Skywatcher Photo of the Cone and Foxfur Nebulas
Astrophotography duo Bob and Janice Fera snapped this photo of the Cone and Foxfur nebulas, which are part of a larger system called NGC 2264 located in the Monoceros constellation about 2,600 light-years away from Earth.
Ring Nebula
The Ring Nebula in Lyra lies 2.300 light years from Earth. It is estimated to have been expanding for about 1600 years.
M51
The whirlpool galaxy, also called Messier 51 (M51), is located in the constellation of Canes Venatici. Charles Messier discovered the brighter galaxy NGC 5194 in 1773 and his friend Pierre Mechain found the secondary nebula, NGC 5195, in 1781.
Pinwheel Galaxy
The Pinwheel Galaxy (also known as Messier 101 or NGC 5457) is estimated to contain at least one trillion stars—about 100 billion of them could be similar to our sun.
paper moon
Skywatchers shoot this remarkable image of Earth’s gibbous moon captured in the hands of an observer holding tissue paper in Casa del Romano, Italy, August 18, 2011.
NGC 896 Emission Nebula
NGC 896 Emission Nebula in constellation Cassiopeia is located some 7500 light-years from Earth in the Heart Nebula. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).
Bubble Nebula
The bubble nebula is located 7,100 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Active Region 1161
This stunning image give us a close-up look at an active region on the sun. The photo was taken in February combining multiple exposures to collect enough light for an image that would otherwise not be evident to the eye.
Milky Way skyscape over Mangaia
This heavenly view of the Milky Way was taken in the South Pacific paradise of Mangaia, the most southerly of the Cook Islands. This image was chosen as one of the winners of the National Maritime Museum's Astrophotographer of the Year 2011 Contest.
Jupiter Near Opposition
Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system; with four large moons and many smaller moons it forms a kind of miniature solar system. The massive planet will be in opposition to the sun this weekend.
dark sky La Palma
Skywatcher Tunc Tezel took this image of the night sky atop La Palma in the Canary Islands on a night with no moon and at a time when the milky way would not create much skyglow. Multiple exposures are taken to create enough light.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
