A massive European rocket launches into darkening skies over tropical South America in this stunning photo. [Full Story]
A cool nebula glows a dazzling blue in an amazing new space photo. Veteran astrophotographer Bill Snyder captured the spectacular photo of NGC 1491. [Full Story]
This Digitized Sky Survey image shows the oldest star with a well-determined age in our galaxy. Called the Methuselah star, HD 140283 is 190.1 light-years away. Astronomers refined the star's age to about 14.5 billion years (which is older than the universe), plus or minus 800 million years. [See the full photo gallery]
Sungrazing comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) makes its closest approach to the sun on Nov. 28; could be a spectacular view from Earth. [Full Story]
Constellation Cygnus and star Deneb beam brightly above an ancient castle ruin in this beautiful night sky photo by P.M. Heden from Uppasala, Sweden. [Full Story]
NASA’s Messenger spacecraft has fully mapped the planet Mercury for the first time, scientists said. [Full Story]
Stargazers have captured stunning photos of Comet Pan-STARRS and Lemmon together in the night sky. Yuri Beletsky and Justin Tilbrook took the amazing images. [Full Story]
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the size scale of the "Space Invader" galaxy spotted in the upper left of the frame. The image captures the galaxy cluster Abell 68. [See the full photo gallery]
Veteran astrophotographer Bill Snyder captured this image on Oct. 13, 2012 from Heavens Mirror Observatory in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. [Full Story]
Venus gleams over Saturn's enormous shoulder in two stunning new photos from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting the ringed planet. [Full Story]
The dynamic starburst galaxy, Messier 82, is captured beautifully in this night sky photo. Astrophotographers Bob and Janice Fera took this image of M82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy, on Feb. 11 to Feb. 15, from Eagle Ridge Observatory in Foresthill, Calif. [Full Story]
A family looks to the stars on a stunning night in Sweden. [Full Story]
Astrophotographer Giuseppe Petricca sent in a photo of the last quarter moon over Pisa, Italy, taken on March 2, 2013. He writes: “The scenery was wonderful, with the last quarter moon slowly climbing above the horizon, hiding briefly behind some thin clouds.... Really an enjoyable view, to say the least!” [See More Images]
The Hubble Space Telescope shows planetary nebula ESO 456-67 glowing like a giant eye in space. A planetary nebula arises when a dying Sun-like star flings its shells of dust and gas into space. (A planetary nebula has nothing to do with planets, but the misleading nomenclature resulted from the confusion of early astronomers using weak telescopes.) ESO 456-67 lies in the southern sky. in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer). [See More Images]
