The name is a Dad Joke. The mission is serious.
Bringing theUniverseDown to Earth
Inspiring curiosity. Expanding knowledge. Connecting people with the wonders of our universe.
Our Mission
Our mission is to make the wonders of the universe accessible to everyone through education, outreach, and community. We bring the excitement of space and astronomy down to Earth, inspiring learners of all ages to ask questions, seek answers, and see their place in the cosmos.
Podcast Episodes
Conversations about the universe, science, and our place in it.
TODAY’S UNIVERSE
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
October 9, 2026
Stickney Crater
Explanation: Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall. Asaph Hall discovered both the Red Planet's moons in 1877. Over 9 kilometers across, Stickney is nearly half the diameter of Phobos itself,…
View on NASA APOD →Astronomy Resources
Updates, articles, and educational materials from our team.
Astronomy News
The latest from NASA, ESA, JPL, and all corners of the galaxy.
NASA
NASA Seeks US Industry Plans for Commercial Space Stations
NASA is advancing American leadership in space by taking the next step toward a future where commercial space…
Oct 9, 2026
ESA
Solar Orbiter tracks origin of mysterious magnetic switchbacks
The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has flown through an S-shaped kink known as a ‘switchback’ in…
Oct 8, 2026
Sky & Telescope
This Week's Sky at a Glance, October 9 – 18
Take advantage of these moonless evenings! Make friends with some far Cassiopeia clusters in the high-arching Milky Way.…
Oct 9, 2026
YOUR PLACE IN THE STARS
Find Your Birthday Star
Enter your birth date and we’ll match your age to the distance of a nearby star. If you are 42 years old, for example, we look for a star close to 42 light-years away—so the light reaching Earth now began its journey at roughly the time you were born.
Calculated age: —
Why it works: a light-year is a distance—the distance light travels in one year. A star 30 light-years away is seen as it was about 30 years ago.
Educational matching uses a curated catalog of nearby and familiar stars with rounded published distances. Because stars are not spaced at every exact light-year distance, your result is the closest match in the catalog rather than an exact one.
AstRowe Comedy Observatory
Dad Joke Launcher
Pull the lever for a randomly selected space Dad Joke.
PULL!
How does the Moon cut its hair?
Machine primed. Pull the lever.
Dad Joke DYK
The term “dad joke” was recorded in a 1987 Father’s Day editorial by Jim Kalbaugh of the Gettysburg Times, who defended the tradition as part of fatherhood.
Dad Joke DYK
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WARNING:
Telling Dad Jokes could result in eye rolls and groans from mom and kids. Excessive telling of Dad Jokes could be harmful to Dad's health.