: "I took pics of the dot in the Question Mark Nebula, the Little Rosette Nebula. It looks like its larger cousin the Rosette Nebula." Thank you, Andy! See it at buff.ly/8PkX1XB
More great pics: buff.ly/moQkn9b
A round red fuzzy nebula with radial petal-like structures and a distinct center in a dense starfield.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Craig Freeman in Mansfield, Ohio, captured this image of M31, the #Andromeda galaxy. Incredible! Thank you, Craig!
buff.ly/XytAF4g

Have a photo of your own to share? Submit it here!
buff.ly/ilSFKJU
Detailed image of the Andromeda Galaxy showing its bright core, spiral arms, and surrounding stars.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Termini Imerese in Sicily, Italy, captured this image of billowing #cumulus clouds in the distance, glowing in the late afternoon light. Thank you, Termini!
buff.ly/sV43LgV

Have a photo of your own to share? Submit it here!
buff.ly/ilSFKJU
Billowing,, golden-orange cumulus clouds illuminated by sunset above calm blue ocean waters and dark horizon.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Catherine Hyde shared this composite image taken yesterday from California of the #moon passing in front of the #Pleiades star cluster. Thank you, Catherine!
buff.ly/sAbMRYC

Have a photo of your own to share? Submit it here!
buff.ly/ilSFKJU
Waxing gibbous moon surrounded by faint stars in a dark sky during a Pleiades occultation event.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Tomorrow morning the waning gibbous #moon will lie between ruddy Betelgeus and golden Capella with fiery Aldebaran nearby. For more sky events, visit EarthSky’s night sky guide at: buff.ly/6yKOoEM
A half-lit moon near the center of a triangle of 3 bright stars.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
It might be sunny out where you are, but a geomagnetic storm is in progress. This NASA image shows the solar wind, a stream of charged particles coming from a huge coronal hole on the #sun. Read more at: buff.ly/gbxtnEB

📸 NASA.
Fuzzy, golden-brown streamers across the image.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Brian Martin in Riverside, California, captured #Saturn and #Titan's last shadow transit until 2038. It was taken on October 5, 2025. Thank you, Brian!
buff.ly/l2Rwp6f

Have a photo of your own to share? Submit it here!
buff.ly/ilSFKJU
Large planet with many bands, a small black dot on it, and nearly edge-on rings.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Our friend Cecille Kennedy in Depoe Bay, Oregon, shared this image of last night's sunset. She wrote: "The sun pillar over the sun got divided into sections by the thick clouds ... The #sun disappeared behind the thick marine cloud layer above the ocean horizon." Thank you, Cecille. Beautiful! 😍
Bright white half sun setting with clouds glowing orange.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Officials have now lifted a #tsunami warning, triggered by the 7.4 magnitude #earthquake in the Philippines. The quake took place overnight according to clocks in North America (or 9:44 a.m. in the Philippines this morning). Read about the Philippines earthquake at buff.ly/0rqV2iR

📷 USGS.
Map of the area around the Philippines with a blue dot showing the earthquake location.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
Craig Freeman in Mansfield, Ohio, captured this image of the Horsehead and Flaming Star #nebulae. Incredible! Thank you, Craig!
buff.ly/Snzrlrg

Have a photo of your own to share? Submit it here!
buff.ly/ilSFKJU
Brilliant cosmic view of the Horsehead and Flame Nebulae glowing in deep orange, teal, and violet hues.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
The Gemini North Telescope first captured Betelgeuse’s companion – nicknamed #Betelbuddy – on December 9, 2024. On Wednesday, Carnegie Mellon University researchers revealed more details about the companion star. Read more at: buff.ly/HiNgwpw

📸 Int. Gemini Observatory/ NOIRLab/ NSF/ AURA.
Betelbuddy: Round orange glow labeled Betelgeuse with pale dim companion glow nearby labeled.
earthskyscience.bsky.social
September and October are peak months for fall bird #migration across the United States. And the BirdCast.info website can give you an idea of what regions will see the highest number of birds passing each night. Read more: buff.ly/nQTMAcE

📸 Cornell Lab of Ornithology/ Colorado State University.
Map of the US with colors in purple in the west to yellow in the southeast to bright white in the Great Lakes.