Pictures from space! Our image of the day

Space can be a wondrous place, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it! Take a look at our favorite pictures from space here, and if you’re wondering what happened today in space history don’t miss our On This Day in Space video show here!

Neon lights

This strange, green glow is actually a new type of star that, until recently, hadn't been observed in X-ray light. Scientists think that this star formed when two white dwarf stars (the leftover stellar cores of stars like our sun) merged into one another, forming a new object that emits X-ray light instead of being destroyed in the collision. — (Image credit: ESA/XMM-Newton, L. Oskinova/Univ. Potsdam, Germany)

Jan. 11, 2021: This strange, green glow is actually a new type of star that, until recently, hadn’t been observed in X-ray light. Scientists think that this star formed when two white dwarf stars (the leftover stellar cores of stars like our sun) merged into one another, forming a new object that emits X-ray light instead of being destroyed in the collision. — Chelsea Gohd

Galactic fireworks

The galaxy NGC 6946, nicknamed "the Fireworks Galaxy," can be seen in this stunning image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy got its explosive nickname because, while our Milky Way galaxy has an average of just 1-2 supernovas per century, NGC 6946 has had 10 in the last century. "The Fireworks Galaxy," the structure of which is somewhere between a full spiral and a barred spiral, can be found 25.2 million light-years from Earth on the border of the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. -- Chelsea Gohd — (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Leroy, K. S. Long; CC BY 4.0)

Jan. 8, 2021: The galaxy NGC 6946, nicknamed “the Fireworks Galaxy,” can be seen in this stunning image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy got its explosive nickname because, while our Milky Way galaxy has an average of just 1-2 supernovas per century, NGC 6946 has had 10 in the last century.

“The Fireworks Galaxy,” the structure of which is somewhere between a full spiral and a barred spiral, can be found 25.2 million light-years from Earth on the border of the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. — Chelsea Gohd

Reflecting on the sun

What might look like an artistic mosaic from afar is actually 366 images of the sun throughout the year 2020, taken by the European Space Agency's Proba-2 satellite. Proba-2 continuously monitors the Sun and, in this collection of photos, there is one image selected for each day (the "extra" day is from February 29, 2020 which was leap day). These images, which were taken by Proba-2's SWAP camera (which captures ultraviolet wavelengths to show the Sun's extreme atmosphere), have a number of "easter eggs" including partial solar eclipses visible on June 21 and December 14. -- Chelsea Gohd — (Image credit: ESA/Royal Observatory of Belgium)

Jan. 7, 2021: What might look like an artistic mosaic from afar is actually 366 images of the sun throughout the year 2020, taken by the European Space Agency’s Proba-2 satellite. Proba-2 continuously monitors the Sun and, in this collection of photos, there is one image selected for each day (the “extra” day is from February 29, 2020 which was leap day). These images, which were taken by Proba-2’s SWAP camera (which captures ultraviolet wavelengths to show the Sun’s extreme atmosphere), have a number of “easter eggs” including partial solar eclipses visible on June 21 and December 14. — Chelsea Gohd

Space radishes

This up-close photo shows a radish grown to perfection. These radishes serve as a control crop for the radishes currently being grown as part of the Plant Habitat-02 (PH-02) experiment in the microgravity environment onboard the International Space Station. This crop of radishes was grown in the Advanced Plant Habitat inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. — (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

Jan. 6, 2021: This up-close photo shows a radish grown to perfection. These radishes serve as a control crop for the radishes currently being grown as part of the Plant Habitat-02 (PH-02) experiment in the microgravity environment onboard the International Space Station. This crop of radishes was grown in the Advanced Plant Habitat inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. — Chelsea Gohd

A new year in space

The astronauts currently living and working on the International Space Station posed for a festive photo to ring in the new year as 2020 became 2021. NASA astronaut Victor Glover shared the photo on Twitter with the caption "God bless you and this new year! I pray for renewed strength, compassion, and truth and that we can all be surrounded by family and friends..." Glover flew to the space station as part of SpaceX's Crew-1 mission, the company's first fully operational crewed mission to space. — (Image credit: Victor Glover/Twitter)

Jan. 5, 2021: The astronauts currently living and working on the International Space Station posed for a festive photo to ring in the new year as 2020 became 2021. NASA astronaut Victor Glover shared the photo on Twitter with the caption “God bless you and this new year! I pray for renewed strength, compassion, and truth and that we can all be surrounded by family and friends…” Glover flew to the space station as part of SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission, the company’s first fully operational crewed mission to space. — Chelsea Gohd

Salad, anyone?

Radish plants are pictured growing for the Plant Habitat-02 experiment that could help optimize plant growth in the unique environment of space and evaluate nutrition and taste of the plants. — (Image credit: NASA)

Dec. 28, 2020: This crop of radishes on the International Space Station is a welcome sight of green for astronauts living aboard the orbiting lab. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins grew the space veggies in the Plant Habitat-02 as part of an experiment to study how plants grow in space, and how it affects the nutrition and taste of food plants for astronauts. — Tariq Malik

Earthrise for Christmas

NASA astronauts took this photo of Earth rising from lunar orbit during the Apollo 8 mission on Dec. 24, 1968. — (Image credit: NASA)

Dec. 25, 2020: Three NASA astronauts had a Christmas like no one on Earth in 1968. That’s because the Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders were visiting the moon. This iconic Earthrise image was captured by the astronauts on Christmas Eve, showing all of humanity from the vantage point of the lunar orbit. — Tariq Malik

A Starship flies

SpaceX's Starship SN8 launches on its first high-altitude flight from the company's Boca Chica site in South Texas on Dec. 8, 2020. — (Image credit: SpaceX)

Dec. 24, 2020: SpaceX’s Starship SN8 prototype lifts off from a pad near Boca Chica, Texas in this view from stunning Dec. 8 test launch of the 12-story rocket. The finned spacecraft flew to an altitude of nearly 8 miles, flipped over and glided back to Earth making an epic explosion during its landing attempt. Despite the explosion, SpaceX hailed the test launch as a successful trial of the Starship concept. A new vehicle, called SN9, is already on the launch pad awaiting its own test flight

On Dec. 23, SpaceX released a new video recap showcasing the Starship SN8 flight. — Tariq Malik

A ‘Molten Ring’ in the cosmos

This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the Einstein ring GAL-CLUS-022058s. Einstein rings are created when the light from distant objects like galaxies pass by an extremely massive object. Because of the process known as gravitational lensing, this light is bent and distorted into this amazing, bright curve or "ring." Scientists can use these rings to study galaxies that might otherwise be too faint or far away to see. — (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha; Acknowledgment: L. Shatz)

Dec. 23, 2020: This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the Einstein ring GAL-CLUS-022058s. Einstein rings are created when the light from distant objects like galaxies pass by an extremely massive object. Because of the process known as gravitational lensing, this light is bent and distorted into this amazing, bright curve or “ring.” Scientists can use these rings to study galaxies that might otherwise be too faint or far away to see. — Chelsea Gohd

Space bubbles

This "space bubble" was created by the Multiscale Boiling experiment otherwise known as Rubi. Installed in the Fluid Science Laboratory in the Columbus module of the International Space Station, Rubi helps researchers to understand how boiling acts in the weightless environment of space. In this image, you can see electrostatic forces pulling the bubble upwards. — (Image credit: Technical University Darmstadt)

Dec. 22, 2020: This “space bubble” was created by the Multiscale Boiling experiment otherwise known as Rubi. Installed in the Fluid Science Laboratory in the Columbus module of the International Space Station, Rubi helps researchers to understand how boiling acts in the weightless environment of space. In this image, you can see electrostatic forces pulling the bubble upwards. — Chelsea Gohd

A far-off galaxy

In this image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, you can see the galaxy NGC 1947, a lenticular galaxy or disc galaxy that's lost most of its interstellar matter. Lenticular galaxies, because of their lost matter, don't have a lot of star formation happening within them. This galaxy was discovered almost 200 years ago and rests in the constellation Dorado (The Dolphinfish) 40 million light-years from Earth. — (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Rosario Acknowledgement: L. Shatz)

Dec. 21, 2020: In this image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, you can see the galaxy NGC 1947, a lenticular galaxy or disc galaxy that’s lost most of its interstellar matter. Lenticular galaxies, because of their lost matter, don’t have a lot of star formation happening within them. This galaxy was discovered almost 200 years ago and rests in the constellation Dorado (The Dolphinfish) 40 million light-years from Earth. — Chelsea Gohd

Snow from space

After a bout of heavy snowfall, the snow-covered Alps can be seen from space in this image snapped by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission. Copernicus Sentinel-3 is made up of two satellites and collects data for the European Copernicus environmental monitoring program. With this image, it captured the aftermath of two snowstorms in the Austrian and Italian Alps during which up to a collective 9.8 feet (3 meters) of snow fell. — (Image credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2020), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

Dec. 17, 2020: After a bout of heavy snowfall, the snow-covered Alps can be seen from space in this image snapped by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission. Copernicus Sentinel-3 is made up of two satellites and collects data for the European Copernicus environmental monitoring program. With this image, it captured the aftermath of two snowstorms in the Austrian and Italian Alps during which up to a collective 9.8 feet (3 meters) of snow fell. — Chelsea Gohd

A dark storm reverses on Neptune

Astronomers spotted dark swirling vortex on Neptune suddenly reverse direction using the Hubble Space Telescope. The storm, discovered in 2018 using Hubble, began in Neptune's northern hemisphere and was traveling towards the equator. Scientists expected that as this happened the storm would become less and less visible. However, in August 2020, scientists using Hubble noticed the storm changing direction going back northwards. — (Image credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), and L.A. Sromovsky and P.M. Fry (University of Wisconsin-Madison))

Dec. 16, 2020: Astronomers spotted a dark swirling vortex on Neptune suddenly reverse direction using the Hubble Space Telescope. The storm, discovered in 2018 using Hubble, began in Neptune’s northern hemisphere and was traveling towards the equator. Scientists expected that as this happened the storm would become less and less visible. However, in August 2020, scientists using Hubble noticed the storm changing direction going back northwards. — Chelsea Gohd.

Saturn and Jupiter in the evening sky

In this photograph taken from Shenandoah National Park in Luray, Virginia, you can see the planets Saturn and Jupiter nestled close together in the sky at sunset. Saturn and Jupiter are nearing a "great conjunction" on Dec. 21. During the exciting, astronomical event, the two planets will appear to be so close together in the sky, they will be just a tenth of a degree apart from one another. — (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Dec. 15, 2020: In this photograph taken from Shenandoah National Park in Luray, Virginia, you can see the planets Saturn and Jupiter nestled close together in the sky at sunset. Saturn and Jupiter are nearing a “great conjunction” on Dec. 21. During the exciting, astronomical event, the two planets will appear to be so close together in the sky, they will be just a tenth of a degree apart from one another. — Chelsea Gohd

Working in space

Expedition 64 crew members, including NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, worked together to explore medical therapies for both cancer and heart conditions. Members of the crew also swapped out U.S. spacesuits inside of SpaceX's Cargo Dragon resupply ship as one suit was returned to the station and one will go back to Earth for maintenance. — (Image credit: NASA)

Dec. 14, 2020: Expedition 64 crew members, including NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, worked together to explore medical therapies for both cancer and heart conditions. Members of the crew also swapped out U.S. spacesuits inside of SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon resupply ship as one suit was returned to the station and one will go back to Earth for maintenance. — Chelsea Gohd

A sparkling, cosmic masterpiece

This image seems almost too cartoonish and sparkly to be real, but it is yet another stunning, unique view of the cosmos snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope. To capture this image, Hubble used a single infrared filter with its Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The image depicts stars near the center of the active galaxy Caldwell 96 (or NGC 2516). There are also a number of background galaxies that are visible (though fuzzy) in the image. — (Image credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Saha (NOAO); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America))

Dec. 11, 2020: This image seems almost too cartoonish and sparkly to be real, but it is yet another stunning, unique view of the cosmos snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope. To capture this image, Hubble used a single infrared filter with its Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The image depicts stars near the center of the active galaxy Caldwell 96 (or NGC 2516). There are also a number of background galaxies that are visible (though fuzzy) in the image. — Chelsea Gohd

SN8’s test flight goes explosively well

SN8, SpaceX's latest Starship prototype, launched on its first high-altitude test flight last night (Dec. 9, 2020) taking off at 5:45 p.m. EST (2245 GMT) from SpaceX's facility near Boca Chica, Texas. After a spectacular take-off, SN8 guided itself back to the ground where it landed near the launch stand. While the vehicle performed well throughout the test it came in a little too fast for the landing and touched down explosively. Still, the merits of the test flight were many and the SpaceX team, and most notably its founder Elon Musk, was thrilled with how it went. — (Image credit: SpaceX)

Dec. 10, 2020: SN8, SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype, launched on its first high-altitude test flight last night (Dec. 9, 2020) taking off at 5:45 p.m. EST (2245 GMT) from SpaceX’s facility near Boca Chica, Texas. After a spectacular take-off, SN8 guided itself back to the ground where it landed near the launch stand. While the vehicle performed well throughout the test it came in a little too fast for the landing and touched down explosively. Still, the merits of the test flight were many and the SpaceX team, and most notably its founder Elon Musk, was thrilled with how it went. — Chelsea Gohd

A 3D printed test ring

This shiny little piece of metal is a test segment from what is known as a launch interface ring, a ring that secures a satellite in place for its tough journey from Earth to space. The ring from which this segment was plucked was 3D printed with an aluminum-magnesium-scandium alloy as part of a European Space Agency Project designed to improve the technique known as LIRAM (Launch Interface Rings by Additive Manufacturing). — (Image credit: ESA)

Dec. 9, 2020: This shiny little piece of metal is a test segment from what is known as a launch interface ring, a ring that secures a satellite in place for its tough journey from Earth to space. The ring from which this segment was plucked was 3D printed with an aluminum-magnesium-scandium alloy as part of a European Space Agency Project designed to improve the technique known as LIRAM (Launch Interface Rings by Additive Manufacturing). — Chelsea Gohd

A cosmic wonderland

In this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, you can see the sparkling, sprawling wonder of space. Featured in this image is the galaxy SDSS J225506.80+005839.9. This galaxy with its long (not exactly catchy) name can be seen in the center right of this image. The recently discovered galaxy lies about 500 million light-years from Earth and is a perfect example of what can be discovered by space telescopes like Hubble. — (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Zabludoff)

Dec. 8, 2020: In this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, you can see the sparkling, sprawling wonder of space. Featured in this image is the galaxy SDSS J225506.80+005839.9. This galaxy with its long (not exactly catchy) name can be seen in the center right of this image. The recently discovered galaxy lies about 500 million light-years from Earth and is a perfect example of what can be discovered by space telescopes like Hubble. — Chelsea Gohd

New Zealand from space

The Banks Peninsula on the South Island of New Zealand shows off its striking colors in this stunning image taken from space. This image was taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, which is made up of two satellites that orbit our planet, scouring its surface collecting data and paying close attention to bodies of water and how they change over time. — (Image credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

Dec. 7, 2020: The Banks Peninsula on the South Island of New Zealand shows off its striking colors in this stunning image taken from space. This image was taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, which is made up of two satellites that orbit our planet, scouring its surface collecting data and paying close attention to bodies of water and how they change over time. — Chelsea Gohd

Russia’s wild rocket launch

A Russian Soyuz-2 rocket carrying a Gonets-M communications satellite launches into orbit on Dec. 3, 2020 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. — (Image credit: Russian Federation Ministry of Defense)

Friday, Dec. 4, 2020: This amazing close-up shows a view of a Soyuz-2 rocket’s first stage engines as it launched three new Gonets-M communications satellites and a military nanosatellite into orbit for Russia’s Ministry of Defense. The launch occurred Wednesday (Dec. 2) at 10:14 p.m. EST (0114 GMT or 3:14 a.m. Moscow time Thursday, Dec. 3) at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. You can watch an amazing video of the launch here. — Tariq Malik

Hubble spots a strange galaxy

The Hubble Space Telescope spotted the galaxy NGC 2770 in this close-up view. The galaxy has been home to four different observed supernovae over the years, making it unusual and especially interesting to scientists studying the far-out cosmos. One of the supernovae spotted in the galaxy, SN 2015bh, was first thought to possibly not be a supernova but rather a strange outburst from an old, massive star. However, it was later correctly classified as a supernova created when a star 8-50 times as massive as our sun died. — (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Filippenko)

Nov. 30, 2020: The Hubble Space Telescope spotted the galaxy NGC 2770 in this close-up view. The galaxy has been home to four different observed supernovae over the years, making it unusual and especially interesting to scientists studying the far-out cosmos. One of the supernovae spotted in the galaxy, SN 2015bh, was first thought to possibly not be a supernova but rather a strange outburst from an old, massive star. However, it was later correctly classified as a supernova created when a star 8-50 times as massive as our sun died.

Happy ‘Black Hole’ Friday!

Nov. 27, 2020: While people flock to stores online and in person for annual Black Friday sales, NASA wants you to think a bit more cosmic with Black Hole Friday.

This image is an artist’s depiction of a black hole, an object with such a strong gravitational pull that not even light can escape. What falls in can’t get out. Check out our black hole primer here and wow you’re friends for cosmic facts while searching for Black Friday deals! — Tariq Malik

Where Do Black Holes Lead?
The strangest black holes in the universe
No Escape: Dive Into a Black Hole (Infographic)

The first space Thanksgiving

NASA's Skylab 4 astronauts Edward Gibson (left) and Gerald Carr dig in to their Thanksgiving meal aboard the U.S. space station Skylab during the Skylab 4 mission in 1973. It was the first Thanksgiving in space. — (Image credit: NASA)

Nov. 26, 2020: For 20 years, American astronauts have regularly celebrated Thanksgiving off Earth aboard the International Space Station. But it wasn’t always so.

Before the International Space Station (which saw its first crew in 2000), space Thanksgiving were a sporadic affair. The First Space Thanksgiving occurred in 1973, when the three-person crew of Skylab 4 (Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue) visited NASA’s Skylab space station.

Thanksgiving in space 2020: Here’s what astronauts will eat in orbit (video)
Related: How NASA tech helped make your Thanksgiving food safe

This image is a view of that Thanksgiving, with Gibson (left) and Carr tucking in to their holiday meal. They actually skipped lunch due to their busy schedule on that day, but opted to combine two meals for the holiday dinner. Unlike today, the astronauts did not have special Thanksgiving dinner food items. — Tariq Malik

Living in space

NASA astronaut Shannon Walker gets to work aboard the International Space Station after launching to the orbiting laboratory last Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. Walker flew alongside NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, named Resilience, as part of the Crew-1 mission. — (Image credit: NASA)

Nov. 24, 2020: NASA astronaut Shannon Walker gets to work aboard the International Space Station after launching to the orbiting laboratory last Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. Walker flew alongside NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, named Resilience, as part of the Crew-1 mission.

A space-y cinnamon bun

The faint galaxy UGC 12588 looks kind of like a cosmic cinnamon bun in this image snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope. The spiral galaxy, which appears circular with some white accents (adding to its dessert-like appearance), can be found in the constellation Andromeda. Now, while UGC 12588 is a spiral galaxy, its "arms" of stars and gas are fairly faint and closely swirled in its center, making it slightly different from a "classic" spiral galaxy. — (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Tully; Acknowledgment: Gagandeep Anand)

Nov. 23, 2020: The faint galaxy UGC 12588 looks kind of like a cosmic cinnamon bun in this image snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope. The spiral galaxy, which appears circular with some white accents (adding to its dessert-like appearance), can be found in the constellation Andromeda.

Now, while UGC 12588 is a spiral galaxy, its “arms” of stars and gas are fairly faint and closely swirled in its center, making it slightly different from a “classic” spiral galaxy.

— Chelsea Gohd

A space amethyst

The planetary nebula IC 4593 shines like a brilliant purple amethyst in space in this view from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. — (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UNAM/J. Toalá et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI)

Tuesday, November 18, 2020: The planetary nebula IC 4593 shines like a brilliant purple amethyst in space in this view from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

IC 4593 is about 7,800 light-years from Earth and is the farthest planetary nebula that can be seen with Chandra. This view includes some visible-light observations from the Hubble Space Telescope combined with Chandra’s X-ray view, according to a NASA image description. The Hubble views are the pink and green hues, while Chandra’s X-ray detections show as purple.

Planetary nebulas aren’t related to planets at all. They are super-hot bubbles of gas from dying stars that form when the star sheds its outer layers as it contracts. — Tariq Malik

A Dragon flies over Earth

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is pictured approaching the International Space Station for a docking. — (Image credit: NASA)

Tuesday, November 17, 2020: Backdropped by a blanket of clouds, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft approaches the International Space Station with four Expedition 64 crew members in this view captured from the orbiting laboratory. The spacecraft docked with the space station Monday night at 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 Nov. 17 GMT). — Hanneke Weitering

Liftoff!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi onboard, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. — (Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

Monday, November 16, 2020: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a Crew Dragon spacecraft on top, lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver four new Expedition 64 crew members to the International Space Station. The Crew-1 mission lifted off from Launch Complex 39A yesterday (Nov. 15) at 7:27 p.m. EDT (0027 GMT on Nov. 16), and it is expected to dock with the International Space Station tonight at 11 p.m. EST (0400 Nov. 17 GMT). — Hanneke Weitering

ESO’s New Technology Telescope is back in action

The three brightest planets in the night sky flaunt their colorful features in this montage of images captured by the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. After taking a hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, the telescope captured these images to test out its instruments before resuming science operations. The relative sizes of the three planets in this montage is proportional to their apparent size in the night sky. Mars appears a bit bigger than usual because the photo was taken around the same time the Red Planet was at opposition, the point in its orbit where it is directly opposite the sun in Earth's sky, in mid-October. The Red Planet was also at its closest point to Earth on Oct. 6, 2020. — (Image credit: ESO)

Wednesday, November 11, 2020: The three brightest planets in the night sky flaunt their colorful features in this montage of images captured by the European Southern Observatory’s New Technology Telescope, located at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. After taking a hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, the telescope captured these images to test out its instruments before resuming science operations.

The relative sizes of the three planets in this montage is proportional to their apparent size in the night sky. Mars appears a bit bigger than usual because the photo was taken around the same time the Red Planet was at opposition, the point in its orbit where it is directly opposite the sun in Earth’s sky, in mid-October. The Red Planet was also at its closest point to Earth on Oct. 6. — Hanneke Weitering

Crew Dragon on the launch pad

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft atop is seen at its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. — (Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

Tuesday, November 10, 2020: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket stand ready to launch NASA’s Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station. The rocket went vertical on the pad at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early this morning after rolling out from the horizontal integration facility overnight. SpaceX is scheduled to launch the Crew-1 mission with NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Shannon Walker and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi, on Saturday (Nov. 14). — Hanneke Weitering

Space Dragon

SpaceX's Crew-1 Crew Dragon spacecraft will launch the first operational commercial crew flight for NASA on Nov. 14, 2020. — (Image credit: SpaceX)

Monday, November 9, 2020: A new space dragon is born as SpaceX’s next Crew Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts arrives at the Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida ahead of a Nov. 14 launch. The spacecraft reached SpaceX’s Pad 39A hangar on Nov. 5 after a short trip from its processing facility at the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The spacecraft will launch four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA as part of the Crew-1 mission, SpaceX’s first operational crewed flight for NASA under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The Crew-1 astronauts — NASA’s Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi — arrived at the launch site on Sunday.

Live updates: SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut launch for NASA

A ring around the moon

A lunar "halo" glows like an orb in the night sky above the Very Large Telescope in northern Chile, in this photo by European Southern Observatory astronomer Juan Carlos Muñoz-Mateos. This optical phenomenon occurs when moonlight gets refracted by tiny ice crystals and water droplets in the atmosphere. — (Image credit: Juan Carlos Muñoz-Mateos/ESO)

Friday, November 6, 2020: A lunar “halo” glows like an orb in the night sky above the Very Large Telescope in northern Chile, in this photo by European Southern Observatory astronomer Juan Carlos Muñoz-Mateos. This optical phenomenon occurs when moonlight gets refracted by tiny ice crystals and water droplets in the atmosphere. — Hanneke Weitering

Orion gets dressed for launch

The Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis I mission is in view inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay on Oct. 28. Attached below Orion are the crew module adapter and the European Service Module with spacecraft adapter jettison fairings installed. — (Image credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky)

Thursday, November 5, 2020: NASA’s first Orion spacecraft to visit the moon is gearing up for its historic Artemis 1 launch in 2021. The spacecraft, which consists of a crew capsule built by Lockheed Martin and service module from the European Space Agency, has been wrapped up in its protective three-piece fairing for the upcoming launch.

Artemis 1 will launch the Orion capsule on NASA’s first Space Launch System megarocket on a trip around the moon in late 2021. Here’s an in depth look at NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the moon by 2024.

Atlas V stands ready for launch

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands ready to launch the NROL-101 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, on. The mission is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida today at 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 GMT), and you can watch the launch live here on Space.com. — (Image credit: ULA)

Wednesday, November 4, 2020: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands ready to launch the NROL-101 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, on. The mission is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida today at 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 GMT), and you can watch the launch live here on Space.com. — Hanneke Weitering

Election 2020 in Space

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins points to a sign on the International Space Station reading "ISS Voting Booth" in a photo she shared while announcing that she had voted from space. — (Image credit: NASA/Kate Rubins via Twitter)

Tuesday, November 3, 2020: It’s election day on Earth in space, but the only American off Earth right now has already cast her vote in today’s 2020 presidential election.

We don’t know who NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, shown here at her homemade voting booth on the International Space Station, but we do know how. Astronauts in space during an election have been able to vote from orbit since 1997, when NASA and the Texas election officials laid out a cosmic absentee ballot process for any American caught in space on voting day. Rubins, who launched into space on Oct. 14, cast her ballot on Oct. 22 and shared this view of her polling place.

Hurricane Zeta seen from space

Hurricane Zeta churns in the Gulf of Mexico in this view captured from the International Space Station on Wednesday (Oct. 28), as the Category 2 storm approached Louisiana. In the upper foreground of the image is Russia's Progress 76 cargo resupply spacecraft, which is docked to the Russian Pirs module. At the bottom of the frame is Russia's Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft, which brought three crew members to the space station on Oct. 14. — (Image credit: NASA)

Monday, November 2, 2020: Hurricane Zeta churns in the Gulf of Mexico in this view captured from the International Space Station on Wednesday (Oct. 28), as the Category 2 storm approached Louisiana. In the upper foreground of the image is Russia’s Progress 76 cargo resupply spacecraft, which is docked to the Russian Pirs module. At the bottom of the frame is Russia’s Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft, which brought three crew members to the space station on Oct. 14. — Hanneke Weitering

It’s the great pumpkin, Hubble!

Just in time for Halloween, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted a "pumpkin patch" made up of two galaxies just starting to collide, spanning 109,000 light-years across. The galaxies, NGC 2292 and NGC 2293, are pumpkin-orange in color because of the aging stars in the galaxies, which appear red. — (Image credit: NASA, ESA, and W. Keel (University of Alabama))

Oct. 30, 2020: Just in time for Halloween, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted a “pumpkin patch” made up of two galaxies just starting to collide, spanning 109,000 light-years across. The galaxies, NGC 2292 and NGC 2293, are pumpkin-orange in color because of the aging stars in the galaxies, which appear red.

Exploring at the space station

This photo shows the Canadarm2 robotic arm at the International Space Station which continues to orbit around Earth from 254 miles (409 kilometers) away. The robotic arm, a collaboration with Canada, helps to make repairs on the space station and astronauts have used it complete activities on spacewalks outside of the space station. — (Image credit: NASA/International Space Station/Twitter)

Oct. 29, 2020: This photo shows the Canadarm2 robotic arm at the International Space Station which continues to orbit around Earth from 254 miles (409 kilometers) away. The robotic arm, a collaboration with Canada, helps to make repairs on the space station and astronauts have used it complete activities on spacewalks outside of the space station.

Kate in space

Expedition 64 NASA astronaut Kate Rubins floats on the International Space Station where she'll be living, working and researching as part of a myriad of science experiments alongside her crewmates. Rubins launched to the space station Oct. 14, 2020 alongside two Russian cosmonauts. — (Image credit: NASA/Twitter)

Oct. 28, 2020: Expedition 64 NASA astronaut Kate Rubins floats on the International Space Station where she’ll be living, working and researching as part of a myriad of science experiments alongside her crewmates. Rubins launched to the space station Oct. 14, 2020 alongside two Russian cosmonauts.

Orion gets ready

NASA's Orion spacecraft is one more step closer to being completed and launched to the moon. Here, three spacecraft jettison fairings are prepared to be installed and secured around the Orion craft. Orion is set to fly as part of the agency's Artemis program and will fly the first woman and the next man to land on the moon. — (Image credit: NASA / Radislav Sinyak)

Oct. 27, 2020: NASA’s Orion spacecraft is one more step closer to being completed and launched to the moon. Here, three spacecraft jettison fairings are prepared to be installed and secured around the Orion craft. Orion is set to fly as part of the agency’s Artemis program and will fly the first woman and the next man to land on the moon.

A galactic waterfall

Oct. 26, 2020: Galaxy NGC 2799 (on the left) and galaxy NGC 2798 (on the right) form a “galactic waterfall,” which stands out in this image snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope. These are interacting galaxies, which influence each other and may eventually even merge.

Chris Cassidy returns home

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy landed back on Earth Oct. 22, 2020 after a stint aboard the International Space Station. Cassidy can be seen here outside the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft that he and his crewmates, cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin, landed in near the town of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan. — (Image credit: NASA/GCTC/Denis Derevtsov)

Oct. 23, 2020: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy landed back on Earth Oct. 22, 2020 after a stint aboard the International Space Station. Cassidy can be seen here outside the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft that he and his crewmates, cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin, landed in near the town of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

Collecting an asteroid

In this 16-image series, you can see NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft using its 11-foot robotic arm TAGSAM taking a sample from asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, 2020. The arm's "head" briefly touched down on the asteroid's surface, where it emitted a puff of nitrogen gas. This gas stirred up asteroid material that was then collected into a container in TAGSAM. — (Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

Oct. 22, 2020: In this 16-image series, you can see NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft using its 11-foot robotic arm TAGSAM taking a sample from asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, 2020. The arm’s “head” briefly touched down on the asteroid’s surface, where it emitted a puff of nitrogen gas. This gas stirred up asteroid material that was then collected into a container in TAGSAM.

A free-floating stellar nursery

The Hubble Space Telescope, which celebrated its 30th year of exploration and discovery earlier this year, snapped this image of the star-forming nursery formerly known as J025157.5+600606. This special type of stellar nursery is what's known as a "Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules" or frEGGs. — (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Sahai)

Oct. 21, 2020: The Hubble Space Telescope, which celebrated its 30th year of exploration and discovery earlier this year, snapped this image of the star-forming nursery formerly known as J025157.5+600606. This special type of stellar nursery is what’s known as a “Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules” or frEGGs.

Juice grows a pair of wings

The ten solar panels for the European Space Agency's Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) spacecraft are ready to be turned into solar wings. The panels arrived at Airbus Defense and Space in the Netherlands and, with five solar panels on each side of the spacecraft, the panels will fold up inside the launcher and then eventually deploy like wings for the probe. — (Image credit: Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands)

Oct. 20, 2020: The ten solar panels for the European Space Agency’s Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) spacecraft are ready to be turned into solar wings. The panels arrived at Airbus Defense and Space in the Netherlands and, with five solar panels on each side of the spacecraft, the panels will fold up inside the launcher and then eventually deploy like wings for the probe.

Stars of Orion twinkle over ALMA

The constellation of Orion, the hunter sparkles above the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile's Atacama Desert in this image by European Southern Observatory photo ambassador Yuri Beletsky. Two of the 66 radio telescopes that make up the array are shown in this view. Located on top of the 16,000-foot (5,000 meters) Chajnantor plateau, ALMA's location provides the dark, dry skies that are crucial for observing the cosmos in millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. — (Image credit: Y. Beletsky (LCO)/ESO)

Monday, October 19, 2020: The constellation of Orion, the hunter sparkles above the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile’s Atacama Desert in this image by European Southern Observatory photo ambassador Yuri Beletsky. Two of the 66 radio telescopes that make up ALMA are shown in this view. Located on top of the 16,000-foot (5,000 meters) Chajnantor plateau, ALMA’s location provides the dark, dry skies that are crucial for observing the cosmos in millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. — Hanneke Weitering

BepiColombo swings by Venus

Yesterday (Oct. 15), the European-Japanese probe BepiColombo swung by Venus, one of its nine gravity assist maneuvers, on its long winding journey to Mercury. At Venus, the craft snapped a number of photos with the cameras aboard its Mercury Transfer Module. The probe is set to eventually arrive in Mercury's orbit in 2025. — (Image credit: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

Oct. 16, 2020: Yesterday (Oct. 15), the European-Japanese probe BepiColombo swung by Venus, one of its nine gravity assist maneuvers, on its long winding journey to Mercury. At Venus, the craft snapped a number of photos with the cameras aboard its Mercury Transfer Module. The probe is set to eventually arrive in Mercury’s orbit in 2025.

Thomas Pesquet trains for space

European space agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet trains at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for his 2021 mission to the International Space Station. Here he is training for the Time experiment, which was first run in 2017 and which explores the hypothesis that time speeds up in microgravity. — (Image credit: ESA/NASA – James Blair)

Oct. 15, 2020: European space agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet trains at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for his 2021 mission to the International Space Station. Here he is training for the Time experiment, which was first run in 2017 and which explores the hypothesis that time speeds up in microgravity.

Astronauts blast off to space

This morning at 1:45 am EDT (0545 GMT), NASA astronaut Kate Rubins launched to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. After a speedy arrival at the space station, the trio will begin a six-month stay living and working on the orbiting lab. — (Image credit: Roscosmos)

Oct. 14, 2020: This morning at 1:45 am EDT (0545 GMT), NASA astronaut Kate Rubins launched to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. After a speedy arrival at the space station, the trio will begin a six-month stay living and working on the orbiting lab.

The Laguna San Rafael National Park from space

The European Space Agency's Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission spotted the Laguna San Rafael National Park in Chile from space. This orbiting satellite has five instruments onboard that allow it to not only observe Earth below, but also monitor atmospheric conditions like temperature and humidity. — (Image credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

Oct. 13, 2020: The European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission spotted the Laguna San Rafael National Park in Chile from space. This orbiting satellite has five instruments onboard that allow it to not only observe Earth below, but also monitor atmospheric conditions like temperature and humidity.

Lost in space: A Mars probe camera

An animated image of the small ejected camera tumbling away from Tianwen-1. — (Image credit: CNSA)

Oct. 12, 2020: A tiny camera tumbles out into deep space after being ejected by China’s Tianwen-1 Mars probe 15 million miles from Earth. The image, released Oct. 1, was captured as Tianwen-1 heads to Mars. The camera was able to snap photos of Tianwen-1, which carries a Mars orbiter, lander and rover that are due to arrive at the Red Planet in February 2021.

Sunset captured from space

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, who is currently stationed aboard the International Space Station, posted a photo to Twitter that shows what sunset looks like from space. His photo shows the sunset a video camera is capturing as the station's robotic arm maneuvers around the Cygnus spacecraft. — (Image credit: Chris Cassidy/NASA)

Oct. 9, 2020: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, who is currently stationed aboard the International Space Station, posted a photo to Twitter that shows what sunset looks like from space. His photo shows the sunset a video camera is capturing as the station’s robotic arm maneuvers around the Cygnus spacecraft.

James Webb has passed another test

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has completed a set of milestone tests, enduring shaking and rattling created to simulate the conditions it will experience when it launches to space. The tests are more formally known as "acoustic" and "sine-vibration" testing, and were completed in two separate facilities at Northrop Grumman’s Space Park in California. — (Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn)

Oct. 8, 2020: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has completed a set of milestone tests, enduring shaking and rattling created to simulate the conditions it will experience when it launches to space. The tests are more formally known as “acoustic” and “sine-vibration” testing, and were completed in two separate facilities at Northrop Grumman’s Space Park in California.

Expedition 64

Oct. 7, 2020: The Expedition 64 prime and backup crew members pose together on Oct. 6 before the prime crew launches to the International Space Station on Oct. 14. From left to right are the prime crew NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos and Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos and then the backup crew members Petr Dubov of Roscosmos, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.

SpaceX’s 13th Starlink batch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 60 Starlink internet satellites into space from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Oct. 6, 2020. It was the third flight for the Falcon 9 booster. — (Image credit: SpaceX)

Oct. 6, 2020: This morning (Oct. 6), SpaceX launched its 13th batch of Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. The 60 satellites launched atop the two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, lifting off from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. This takeoff followed a two-week launch delay that was caused by bad weather. Read the full story!

A spiral in Lupus

The spiral galaxy NGC 5643, which rests in the constellation of Lupus (the Wolf) stands out in this image by the Hubble Space Telescope. This galaxy lies about 60 million light-years from Earth and recently was home to the supernova 2017cbv. — (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess et al.; CC BY 4.0; Acknowledgement: Mahdi Zamani)

Oct. 2, 2020: The spiral galaxy NGC 5643, which rests in the constellation of Lupus (the Wolf) stands out in this image by the Hubble Space Telescope. This galaxy lies about 60 million light-years from Earth and recently was home to the supernova 2017cbv.

SpaceX attempts to launch

Twin SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets can be seen in this single shot, taken at Kennedy Space Center before the company's latest Starlink launch attempt Oct. 1, 2020, which was scrubbed. SpaceX continues to launch batches of its Starlink satellites, working to build a constellation of satellites to provide internet service here on Earth. — (Image credit: SpaceX)

Oct. 1, 2020: Twin SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets can be seen in this single shot, taken at Kennedy Space Center before the company’s latest Starlink launch attempt Oct. 1, 2020, which was scrubbed. SpaceX continues to launch batches of its Starlink satellites, working to build a constellation of satellites to provide internet service here on Earth.