Best Night Sky Photos of the Week: Dec. 28, 2013

100 Spectacular Night Sky Photos of 2013

Eduardo Davila

This stunning photo of Venus and the moon was taken in the early morning hours of Jan. 10th, 2013 from Santa Fe in the west side of Mexico City, Mexico by Eduardo Davila. [See More Photos]

Christmas Auroras Shimmer in Sweden's Holiday Sky (Video)

Chad Blakely/Lights Over Lapland

The Christmas holiday was extra merry for veteran northern lights photographer, who captured yuletide auroras shimmering across the sky over Sweden's Abisko National Park. See how it looked to Chad Blakely in this Christmas aurora video. [See the Video]

Star Trails and Milky Way Shine over Lighthouse in Dazzling Photo

© Mike Taylor - Taylor Photography

The Milky Way moves across the night sky in this stunning composite image recently sent to SPACE.com. [Read the Full Story]

Wow! Space Station Crosses Crescent Moon in Amazing Photo

Juan Gonzalez-Alicea / Sociedad de Astronomia del Caribe

The International Space Station can be seen cruising in front of a crescent moon in this stunning night sky photo recently sent to SPACE.com. [Read the Full Story]

Hawaii Night Sky Revealed in Stunning New Video

Sean Goebel

A stunning time-lapse video shows the observatories atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and amazing views of the Milky Way. [See the Video]

Aurora Over Kiruna, Sweden

Mia Stålnacke (via Flickr as AngryTheInch42)

Astrophotographer Mia Stålnacke sent in a photo of an auroral display which features an arboreal feature she calls “the photobombing Christmas tree.” She took the photo next to Esrange Space Center, near Jukkasjärvi, just outside Kiruna, Sweden, on Dec. 7, 2013. She writes in an e-mail to SPACE.com: “It was around -30 C [-22 F]. The night after that temperatures reached -40 C [-40 F]. There was no aurora visible at first, but I decided to take some night sky images anyway. When I turned around, I saw the aurora flaring up behind me, and I was standing right next to this tree, so I figured, hey! Why not; it's almost Christmas. It was a beautiful night with twinkling stars and sparkling snow and the ghostly glow of the red and green aurora.” [See More Photos]

Full Cold Moon of December 2013 by Lane

Jennifer Rose Lane

Astrophotographer Jennifer Rose Lane sent in a photo of December's "cold" full moon, taken in West Virginia, Dec. 17, 2013. The full moon of December is called the “Full Cold Moon,” among other names. [See More Photos]

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.

Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.