The Venus-Jupiter conjunction is one of the most spectacular astronomical events of 2026. Enjoy these photos our talented community photographers have captured so far from around the world. Vegastar Photography shared this lovely image of blazing Venus and bright Jupiter from Épernay, France, on June 1. Thank you!
Best photos of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction 2026
The two brightest planets in our sky – Venus and Jupiter – have been inching closer each day in the west after sunset for many weeks. And they’ll reach their spectacular closest conjunction this evening and tomorrow evening, June 8-9. Enjoy these photos of this beautiful event as seen from around the world.
Venus is the brightest light in these photos, followed by Jupiter. And in the more recent of these images, found toward the top of the article, you might also see planet Mercury near the horizon. Plus, many of the shots also feature Castor and Pollux – the brightest stars in Gemini the Twins – near Jupiter.
Thank you to all the talented photographers that have submitted their stunning images with us! Would you like to share your photo with us? Submit it here.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Reid Piercey took this wonderful photo in June 1 from Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada. Thank you!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Marianna Roca in Plum Cove Beach, Gloucester, Massachusetts, took this photo on June 1. She captured 3 planets (Jupiter at the top left, Venus in the middle and Mercury at the bottom right), and 2 stars (Castor and Pollux, creating an arc with Jupiter). Thank you, Marianna!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky’s Cristina Ortiz shared this image of Venus and Jupiter from Granada, Spain, on May 29. She wrote: “Can’t wait for the Venus-Jupiter conjunction on June 8-9!” Thank you, Cristina!
Between May 18–20, skywatchers around the world captured a beautiful sight in the night sky as the moon appeared near Venus and later close to Jupiter. This video is a collection of images shared from different countries, showing how people across the globe experienced the same celestial event from their own perspective. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.
Bottom line: The Venus-Jupiter conjunction for 2026 is here! Enjoy these stunning photos from around the world as the sky’s brightest planets have been drawing closer.
The Venus-Jupiter conjunction is one of the most spectacular astronomical events of 2026. Enjoy these photos our talented community photographers have captured so far from around the world. Vegastar Photography shared this lovely image of blazing Venus and bright Jupiter from Épernay, France, on June 1. Thank you!
Best photos of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction 2026
The two brightest planets in our sky – Venus and Jupiter – have been inching closer each day in the west after sunset for many weeks. And they’ll reach their spectacular closest conjunction this evening and tomorrow evening, June 8-9. Enjoy these photos of this beautiful event as seen from around the world.
Venus is the brightest light in these photos, followed by Jupiter. And in the more recent of these images, found toward the top of the article, you might also see planet Mercury near the horizon. Plus, many of the shots also feature Castor and Pollux – the brightest stars in Gemini the Twins – near Jupiter.
Thank you to all the talented photographers that have submitted their stunning images with us! Would you like to share your photo with us? Submit it here.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Reid Piercey took this wonderful photo in June 1 from Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada. Thank you!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Marianna Roca in Plum Cove Beach, Gloucester, Massachusetts, took this photo on June 1. She captured 3 planets (Jupiter at the top left, Venus in the middle and Mercury at the bottom right), and 2 stars (Castor and Pollux, creating an arc with Jupiter). Thank you, Marianna!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky’s Cristina Ortiz shared this image of Venus and Jupiter from Granada, Spain, on May 29. She wrote: “Can’t wait for the Venus-Jupiter conjunction on June 8-9!” Thank you, Cristina!
Between May 18–20, skywatchers around the world captured a beautiful sight in the night sky as the moon appeared near Venus and later close to Jupiter. This video is a collection of images shared from different countries, showing how people across the globe experienced the same celestial event from their own perspective. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.
Bottom line: The Venus-Jupiter conjunction for 2026 is here! Enjoy these stunning photos from around the world as the sky’s brightest planets have been drawing closer.
Since at least the 1970s, people around the world have reported a mysterious hum. It’s known simply as The Hum. What produces it? No one knows. But a new scientific study provides clues. Image via Idun Haugan/ Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)/ Norwegian SciTech News.
People have reported a mysterious humming sound around the world since the 1970s. It’s called The Hum.
Scientists have proposed possible explanations. But there may not be a single answer for the phenomenon.
The Hum might originate from human-made sources or nature. Sometimes, it might even originate within the hearers’ own ears or heads.
Have you ever been bothered by a strange humming sound you couldn’t identify? Many people have. Scientists call it simply The Hum. It’s a low-frequency sound, sometimes felt as a vibration. People have heard it both indoors and outdoors, especially at night. An estimated 2-4% of the world’s population has heard it. That’s some 250 million people! And it’s been going on for decades, at least, with still no firm answer as to the source.
And now researchers at the University of Munich in Germany and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway have provided a scientific update on the mystery, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One on March 27, 2026.
Haugan isn’t one of the researchers … but she’s heard The Hum herself. She said that theories about it are wide-ranging, from both human-produced and natural sources, to wilder conspiracy theories. Or even sounds produced by the human ear itself.
Feed: "Norwegian SciTech News"By: Idun Haugan on Tuesday, June 2, 2026
So when did this unusual phenomenon first begin to be reported? As noted in Haugan’s article, the first known cases were in Bristol, England, in the 1970s. At the time, the theory was that large industrial fans were to blame. They were in the warehouse of a large department store. But a few years later, the store closed … and The Hum continued.
And The Hum didn’t stay in Bristol. People later said they heard it elsewhere in the U.K., including Hythe, Plymouth, Southampton, Swansea and even London. But scientists still didn’t know what was causing it.
Since then, The Hum has been heard in many other locations. People reported it in the U.S. in the 1990s. Taos, New Mexico and Kokomo, Indiana, are the first known locations. And then it went global. The unusual sound popped up in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and several cities in Europe, including Oslo, Norway.
Most often, people report it in densely populated areas.
The Taos Hum was called the Ultimate Hum in the 1990s. Two percent of the population could hear it, with frequencies between 32 and 80 Hertz.
The Hum World Map and Database Project
In 2012, Glen MacPherson in Canada started the The World Hum Map and Database Project. He had previously heard The Hum himself when he lived on the West Coast. But when he relocated to another city, still on the West Coast, he no longer heard it. As Haugan mentions:
He became so interested in the sound phenomenon that he started the interactive The World Hum Map and Database Project in 2012, which collects data from places and people where the sound has been noted.
View larger. | Map depicting locations of The Hum worldwide. Image via Idun Haugan/ Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)/ Norwegian SciTech News.
Various theories
Scientists have offered many theories for the phenomenon. These include both human-made and natural sounds. And of course, there are the usual conspiracy theories, too: in this case, aliens or the CIA.
Human technology can make various low-frequency sounds. Some examples are ventilation systems, heat pumps, traffic noise and windmills. Another is high-pressure gas pipelines. In nature, waves and wind can also produce these sounds.
Even the jet stream was suggested as a cause in 1973. But that was quickly dismissed as “absolute nonsense.”
But why does this particular hum seem to stand out? Why did it seemingly begin in one place and then expand to other locations. Or was it there before and just not noticed?
As noted by Haugan in her Norwegian SciTech News article, the new study began in Germany in an attempt to find answers. She wrote:
The Hum has attracted the interest of hearing and audiology researchers worldwide. Markus Drexl, an NTNU professor [working in neuromedicine and balance disorders], is among this self-selected group. He and two Ph.D. research fellows and a postdoc have conducted a study of 28 people in Germany who experience hearing an unexplained buzzing or humming.
View larger. | Bristol Cathedral in Bristol, England. Bristol is where the earliest reports of The Hum came from in the 1970s. Image via Bärbel Miemietz/ Wikimedia Commons.
2 main hypotheses
For the study, the researchers tested two hypotheses. The first is that The Hum can be measured in both human-made infrastructure and in nature. These are sounds that can be measured. Markus Drexl explained:
We know that there are people who hear low-frequency sounds that can actually be measured, even if other people don’t hear them. But it’s not so easy to find the source of these sound waves, because it’s a struggle to localize low-frequency sounds.
The researchers tested the 28 study participants to see if they had exceptionally good hearing. Only two of them had better than average gearing at low frequencies. Drexl told Idun Haugan:
Even though the group we tested was small, it still means that the hypothesis of having especially good hearing for low-frequency sounds does not hold for most people.
Markus Drexl at the University of Munich is 1 of the authors of the new paper, and helped conduct the new study with 28 participants in Germany. Image via Norwegian SciTech News.
Low-frequency tinnitus?
Another possibility suggests some people might have a kind of low-frequency tinnitus. Tinnitus is an internal sound in the ear or head. It is commonly known as “ringing in the ears.” Many people experience it. But these sounds can’t be measured objectively.
So it’s possible that some people who hear The Hum might actually have a form of tinnitus. Drexl said:
Based on our results, although we haven’t ruled out cases of physical external sound sources, we suggest that subjective tinnitus in the low-frequency range is often the cause of hearing pulsations of low-frequency sound perceptions.
Coming from inside our own heads?
Our ears can hear sound. And they can also produce sound as well. The cochlea in the inner ear produces weak sounds. These sounds have different frequencies, but are typically between about 500 and 5000 Hertz. Could that be an explanation for The Hum? As Drexl noted to Haugan:
Most of us don’t hear these sounds. However, a few people can actually hear the sounds that the ear itself produces. And these sounds can be measured objectively.
One hypothesis was that the participants in our group could hear oto-acoustic emissions at low frequencies. That’s why we tested whether they had them.
But the results of the testing for that hypothesis was negative.
The human ear. Could some hum cases originate inside the ear/head instead of outside it? Image via Genusfotografen/ Wikimedia Sverige/ Wikimedia Commons.
The human auditory system
Before we can figure out The Hum, Drexl thinks, we need to understand more about the human auditory system overall. He told Idun Haugan:
What we know about the hearing system is mainly based on how we capture and process sound with higher frequencies. We know less about how the auditory system handles and processes low-frequency sound, or infrasound.
If we want to conduct a thorough assessment of low-frequency sounds and infrasound, we first need a better understanding of how sensory systems process low-frequency sound and infrasound.
Have you ever heard this unusual hum or anything similar? Tell us in the comments below!
Bottom line: For decades, people around the world have reported hearing The Hum. What is it? A new study helps narrow down possible answers.
Since at least the 1970s, people around the world have reported a mysterious hum. It’s known simply as The Hum. What produces it? No one knows. But a new scientific study provides clues. Image via Idun Haugan/ Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)/ Norwegian SciTech News.
People have reported a mysterious humming sound around the world since the 1970s. It’s called The Hum.
Scientists have proposed possible explanations. But there may not be a single answer for the phenomenon.
The Hum might originate from human-made sources or nature. Sometimes, it might even originate within the hearers’ own ears or heads.
Have you ever been bothered by a strange humming sound you couldn’t identify? Many people have. Scientists call it simply The Hum. It’s a low-frequency sound, sometimes felt as a vibration. People have heard it both indoors and outdoors, especially at night. An estimated 2-4% of the world’s population has heard it. That’s some 250 million people! And it’s been going on for decades, at least, with still no firm answer as to the source.
And now researchers at the University of Munich in Germany and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway have provided a scientific update on the mystery, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One on March 27, 2026.
Haugan isn’t one of the researchers … but she’s heard The Hum herself. She said that theories about it are wide-ranging, from both human-produced and natural sources, to wilder conspiracy theories. Or even sounds produced by the human ear itself.
Feed: "Norwegian SciTech News"By: Idun Haugan on Tuesday, June 2, 2026
So when did this unusual phenomenon first begin to be reported? As noted in Haugan’s article, the first known cases were in Bristol, England, in the 1970s. At the time, the theory was that large industrial fans were to blame. They were in the warehouse of a large department store. But a few years later, the store closed … and The Hum continued.
And The Hum didn’t stay in Bristol. People later said they heard it elsewhere in the U.K., including Hythe, Plymouth, Southampton, Swansea and even London. But scientists still didn’t know what was causing it.
Since then, The Hum has been heard in many other locations. People reported it in the U.S. in the 1990s. Taos, New Mexico and Kokomo, Indiana, are the first known locations. And then it went global. The unusual sound popped up in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and several cities in Europe, including Oslo, Norway.
Most often, people report it in densely populated areas.
The Taos Hum was called the Ultimate Hum in the 1990s. Two percent of the population could hear it, with frequencies between 32 and 80 Hertz.
The Hum World Map and Database Project
In 2012, Glen MacPherson in Canada started the The World Hum Map and Database Project. He had previously heard The Hum himself when he lived on the West Coast. But when he relocated to another city, still on the West Coast, he no longer heard it. As Haugan mentions:
He became so interested in the sound phenomenon that he started the interactive The World Hum Map and Database Project in 2012, which collects data from places and people where the sound has been noted.
View larger. | Map depicting locations of The Hum worldwide. Image via Idun Haugan/ Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)/ Norwegian SciTech News.
Various theories
Scientists have offered many theories for the phenomenon. These include both human-made and natural sounds. And of course, there are the usual conspiracy theories, too: in this case, aliens or the CIA.
Human technology can make various low-frequency sounds. Some examples are ventilation systems, heat pumps, traffic noise and windmills. Another is high-pressure gas pipelines. In nature, waves and wind can also produce these sounds.
Even the jet stream was suggested as a cause in 1973. But that was quickly dismissed as “absolute nonsense.”
But why does this particular hum seem to stand out? Why did it seemingly begin in one place and then expand to other locations. Or was it there before and just not noticed?
As noted by Haugan in her Norwegian SciTech News article, the new study began in Germany in an attempt to find answers. She wrote:
The Hum has attracted the interest of hearing and audiology researchers worldwide. Markus Drexl, an NTNU professor [working in neuromedicine and balance disorders], is among this self-selected group. He and two Ph.D. research fellows and a postdoc have conducted a study of 28 people in Germany who experience hearing an unexplained buzzing or humming.
View larger. | Bristol Cathedral in Bristol, England. Bristol is where the earliest reports of The Hum came from in the 1970s. Image via Bärbel Miemietz/ Wikimedia Commons.
2 main hypotheses
For the study, the researchers tested two hypotheses. The first is that The Hum can be measured in both human-made infrastructure and in nature. These are sounds that can be measured. Markus Drexl explained:
We know that there are people who hear low-frequency sounds that can actually be measured, even if other people don’t hear them. But it’s not so easy to find the source of these sound waves, because it’s a struggle to localize low-frequency sounds.
The researchers tested the 28 study participants to see if they had exceptionally good hearing. Only two of them had better than average gearing at low frequencies. Drexl told Idun Haugan:
Even though the group we tested was small, it still means that the hypothesis of having especially good hearing for low-frequency sounds does not hold for most people.
Markus Drexl at the University of Munich is 1 of the authors of the new paper, and helped conduct the new study with 28 participants in Germany. Image via Norwegian SciTech News.
Low-frequency tinnitus?
Another possibility suggests some people might have a kind of low-frequency tinnitus. Tinnitus is an internal sound in the ear or head. It is commonly known as “ringing in the ears.” Many people experience it. But these sounds can’t be measured objectively.
So it’s possible that some people who hear The Hum might actually have a form of tinnitus. Drexl said:
Based on our results, although we haven’t ruled out cases of physical external sound sources, we suggest that subjective tinnitus in the low-frequency range is often the cause of hearing pulsations of low-frequency sound perceptions.
Coming from inside our own heads?
Our ears can hear sound. And they can also produce sound as well. The cochlea in the inner ear produces weak sounds. These sounds have different frequencies, but are typically between about 500 and 5000 Hertz. Could that be an explanation for The Hum? As Drexl noted to Haugan:
Most of us don’t hear these sounds. However, a few people can actually hear the sounds that the ear itself produces. And these sounds can be measured objectively.
One hypothesis was that the participants in our group could hear oto-acoustic emissions at low frequencies. That’s why we tested whether they had them.
But the results of the testing for that hypothesis was negative.
The human ear. Could some hum cases originate inside the ear/head instead of outside it? Image via Genusfotografen/ Wikimedia Sverige/ Wikimedia Commons.
The human auditory system
Before we can figure out The Hum, Drexl thinks, we need to understand more about the human auditory system overall. He told Idun Haugan:
What we know about the hearing system is mainly based on how we capture and process sound with higher frequencies. We know less about how the auditory system handles and processes low-frequency sound, or infrasound.
If we want to conduct a thorough assessment of low-frequency sounds and infrasound, we first need a better understanding of how sensory systems process low-frequency sound and infrasound.
Have you ever heard this unusual hum or anything similar? Tell us in the comments below!
Bottom line: For decades, people around the world have reported hearing The Hum. What is it? A new study helps narrow down possible answers.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Smithfield, Virginia, captured this telescopic view of galaxy Messier 83 on May 11, 2026. Steven wrote: “Even down here in southern Virginia, M83, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, only reaches an altitude of 22 degrees. So this is a challenging object to capture. M83, also called the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation borders of Hydra and Centaurus. Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille discovered it on February 17, 1752, at the Cape of Good Hope. Charles Messier added it to his catalog in March 1781. At 15 million light-years away, it is one of the closest and brightest barred spiral galaxies in the sky, visible even with binoculars.” Thank you, Steven! See more deep-sky photos from May 2026 below.
The EarthSky community has many talented astrophotographers who capture stunning images of the deep sky. We gathered some of our favorite deep-sky photos from May 2026 for you to enjoy. Do you have images of your own to share? You can submit them to EarthSky here. We’d love to see them and share them!
Deep-sky photos of diffuse nebulae
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Vikash Singh in Dhannad, Jharkhand, India, captured this telescopic view of the North America Nebula on May 8, 2026. Vikash wrote: “NGC 7000, also known as the North America Nebula, from my city Dhanbad using my Dwarf 3 Smart Telescope. Located in the constellation Cygnus near the bright star Deneb, this emission nebula lies around 1,500-2,200 light-years away from Earth and stretches nearly 50 light-years across space.” Thank you, Vikash!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jacky Brown in Aurora, Colorado, captured this telescopic view of the Rosette Nebula with its associated star cluster, in the constellation Monoceros, on May 10, 2026. Jacky wrote: “I was actually watching Betelgeuse and got sidetracked to this star cluster. Beautiful object, as always.” Thank you, Jacky!
Planetary nebulae
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured this telescopic view of Messier 97, the Owl Nebula in the constellation Ursa Major, on May 15, 2026. Jelieta wrote: “The Owl Nebula, located in the constellation Ursa Major approximately 2,000 light-years from Earth, is a planetary nebula formed from the outer layers of a dying sunlike star. Its distinctive ‘owl-eyed’ appearance emerges from complex shells of glowing gas illuminated by the hot remnant stellar core. This image represents both the beauty and the challenge of modern backyard astrophotography, where even under intrusive artificial light, faint deep-sky objects can still be revealed through patience, precision tracking, and long exposure imaging.” Thank you, Jelieta!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured this telescopic view of Messier 57, the Ring Nebula, in the constellation Lyra, on May 16, 2026. Jelieta wrote: “Captured from Desert Bloom Observatory under intermittent monsoon skies in the Arizona desert, this image reveals the luminous beauty of the Ring Nebula (Messier 57), the glowing remains of a dying star approximately 2,300 light-years from Earth. Its delicate emerald core and expanding outer shell shine like a celestial smoke ring suspended in the darkness of space.” Thank you, Jelieta!
Star clusters
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Giuseppe Pappa from Sicily, Italy, used a remote telescope in Namibia to capture this view of globular cluster NGC 5139, Omega Centauri, on May 13, 2026. Giuseppe wrote: “May offers the optimal annual window for latitudes around 38-32 degrees north latitude. In this case I took the images from Namibia (remote control). Wide-field capture of the Milky Way’s most massive globular cluster. The flat field of the AG70 astrograph delivers pinpoint stellar profiles across the entire frame, mapping the steep radial density gradient from the structural outskirts to the unresolved core. Due to its multiple stellar populations with distinct chemical profiles and ages, NGC 5139 is classified as a stripped galactic nucleus: the fossil remnant of a dwarf galaxy accreted by the Milky Way.” Thank you, Giuseppe!
Deep-sky photos of distant galaxies
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) captured this telescopic view of Messier 51, the Whirlpool galaxy, on May 9, 2026. Tameem wrote: “Located about 23.5 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, M51 is one of the most famous interacting spiral galaxies in the night sky. Its striking spiral structure is believed to be enhanced by the gravitational interaction with its companion galaxy NGC 5195, visible beside it. Several distant background galaxies also appear throughout the frame, including IC 4277 and IC 4278, adding depth to this cosmic scene.” Thank you, Tameem!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohammed Abdallah in Suez, Egypt, used a telephoto lens to capture this view of galaxies Messier 81 and Messier 82 on May 6, 2026. Mohammed wrote: “M81 and M82 are interacting galaxies located in Ursa Major, and they are about 12 million light-years away. It’s impressive to think about how many million stars are in front of your eyes.” Thank you, Mohammed!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in Al Qou’, United Arab Emirates (UAE), captured this telescopic view of Markarian’s Chain of galaxies on May 23, 2026. Tameem wrote: “Markarian’s Chain is a famous curved alignment of galaxies located within the Virgo Cluster, one of the nearest large galaxy clusters to Earth. The chain was named after the Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian, who noticed that many of these galaxies appear visually connected in a smooth arc across the sky. This region contains a remarkable variety of galaxies, including giant elliptical galaxies, spiral galaxies seen edge-on, and interacting systems shaped by gravitational encounters over millions of years.” Thank you, Tameem!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Smithfield, Virginia, captured this telescopic view of Markarian’s Chain of galaxies on May 30, 2026. Steven wrote: “The Markarian chain of galaxies and even more field beyond them. The finder chart and poster are courtesy of a free script for PixInsight, developed by Daniel Nimmervoll of Germany. Note that well over 500 galaxies are revealed in this image. I chose to stop at 246.” Thank you, Steven!
Bottom line: Without a doubt, you’ll enjoy this gallery of deep-sky photos from May 2026 by our EarthSky community. If you have a great photo to share, send it in, too. We love to see them!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Smithfield, Virginia, captured this telescopic view of galaxy Messier 83 on May 11, 2026. Steven wrote: “Even down here in southern Virginia, M83, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, only reaches an altitude of 22 degrees. So this is a challenging object to capture. M83, also called the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation borders of Hydra and Centaurus. Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille discovered it on February 17, 1752, at the Cape of Good Hope. Charles Messier added it to his catalog in March 1781. At 15 million light-years away, it is one of the closest and brightest barred spiral galaxies in the sky, visible even with binoculars.” Thank you, Steven! See more deep-sky photos from May 2026 below.
The EarthSky community has many talented astrophotographers who capture stunning images of the deep sky. We gathered some of our favorite deep-sky photos from May 2026 for you to enjoy. Do you have images of your own to share? You can submit them to EarthSky here. We’d love to see them and share them!
Deep-sky photos of diffuse nebulae
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Vikash Singh in Dhannad, Jharkhand, India, captured this telescopic view of the North America Nebula on May 8, 2026. Vikash wrote: “NGC 7000, also known as the North America Nebula, from my city Dhanbad using my Dwarf 3 Smart Telescope. Located in the constellation Cygnus near the bright star Deneb, this emission nebula lies around 1,500-2,200 light-years away from Earth and stretches nearly 50 light-years across space.” Thank you, Vikash!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jacky Brown in Aurora, Colorado, captured this telescopic view of the Rosette Nebula with its associated star cluster, in the constellation Monoceros, on May 10, 2026. Jacky wrote: “I was actually watching Betelgeuse and got sidetracked to this star cluster. Beautiful object, as always.” Thank you, Jacky!
Planetary nebulae
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured this telescopic view of Messier 97, the Owl Nebula in the constellation Ursa Major, on May 15, 2026. Jelieta wrote: “The Owl Nebula, located in the constellation Ursa Major approximately 2,000 light-years from Earth, is a planetary nebula formed from the outer layers of a dying sunlike star. Its distinctive ‘owl-eyed’ appearance emerges from complex shells of glowing gas illuminated by the hot remnant stellar core. This image represents both the beauty and the challenge of modern backyard astrophotography, where even under intrusive artificial light, faint deep-sky objects can still be revealed through patience, precision tracking, and long exposure imaging.” Thank you, Jelieta!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jelieta Walinski at Desert Bloom Observatory in St. David, Arizona, captured this telescopic view of Messier 57, the Ring Nebula, in the constellation Lyra, on May 16, 2026. Jelieta wrote: “Captured from Desert Bloom Observatory under intermittent monsoon skies in the Arizona desert, this image reveals the luminous beauty of the Ring Nebula (Messier 57), the glowing remains of a dying star approximately 2,300 light-years from Earth. Its delicate emerald core and expanding outer shell shine like a celestial smoke ring suspended in the darkness of space.” Thank you, Jelieta!
Star clusters
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Giuseppe Pappa from Sicily, Italy, used a remote telescope in Namibia to capture this view of globular cluster NGC 5139, Omega Centauri, on May 13, 2026. Giuseppe wrote: “May offers the optimal annual window for latitudes around 38-32 degrees north latitude. In this case I took the images from Namibia (remote control). Wide-field capture of the Milky Way’s most massive globular cluster. The flat field of the AG70 astrograph delivers pinpoint stellar profiles across the entire frame, mapping the steep radial density gradient from the structural outskirts to the unresolved core. Due to its multiple stellar populations with distinct chemical profiles and ages, NGC 5139 is classified as a stripped galactic nucleus: the fossil remnant of a dwarf galaxy accreted by the Milky Way.” Thank you, Giuseppe!
Deep-sky photos of distant galaxies
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) captured this telescopic view of Messier 51, the Whirlpool galaxy, on May 9, 2026. Tameem wrote: “Located about 23.5 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, M51 is one of the most famous interacting spiral galaxies in the night sky. Its striking spiral structure is believed to be enhanced by the gravitational interaction with its companion galaxy NGC 5195, visible beside it. Several distant background galaxies also appear throughout the frame, including IC 4277 and IC 4278, adding depth to this cosmic scene.” Thank you, Tameem!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohammed Abdallah in Suez, Egypt, used a telephoto lens to capture this view of galaxies Messier 81 and Messier 82 on May 6, 2026. Mohammed wrote: “M81 and M82 are interacting galaxies located in Ursa Major, and they are about 12 million light-years away. It’s impressive to think about how many million stars are in front of your eyes.” Thank you, Mohammed!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in Al Qou’, United Arab Emirates (UAE), captured this telescopic view of Markarian’s Chain of galaxies on May 23, 2026. Tameem wrote: “Markarian’s Chain is a famous curved alignment of galaxies located within the Virgo Cluster, one of the nearest large galaxy clusters to Earth. The chain was named after the Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian, who noticed that many of these galaxies appear visually connected in a smooth arc across the sky. This region contains a remarkable variety of galaxies, including giant elliptical galaxies, spiral galaxies seen edge-on, and interacting systems shaped by gravitational encounters over millions of years.” Thank you, Tameem!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Smithfield, Virginia, captured this telescopic view of Markarian’s Chain of galaxies on May 30, 2026. Steven wrote: “The Markarian chain of galaxies and even more field beyond them. The finder chart and poster are courtesy of a free script for PixInsight, developed by Daniel Nimmervoll of Germany. Note that well over 500 galaxies are revealed in this image. I chose to stop at 246.” Thank you, Steven!
Bottom line: Without a doubt, you’ll enjoy this gallery of deep-sky photos from May 2026 by our EarthSky community. If you have a great photo to share, send it in, too. We love to see them!
NASA has created a second perpetual ocean video, building on the incredibly popular original video from 2011.
The new video traces some of the strongest currents, showing surface ocean currents in white and deeper ocean currents in dark blue.
The video helps scientists understand the characteristics of these currents better and ultimately understand how heat is transported globally in the ocean.
This is a visualization of ocean currents around the world. Scientists use NASA’s ocean model, Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO), to visualize the currents. The ECCO ocean circulation model incorporates observations from spacecraft, buoys and other in situ measurements to keep the model accurate. ECCO is a joint project between NASA/ JPL and MIT. The model output used here is from ECCO-2 and covers the years 2021-2023.
In 2011, ECCO2 was used to create a visualization called Perpetual Ocean. Perpetual Ocean continues to be extremely popular, but it only shows ocean currents on the surface.
In this new visualization, we use the ocean’s 3D velocity field to visualize some of the strongest ocean currents. We release virtual particles in the ocean and allow them to move with the ocean’s 3D velocity field. Each particle has a trail so we can see its direction of movement better. The particles initialized above 600 meters (1,970 feet) in depth have a trail length of three days, those initialized deeper than 600 meters have a trail length of six days. The particle trails help identify the strongest currents in the world that are squeezed in narrow belts on the western side of each ocean basin. These are called western boundary currents.
The looping meanders in the boundary currents sometimes form turbulent rings (eddies) that can trap cold or warm waters in their centers and then separate from the main flow. In general, the western boundary currents are warm and salty.
The visualization starts from a global rotating view. Then, it slows down to see the Western Boundary Current along the western edge of the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Australia and Asia. We zoom in to show the Kuroshio Current off the coast of Japan. Along the Japanese coast, the current exhibits large meanders that can persist for many months in more or less the same location. The Kuroshio Current has a temperature range of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius (68 to 77 F). Its salinity can change seasonally with an average value of 34.5.
Zeroing in on the Indian Ocean and the southern tip of Africa
We then zoom out and move over the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean exhibits large variations in salinity. The western Indian Ocean is quite salty (>36) due to overflow inputs from seas such as the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The East Indian Ocean is fresher (~35) due to river inputs from India. The Indonesian Throughflow is quite fresh (33-34) and carries freshwater from the Pacific.
We then zoom into the southern tip of Africa. The exchange of water from the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic occurs here. The Agulhas Current is another Western Boundary current following the slope of the continental shelf closely. The continental shelf along the east coast of southern Africa is quite narrow and steep. This sloping topography stabilizes the Agulhas Current so that it shows no wide meanderings of the type familiar in other boundary currents such as the Kuroshio.
The Agulhas Current overshoots the African continent, moving into the South Atlantic. It then retroflects back to the Indian Ocean. At the retroflection, shedding of warm (20 to 25 degrees C or 68 to 77 F) and salty (~35.5) rings happens. The eddies detached from the current have a lifetime of more than two years traveling across the South Atlantic Ocean. These eddies are what we call the Agulhas Rings.
This clip from NASA’s perpetual ocean video focuses on the southern tip of Africa. Those white eddies are the Agulhas Rings. Image via NASA.
The perpetual ocean video aims for North America
Another Western Boundary Current, called the Gulf Stream, comes into view along the east coast of North America. The Gulf Stream forms at the Florida Straits. It’s one of the fastest currents on Earth with surface speed of up to 2.5 meters per second (5.6 mph).
In the Gulf Stream, cold cores (mostly nticyclonic ones) form when the Gulf Stream meanders eastward, leaving the coast of North Ameraica (off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina). The eddy can be as large as 1,000 km (600 miles) across. Zooming into the Gulf Stream, we can see that the warm surface water (>25 degrees C or 77 F) moves poleward (white particle trails). The Gulf Stream is generally the warmest and saltiest western boundary current. There’s a return current (blue particle trails) underneath at a depth below 500 meters (1,640 feet) moving southward carrying cold waters from the pole.
The loop currents in the Gulf of Mexico are very large eddies persisting in the Gulf. They bring the warm and highly saline Caribbean water into the Gulf. As we zoom out from the Gulf Stream, the salinity version shows that the Atlantic is generally much saltier than the Pacific.
Models like ECCO-2 help scientists to understand the characteristics of these currents better and ultimately understand how heat is transported globally in the ocean.
Bottom line: Watch a mesmerizing perpetual ocean video that shows the movements of the currents and eddies that churn off the eastern coasts of the continents.
NASA has created a second perpetual ocean video, building on the incredibly popular original video from 2011.
The new video traces some of the strongest currents, showing surface ocean currents in white and deeper ocean currents in dark blue.
The video helps scientists understand the characteristics of these currents better and ultimately understand how heat is transported globally in the ocean.
This is a visualization of ocean currents around the world. Scientists use NASA’s ocean model, Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO), to visualize the currents. The ECCO ocean circulation model incorporates observations from spacecraft, buoys and other in situ measurements to keep the model accurate. ECCO is a joint project between NASA/ JPL and MIT. The model output used here is from ECCO-2 and covers the years 2021-2023.
In 2011, ECCO2 was used to create a visualization called Perpetual Ocean. Perpetual Ocean continues to be extremely popular, but it only shows ocean currents on the surface.
In this new visualization, we use the ocean’s 3D velocity field to visualize some of the strongest ocean currents. We release virtual particles in the ocean and allow them to move with the ocean’s 3D velocity field. Each particle has a trail so we can see its direction of movement better. The particles initialized above 600 meters (1,970 feet) in depth have a trail length of three days, those initialized deeper than 600 meters have a trail length of six days. The particle trails help identify the strongest currents in the world that are squeezed in narrow belts on the western side of each ocean basin. These are called western boundary currents.
The looping meanders in the boundary currents sometimes form turbulent rings (eddies) that can trap cold or warm waters in their centers and then separate from the main flow. In general, the western boundary currents are warm and salty.
The visualization starts from a global rotating view. Then, it slows down to see the Western Boundary Current along the western edge of the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Australia and Asia. We zoom in to show the Kuroshio Current off the coast of Japan. Along the Japanese coast, the current exhibits large meanders that can persist for many months in more or less the same location. The Kuroshio Current has a temperature range of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius (68 to 77 F). Its salinity can change seasonally with an average value of 34.5.
Zeroing in on the Indian Ocean and the southern tip of Africa
We then zoom out and move over the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean exhibits large variations in salinity. The western Indian Ocean is quite salty (>36) due to overflow inputs from seas such as the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The East Indian Ocean is fresher (~35) due to river inputs from India. The Indonesian Throughflow is quite fresh (33-34) and carries freshwater from the Pacific.
We then zoom into the southern tip of Africa. The exchange of water from the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic occurs here. The Agulhas Current is another Western Boundary current following the slope of the continental shelf closely. The continental shelf along the east coast of southern Africa is quite narrow and steep. This sloping topography stabilizes the Agulhas Current so that it shows no wide meanderings of the type familiar in other boundary currents such as the Kuroshio.
The Agulhas Current overshoots the African continent, moving into the South Atlantic. It then retroflects back to the Indian Ocean. At the retroflection, shedding of warm (20 to 25 degrees C or 68 to 77 F) and salty (~35.5) rings happens. The eddies detached from the current have a lifetime of more than two years traveling across the South Atlantic Ocean. These eddies are what we call the Agulhas Rings.
This clip from NASA’s perpetual ocean video focuses on the southern tip of Africa. Those white eddies are the Agulhas Rings. Image via NASA.
The perpetual ocean video aims for North America
Another Western Boundary Current, called the Gulf Stream, comes into view along the east coast of North America. The Gulf Stream forms at the Florida Straits. It’s one of the fastest currents on Earth with surface speed of up to 2.5 meters per second (5.6 mph).
In the Gulf Stream, cold cores (mostly nticyclonic ones) form when the Gulf Stream meanders eastward, leaving the coast of North Ameraica (off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina). The eddy can be as large as 1,000 km (600 miles) across. Zooming into the Gulf Stream, we can see that the warm surface water (>25 degrees C or 77 F) moves poleward (white particle trails). The Gulf Stream is generally the warmest and saltiest western boundary current. There’s a return current (blue particle trails) underneath at a depth below 500 meters (1,640 feet) moving southward carrying cold waters from the pole.
The loop currents in the Gulf of Mexico are very large eddies persisting in the Gulf. They bring the warm and highly saline Caribbean water into the Gulf. As we zoom out from the Gulf Stream, the salinity version shows that the Atlantic is generally much saltier than the Pacific.
Models like ECCO-2 help scientists to understand the characteristics of these currents better and ultimately understand how heat is transported globally in the ocean.
Bottom line: Watch a mesmerizing perpetual ocean video that shows the movements of the currents and eddies that churn off the eastern coasts of the continents.
The Small Magellanic Cloud is our galactic neighbor. It’s a satellite galaxy that orbits our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists long assumed it was rotating like other galaxies, but new observations show its stars are expanding outward instead. The arrows show the motion of stars away from the center of the galaxy, and the colors indicate the velocities of the stars. Image via ESO/ VISTA VMC/ AIP/ S. Vijayasree.
The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are dwarf satellite galaxies of our Milky Way galaxy.
Scientists had thought the Small Magellanic Cloud was rotating, but a new study has found that its stars are racing outwards.
It seems it’s being ripped apart by the gravity of its neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are dwarf satellite galaxies orbiting our Milky Way galaxy. Visible with the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere, these galaxies appear serene neighbors in southern skies. But on June 2, 2026, scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam in Germany said that the gravitational pull from the Large Magellanic Cloud is actually ripping the Small Magellanic Cloud apart.
Scientists looked at more than 10 years of observations from the VISTA Survey of the Magellanic Clouds. This allowed them to measure the motions of millions of stars inside the Small Magellanic Cloud. These movements showed the dwarf galaxy was not rotating as once thought. Instead, the galaxy’s stars are racing away from the center. Even the inner stars appear to be heading toward the exit.
The results reveal large-scale tidal expansion throughout the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy and challenge long-standing assumptions that the Small Magellanic Cloud behaves like a rotating disk. The study shows that the internal motions of stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud are dominated not by orderly rotation, but by gravitational disturbances caused by repeated encounters with the Large Magellanic Cloud over billions of years.
The researchers submitted their study in the Letters to the Editor section of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The journal accepted it for publication on May 21, 2026.
More on the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the closest galaxies to us at about 160,000 light-years away. Meanwhile, the Small Magellanic Cloud is a bit farther at about 200,000 light-years away. As some of the closest galaxies to our home galaxy, they stand out as big, misty blobs of light under dark skies.
Scientists estimate the Small Magellanic Cloud contains around 3 billion stars, while the Large Magellanic Cloud houses some 30 billion stars. The Large Magellanic Cloud is in the constellations of Dorado and Mensa. And Tucana the Toucan is home to the Small Magellanic Cloud.
These are the Large (upper right) and Small (lower left) Magellanic Clouds. They look like smudges on a dark night sky, visible from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. They’re classified as irregular galaxies belonging to our Local Group of galaxies, which also includes our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. Image via S. Brunier/ ESO.
A disruptive galactic neighbor
The idea that the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds have influence over each other isn’t new. Their interactions have given them distorted shapes, bursts of star formation and streams of gas trailing away from the galaxies.
But the infrared observations spanning more than a decade have allowed astronomers to see a clearer picture of the stellar movements. In fact, the astronomers can see that the stars of the Small Magellanic Cloud are moving outward along a southeast–northwest axis. They said that motion was consistent with the gravitational pull exerted by the neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud.
And it’s not just the outer fringes of stars closest to the Large Magellanic Cloud that are heading outward. The stars even at the Small Magellanic Cloud’s center are heading outward and not rotating around a midpoint.
When might the Small Magellanic Cloud disperse entirely? Well, the stars are moving at an average speed of about 38,000 miles per hour (17 km per second). At that pace, the stars would travel several thousand light-years over the course of a few hundred million years. So while the dwarf galaxy will look distorted sooner rather than later, it still won’t look noticeably different anywhere within our lifetimes.
Past disruptions
Beyond the motions of the stars heading outward from the galaxy, the study also uncovered another distinct motion. This additional motion was northward, and astronomers only found it in the older red giant stars.
The researchers think this motion is leftover from an interaction that occurred more than 2 billion years ago. Life isn’t easy when you have pushy neighbors.
Bottom line: Astronomers have found the stars of our galactic neighbor, the Small Magellanic Cloud, are heading outward. This dwarf galaxy is not rotating, but is in the act of slowly coming apart.
The Small Magellanic Cloud is our galactic neighbor. It’s a satellite galaxy that orbits our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists long assumed it was rotating like other galaxies, but new observations show its stars are expanding outward instead. The arrows show the motion of stars away from the center of the galaxy, and the colors indicate the velocities of the stars. Image via ESO/ VISTA VMC/ AIP/ S. Vijayasree.
The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are dwarf satellite galaxies of our Milky Way galaxy.
Scientists had thought the Small Magellanic Cloud was rotating, but a new study has found that its stars are racing outwards.
It seems it’s being ripped apart by the gravity of its neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are dwarf satellite galaxies orbiting our Milky Way galaxy. Visible with the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere, these galaxies appear serene neighbors in southern skies. But on June 2, 2026, scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam in Germany said that the gravitational pull from the Large Magellanic Cloud is actually ripping the Small Magellanic Cloud apart.
Scientists looked at more than 10 years of observations from the VISTA Survey of the Magellanic Clouds. This allowed them to measure the motions of millions of stars inside the Small Magellanic Cloud. These movements showed the dwarf galaxy was not rotating as once thought. Instead, the galaxy’s stars are racing away from the center. Even the inner stars appear to be heading toward the exit.
The results reveal large-scale tidal expansion throughout the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy and challenge long-standing assumptions that the Small Magellanic Cloud behaves like a rotating disk. The study shows that the internal motions of stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud are dominated not by orderly rotation, but by gravitational disturbances caused by repeated encounters with the Large Magellanic Cloud over billions of years.
The researchers submitted their study in the Letters to the Editor section of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The journal accepted it for publication on May 21, 2026.
More on the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the closest galaxies to us at about 160,000 light-years away. Meanwhile, the Small Magellanic Cloud is a bit farther at about 200,000 light-years away. As some of the closest galaxies to our home galaxy, they stand out as big, misty blobs of light under dark skies.
Scientists estimate the Small Magellanic Cloud contains around 3 billion stars, while the Large Magellanic Cloud houses some 30 billion stars. The Large Magellanic Cloud is in the constellations of Dorado and Mensa. And Tucana the Toucan is home to the Small Magellanic Cloud.
These are the Large (upper right) and Small (lower left) Magellanic Clouds. They look like smudges on a dark night sky, visible from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. They’re classified as irregular galaxies belonging to our Local Group of galaxies, which also includes our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. Image via S. Brunier/ ESO.
A disruptive galactic neighbor
The idea that the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds have influence over each other isn’t new. Their interactions have given them distorted shapes, bursts of star formation and streams of gas trailing away from the galaxies.
But the infrared observations spanning more than a decade have allowed astronomers to see a clearer picture of the stellar movements. In fact, the astronomers can see that the stars of the Small Magellanic Cloud are moving outward along a southeast–northwest axis. They said that motion was consistent with the gravitational pull exerted by the neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud.
And it’s not just the outer fringes of stars closest to the Large Magellanic Cloud that are heading outward. The stars even at the Small Magellanic Cloud’s center are heading outward and not rotating around a midpoint.
When might the Small Magellanic Cloud disperse entirely? Well, the stars are moving at an average speed of about 38,000 miles per hour (17 km per second). At that pace, the stars would travel several thousand light-years over the course of a few hundred million years. So while the dwarf galaxy will look distorted sooner rather than later, it still won’t look noticeably different anywhere within our lifetimes.
Past disruptions
Beyond the motions of the stars heading outward from the galaxy, the study also uncovered another distinct motion. This additional motion was northward, and astronomers only found it in the older red giant stars.
The researchers think this motion is leftover from an interaction that occurred more than 2 billion years ago. Life isn’t easy when you have pushy neighbors.
Bottom line: Astronomers have found the stars of our galactic neighbor, the Small Magellanic Cloud, are heading outward. This dwarf galaxy is not rotating, but is in the act of slowly coming apart.
Names for days of the week come from the solar system
Did you know the days of the week are named after objects in our solar system? Sure, Sunday is easy for us to recognize as being named for the sun. And maybe you can even spot Monday as originating from the moon. But how did Mars become Tuesday?
Well, long ago people looked to the sky to keep track of time. The sun rose and set and rose again and people marked a day. The moon was full and then waned until it disappeared and then grew again to full, and people marked a month of time.
Eventually, according to Kristin Heineman of Colorado State University, the ancient Babylonians back in 2,300 BCE began dividing those months into seven-day segments. Why seven? Because these astronomers monitored the bright lights that wandered among the stars: the sun, moon and five visible planets. Unlike the stars, these seven objects shift location each day or night.
So, the sun, moon and five visible planets became the representatives for each of the days of the week. And, over millennia, the concept of a seven-day week spread around the globe. As the idea spread to other cultures, the names of the week morphed from the gods the planets were named for to gods in other lore with similar attributes.
Sunday is the sun’s day
Sunday is the day of the week that’s easiest to see as having a direct relationship to a solar system object. The name Sunday honored the brightest object in our daytime sky, the sun. Our English word for the sun comes from the Old English version, Sunnandæg, which means “sun’s day.”
Not surprisingly, then, the name Monday comes from “moon’s day.” The moon is the brightest object we can see in the nighttime sky. So not only were months (or should we say moonths?) originally arranged from one full moon to the next, the moon was also honored with a day of the week. The Old English Monandæg, moon’s day, was how we got our English word Monday.
Tuesday is where the days of the week and planets start to look less straightforward. That’s because people of Germanic languages substituted the Roman gods for their own Norse gods. So Mars, the Roman god of war, was switched for the Germanic peoples’ own god of war, Tyr, or Tiw. And then Tiw’s day evolved to become what we know of as Tuesday.
Wednesday was named for Mercury. For Romans, Wednesday was Dies Mercurii, the “day of Mercury.” Germanic people translated the day of Mercury to the day of Woden. Woden, or Odin, was the Norse god of travel and similar to Mercury, the fleet-footed messenger. Over time, “Woden’s day” evolved into Wednesday.
View larger. | This enhanced-color image of Mercury comes from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. The colors bring out the chemical, mineralogical and physical differences among the rocks that make up Mercury’s surface. Image via NASA/ Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/ Carnegie Institution of Washington.This fresco of Mercury, or Hermes, was on a wall in Pompeii. It dates to the 1st century. Image via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Thursday is Jupiter’s day
Thursday is probably much more readily recognizable as being Thor’s day. Thor is the powerful Norse god of thunder. And the equivalent Roman god was Jupiter, the king of the gods.
Friday is in honor of Venus, the brightest planet, which the ancients named for the goddess of love and beauty. For Romans it was Dies Veneris, or “day of Venus”. Germanic peoples connected Venus with the goddess Frigg or Freya, leading to “Frigg’s day,” later shortened to Friday.
View larger. | Venus is the brightest planet from Earth and the second-closest planet to the sun. Image via JAXA/ ISAS/ DARTS/ Kevin M. Gill/ Flickr (CC BY 2.0).This is a medieval representation of Venus, the goddess of love. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Saturday is Saturn’s day
Once we hit the end of the week, we’re back on familiar ground again. Saturday kept its Roman planetary connection almost unchanged. Dies Saturni was the “day of Saturn,” named for the planet Saturn and the Roman god of agriculture and time. Unlike the other weekday names, the English-language version did not swap in a Norse god.
The Cassini spacecraft caught the 6th planet from the sun and its rings like never before. In this image, Saturn’s rings are gloriously backlit with the sun blocked by the planet. Image via NASA/ JPL/ Space Science Institute.This fresco of Saturn was on a wall in Pompeii. Image via Carole Raddato/ Wikimedia Commons.
Bottom line: The names for the days of the week come from the solar system bodies that the ancients could see in the sky.
Names for days of the week come from the solar system
Did you know the days of the week are named after objects in our solar system? Sure, Sunday is easy for us to recognize as being named for the sun. And maybe you can even spot Monday as originating from the moon. But how did Mars become Tuesday?
Well, long ago people looked to the sky to keep track of time. The sun rose and set and rose again and people marked a day. The moon was full and then waned until it disappeared and then grew again to full, and people marked a month of time.
Eventually, according to Kristin Heineman of Colorado State University, the ancient Babylonians back in 2,300 BCE began dividing those months into seven-day segments. Why seven? Because these astronomers monitored the bright lights that wandered among the stars: the sun, moon and five visible planets. Unlike the stars, these seven objects shift location each day or night.
So, the sun, moon and five visible planets became the representatives for each of the days of the week. And, over millennia, the concept of a seven-day week spread around the globe. As the idea spread to other cultures, the names of the week morphed from the gods the planets were named for to gods in other lore with similar attributes.
Sunday is the sun’s day
Sunday is the day of the week that’s easiest to see as having a direct relationship to a solar system object. The name Sunday honored the brightest object in our daytime sky, the sun. Our English word for the sun comes from the Old English version, Sunnandæg, which means “sun’s day.”
Not surprisingly, then, the name Monday comes from “moon’s day.” The moon is the brightest object we can see in the nighttime sky. So not only were months (or should we say moonths?) originally arranged from one full moon to the next, the moon was also honored with a day of the week. The Old English Monandæg, moon’s day, was how we got our English word Monday.
Tuesday is where the days of the week and planets start to look less straightforward. That’s because people of Germanic languages substituted the Roman gods for their own Norse gods. So Mars, the Roman god of war, was switched for the Germanic peoples’ own god of war, Tyr, or Tiw. And then Tiw’s day evolved to become what we know of as Tuesday.
Wednesday was named for Mercury. For Romans, Wednesday was Dies Mercurii, the “day of Mercury.” Germanic people translated the day of Mercury to the day of Woden. Woden, or Odin, was the Norse god of travel and similar to Mercury, the fleet-footed messenger. Over time, “Woden’s day” evolved into Wednesday.
View larger. | This enhanced-color image of Mercury comes from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. The colors bring out the chemical, mineralogical and physical differences among the rocks that make up Mercury’s surface. Image via NASA/ Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/ Carnegie Institution of Washington.This fresco of Mercury, or Hermes, was on a wall in Pompeii. It dates to the 1st century. Image via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Thursday is Jupiter’s day
Thursday is probably much more readily recognizable as being Thor’s day. Thor is the powerful Norse god of thunder. And the equivalent Roman god was Jupiter, the king of the gods.
Friday is in honor of Venus, the brightest planet, which the ancients named for the goddess of love and beauty. For Romans it was Dies Veneris, or “day of Venus”. Germanic peoples connected Venus with the goddess Frigg or Freya, leading to “Frigg’s day,” later shortened to Friday.
View larger. | Venus is the brightest planet from Earth and the second-closest planet to the sun. Image via JAXA/ ISAS/ DARTS/ Kevin M. Gill/ Flickr (CC BY 2.0).This is a medieval representation of Venus, the goddess of love. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Saturday is Saturn’s day
Once we hit the end of the week, we’re back on familiar ground again. Saturday kept its Roman planetary connection almost unchanged. Dies Saturni was the “day of Saturn,” named for the planet Saturn and the Roman god of agriculture and time. Unlike the other weekday names, the English-language version did not swap in a Norse god.
The Cassini spacecraft caught the 6th planet from the sun and its rings like never before. In this image, Saturn’s rings are gloriously backlit with the sun blocked by the planet. Image via NASA/ JPL/ Space Science Institute.This fresco of Saturn was on a wall in Pompeii. Image via Carole Raddato/ Wikimedia Commons.
Bottom line: The names for the days of the week come from the solar system bodies that the ancients could see in the sky.
