1 of 47
Aurora Borealis in Maine
Credit: Mike Taylor Photography
Astrophotographer Mike Taylor sent in a photo of the aurora borealis over the West edge of Unity Pond in Unity, Maine, taken in May 2013.
2 of 47
An Aurora on the Water
Credit: Mike Taylor Photography
Astrophotographer Mike Taylor took this stunning image of an aurora from the West edge of Unity Pond in Unity, Maine. Image taken May 18, 2013.
3 of 47
Aurora Borealis Over Maine Pond
Credit: Mike Taylor Photography
An aurora glows over Unity Pond in Unity, Maine. Image taken by astrophotographer Mike Taylor on May 18, 2013.
4 of 47
Saturn and Moons
Credit: Scott MacNeill
Astrophotographer Scott MacNeill sent in this image of Saturn and moons: Titan (left), Tethys (top center), Dione (mid center), Rhea (bottom center), and Enceladus (right). He took the image from the Frosty Drew Observatory in Charlestown, R.I on May 18, 2013.
5 of 47
Moon Over Connecticut
Credit: Eric Steiner
Astrophotographer Eric Steiner sent in this image of the moon from Bristol, CT. taken on May 16, 2013.
6 of 47
Aurora Over Mount Aurora Skiland in Alaska
Credit: Lin Koh
Astrophotographer Lin Koh sent in this image of an aurora from Mount Aurora Skiland in Fairbanks, Alaska.
7 of 47
Aurora Over Mount Aurora Skiland
Credit: Lin Koh
Astrophotographer Lin Koh sent in this image of an aurora from Mount Aurora Skiland in Fairbanks, Alaska.
8 of 47
X Ray Class Flares From Sunspot 1748
Credit: John Chumack
Astrophotographer John Chumack sent in this image of X ray Class flares erupting from Sunspot 1748 taken from Dayton, Ohio on May 13, 2013. He writes,"Wow!!! Really nice to see the sun ramping it up a bit!"
9 of 47
Sunspot 1748 X Class Flares
Credit: John Chumack
Astrophotographer John Chumack sent in this image of X ray Class flares erupting from Sunspot 1748 taken from Dayton, Ohio on May 13, 2013. He writes,"Wow!!! Really nice to see the sun ramping it up a bit!"
10 of 47
Aurora Over Fairbanks
Credit: Lin Koh
Astrophotographer Lin Koh sent in this image of an aurora from Mount Aurora Skiland in Fairbanks, Alaska.
11 of 47
Milky Way Over Faroe Islands
Credit: Jóannis Sørensen Myndir
Jóannis Sørensen Myndir sent in this panorama of the Milky Way over Viðareiði, Faroe Islands on May 20, 2013.
12 of 47
Aurora From Alaskan Mountains
Credit: Lin Koh
Astrophotographer Lin Koh sent in this image of an aurora from Mount Aurora Skiland in Fairbanks, Alaska. Image released May 2013.
13 of 47
Flares From Sunspot 1748
Credit: John Chumack
Astrophotographer John Chumack sent in this image of X ray Class flares erupting from Sunspot 1748 taken from Dayton, Ohio on May 13, 2013. He writes,"Wow!!! Really nice to see the sun ramping it up a bit!"
14 of 47
Aurora Over Alaskan Mountain
Credit: Lin Koh
Astrophotographer Lin Koh sent in this image of an aurora from Mount Aurora Skiland in Fairbanks, Alaska. Image released May 2013.
15 of 47
Thin Crescent Moon Over North Carolina
Credit: Greg Diesel Walck
Astrophotographer Greg Diesel Walck sent in a photo of the crescent moon at sunrise taken on May 8, 2013. He writes: "Finally clear skies after days of going out at 4 am to see the rising moon. This is the last view before the new moon and the orange skies were amazing. Unedited picture at 5:15 am, Currituck Sound, coastal North Carolina."
16 of 47
2013 Eta Aquarid Meteor Over Mount Bromo
Credit: Justin Ng
Astrophotographer Justin Ng of Singapore sent in a photo of an Eta Aquarid meteor taken at Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia, May 5, 2013.
17 of 47
2013 Eta Aquarid Meteor Over New Marlborough, MA
Credit: Dennis Cote
Astrophotographer Dennis Cote sent in a photo of an Eta Aquarid meteor taken in New Marlborough, MA. Cote writes: "This photo was taken in New Marlborough, MA. It is a small town located in the rural, southern Berkshires.... It was a rather cold night in the 30's with lots of fog, thus fogging all of our lens within 30 minutes."
18 of 47
Eta Aquarid Meteor and the Galactic Center
Credit: Sergio Garcia Rill
Astrophotographer Sergio Garcia Rill sent in a photo of an Eta Aquarid meteor and the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, taken in Garner State Park, Texas, on May 5, 2013.
19 of 47
Old Faithful and the Big Dipper
Credit: Dave Renwald
Astrophotographer Dave Renwald sent in a photo of the Big Dipper with Old Faithful geyser in the foreground at Yellowstone National Park, WY, taken in Sept. 2012. Image submitted May 5, 2013.
20 of 47
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Seen in New Delhi
Credit: Marisha Sharma
Astrophotographer Marisha Sharma of New Delhi, India, sent in a photograph of the penumbral lunar eclipse on April 25, 2013. Image submitted May 1, 2013.
21 of 47
Blue Added to Half Moon by VegaStar Carpentier
Credit: VegaStar Carpentier
VegaStar Carpentier took this photo of the moon from Champagne Ardenne, France on April 30, 2013. The photographer used a Canon EOS1000D camera and a Celestron Astromaster telescope to capture the shot. The blue color was added to the moon during processing.
22 of 47
2013 Eta Aquarid Meteor Over Illinois
Credit: Sathya/liketheocean.com.
Astrophotographer Sathya sent in a photo of an Eta Aquarid meteor taken on May 11, 2013, at Green River State Wildlife Area Harmon, IL. Sathya has titled it: "The Road to Milky Way."
23 of 47
Mother's Day View of Crescent Moon and Jupiter
Credit: Vicki Owens
SPACE.com reader Vicki Owens sent in a photo of the crescent moon and Jupiter taken in Destin, Florida, on Mother's Day, May 12, 2013.
24 of 47
Summer Milky Way Rising With Airglow Over Colorado
Credit: Daniel McVey/www.danielmcvey.com
Astrophotographer Daniel McVey sent in a photo of the Milky Way rising with airglow visible over Summit County, Colorado, taken in May 2013. He writes: "The lights in the background are coming from nearby mountain towns as well as a soft glow from the city of Denver. The reds and greens are what is known as airglow." The phenomenon is caused by several processes in the upper atmosphere.
25 of 47
Rosette Nebula by Reinhold Wittich
Credit: Reinhold Wittich / www.wittich.com
Astrophotographer Reinhold Wittich captured this image of Rosette Nebula from his backyard observatory in Geisling, Germany using a 12" f/4 Newton telescope. The image took 1080 minutes of total exposure time in February 2011 and was released to SPACE.com this month. [Read the story behind the photo]
26 of 47
Pleiades Star Cluster Wittich
Credit: Reinhold Wittich / www.wittich.com
Reinhold Wittich captured this image of the Pleiades star cluster from his backyard observatory in Geisling, Germany using a 12" f/4 Newton telescope. The image took 780 minutes of total exposure time in October 2010 and was released to SPACE.com May 2013. [Read the story behind the photo]
27 of 47
Meteor Over Central Maine
Credit: Mike Taylor
Astrophotographer Mike Taylor sent in an image of a meteor over central Maine taken as part of a time-lapse video on April 28, 2013. He refers to it as a "late-blooming Lyrid or an early Eta Aquarid meteor." He comments that: "It shows up very well even with the light pollution in the area – Bangor, Maine is 30 miles away from this spot."
28 of 47
ISS Over Hampton, Virginia
Credit: Alan K. Sturgis
Astrophotographer Alan K. Sturgis sent in a photo of the International Space Station streaking through the winter hexagon over Hampton, Virginia, on April 7, 2013. He comments that he took the photo in very high light pollution.
29 of 47
Meteor Over Central Maine
Credit: Mike Taylor
Astrophotographer Mike Taylor sent in an image of a meteor over central Maine taken as part of a time-lapse video on April 28, 2013. He refers to it as a "late-blooming Lyrid or an early Eta Aquarid meteor." He comments that: "It shows up very well even with the light pollution in the area – Bangor, Maine is 30 miles away from this spot."
30 of 47
ISS Over Hampton, Virginia
Credit: Alan K. Sturgis
Astrophotographer Alan K. Sturgis sent in a photo of the International Space Station streaking through the winter hexagon over Hampton, Virginia, on April 7, 2013. He comments that he took the photo in very high light pollution.
31 of 47
Aurora Over Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
Credit: Auroramax
An aurora is photographed by the Auroramax automated camera in Canada's Northwest Territories on April 26, 2013.
32 of 47
Moonset through clouds
Credit: Greg Diesel Photography
Astrophotographer Greg Diesel Walck sent in a photo of the moonset through clouds taken May 20, 2013.
33 of 47
Saturn Over Cranford, NJ
Credit: Tony Sharfman
Astrophotographer Tony Sharfman sent in a photo of Saturn taken in Cranford, NJ, May 20, 2013.
34 of 47
29% Waxing Crescent Moon Over Tucson, AZ
Credit: BG Boyd
Astrophotographer BG Boyd sent in a photo of a 29% waxing crescent moon taken on May 15, 2013, Tucson, AZ.
35 of 47
Horsehead Nebula Imaged in Florida
Credit: Steve Coates
Astrophotographer Steve Coates sent in a photo of Barnard 33, the Horsehead Nebula, taken from what he calls his "light-polluted backyard" in Ocala, Florida. The picture was imaged in Dec. 2011, Jan. 2012, and Nov. 2012.
36 of 47
75% Waxing Gibbous Moon
Credit: Scott MacNeill
Astrophotographer Scott MacNeill sent in a photo of the 75% waxing gibbous moon seen in Providence, RI, taken May 20, 2013.
37 of 47
ISS Transits the Sun
Credit: Hn Queue
Astrophotographer Hn Queue sends in a photo of the International Space Station passing across the face of the sun, May 24, 2013, taken in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
38 of 47
Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2 (May 28, 2013)
Credit: Gianluca Masi/Virtual Telescope Project 2.0
While waiting for its close approach on May 31, potentially hazardous asteroid 1998 QE2 was imaged by the Virtual Telescope remotely, using its 17" robotic unit. The mount was asked to track the asteroid, so it looks as a point of light, while stars are trailing. At the imaging time, 1998 QE2 was only 16 degrees above the horizon.
39 of 47
Moon and Plane in the Phillipines
Credit: Raven Yu
Astrophotographer Raven Yu sent in this photo of the moon and an airplane, taken in Marikina City, Philippines, May 24, 2013. Raven writes: "I was taking a photo of the moon around sunset when a plane flew through. I didn't even notice it with my naked eyes because I was busy looking at the camera's live viewfinder. It was a lucky shot, indeed. Getting a picture of a plane crossing the moon is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, and so far this image is the closest thing to that wish."
40 of 47
Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Humans at Griffith Observatory
Credit: Zane DuMont
Astrophotographer Zane DuMont sent in a photo of Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter taken May 26, 2013, at Griffith Observatory. Zane writes: "I don't usually shoot space photos so I added the human element to it."
41 of 47
Amazing Supermoon of May 2013 Seen in Wauconda, IL
Credit: Dirk Leahy
Astrophotographer Dirk Leahy sent in his photo of the moon taken May 24, 2013, in Wauconda, IL.
42 of 47
Waning Gibbous Moon on Sunday 05/26/13 in Bristol, CT
Credit: Eric Steiner
Astrophotographer Eric Steiner sent in a photo of the waning gibbous moon taken May 26, 2013, from Bristol, CT.
43 of 47
Triple Planet Alignment Seen on Haleakala Summit, Maui
Credit: Mike Dillinger
Astrophotographer Mike Dillinger sent in a photo of the planetary conjuction of Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, taken from Haleakala Summit on Maui, HI, May 26, 2013.
44 of 47
Triple Conjunction of May 25, 2013, in Washington, DC
Credit: Jackson Pharris
Venus, Jupiter and Mercury float over the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, in this photo sent in by astrophotographer Jackson Pharris, taken May 25, 2013.
45 of 47
Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Humans Seen From the Air
Credit: Julie Cyr
Astrophotographer Julie Cyr sent in a photo of the Mercury, Venus and Jupiter conjunction taken from an airplane window. She writes: "I was unaware of the rarity of the planets in this formation, but they happened to appear in some of my pictures from my flight back to Boston from Atlanta. I believe this was taken over New York, you can see the three planets in the upper left, just off the tip of the plane wing!" Photo undated.
46 of 47
Full Moon Over Juarez, Mexico
Credit: Anthony Lopez
Astrophotographer Anthony Lopez sent in a photo of the full moon taken in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, close to the US border, on May 26, 2013. He writes: "Around my yard stands a perimeter fence of just over 3 meters high that hides the street lights almost completely, leaving only the light of the full moon to illuminate the place where I set my telescope. I mount the camera, pressed the shutter and there she is, our moon, beautiful and photogenic, wearing her best craters for me ... "
47 of 47
Moon Over Selden, Long Island, NY
Credit: Gary Troisi
Astrophotographer Gary Troisi sent in a photo of the moon taken the week of May 20, from the vicinity of Selden, Long Island, NY.




























































































