Image of the Day Archives

Image of the Day Archives

Credit: NASA, ESA and Orsola De Marco (Macquarie University)

For older Image of the Day pictures, please visit the Image of the Day archives. Pictured: NGC 2467.

Moonset and Milky Way

Moonset and Milky Way

Credit: Brook Wassall

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015: Astrophotographer Brook Wassall submitted a photo of the moon setting, taken at Niarbyl on the Isle of Man, on Sept. 18, 2015. Wassall writes in an email message to Space.com: "Here you can see the moon setting on the right [allowing] the Milky Way to shine [brightly] in the night sky. This was a bit of a tricky image to get as this was taken just after low tide, with the water slowly creeping into my shoes as I [balanced] myself on a couple of slippery rocks, but the low tide enabled me to get as far out as I could to capture the reflections of the [surrounding] light on the water. With the tide slowly creeping in further and further, and the moon quickly setting on the horizon, I had little time before the window of opportunity was gone. The Isle of Man sits in the middle of the Irish Sea, and although the island itself has very low light pollution, it is surrounded by the UK and Ireland which can shine quite [brightly] from across the sea in the night. The light pollution seen on the horizon in this image is actually coming all the way from Dublin, Ireland."

— Tom Chao

Nebula in the Sky

Nebula in the Sky

Credit: ESO/B. Tafreshi

Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015: The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) glows over one of the antennas included in the ALMA telescope on the Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes. Star clusters NGC 3532 (right) and IC 2602 (left) also glow above the Carina Nebula. Image released Nov. 30, 2015.

— Tom Chao

Dust

Dust

Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA and S. Smartt (Queen's University Belfast)

Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015: Elliptical galaxy NGC 2768 lies in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear). The collection of stars features a bright central region, in which a supermassive black hole sucks in a stream of gas and dust fed by its galactic host. A prominent plume of dust reaches out from the center of the galaxy, lying perpendicular to the galaxy’s plane. In this dust, a hidden, symmetrical, s-shaped pair of jets spurt from the black hole. Image released Nov. 30, 2015.

— Tom Chao

Engines On

Engines On

Credit: ESA/Stephane Corvaja, Manuel Pedoussaut

Friday, Dec. 4, 2015: A camera with a fisheye lens captured the liftoff of the Vega VV06 rocket carrying the LISA Pathfinder on Dec. 3, 2015, from Europe's Spaceport, French Guiana. LISA (for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) Pathfinder spacecraft’s goal is to test key technologies for space-based observation of gravitational waves. Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicted these ripples in the fabric of spacetime, but they have not yet been directly detected. To explore the experimental approach that future missions could use to observe the cosmic fluctuations, LISA Pathfinder will create the best free-fall yet achieved in space. The spacecraft will do this by reducing all the non-gravitational forces acting on two cubes while monitoring their motion and attitude with unprecedented accuracy.

— Tom Chao

Cygnus

Cygnus

Credit: United Launch Alliance

Monday, Dec. 7, 2015: An Atlas V rocket launches from Cape Caneveral, Florida, on Dec. 6, 2015, carrying the Cygnus cargo ship on its journey to the International Space Station during Orbital ATK’s OA-4 mission, flown under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. This launch marks the first time the Cygnus spacecraft has flown on an Atlas V rocket. Cygnus, weighing in at a little over 8 tons, represents the heaviest payload to launch atop an Atlas V rocket.

— Tom Chao

Into The Lens

Into The Lens

Credit: NASA/ESA/Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015: A very massive cluster of galaxies, MACS J0416.1-2403, lies about 4 billion light-years away and weighs as much as a million billion suns. The immense gravitational field created by the cluster magnifies the images of galaxies far beyond it, in a process known as gravitational lensing. An extremely faint and distant galaxy that existed only 400 million years after the big bang, barely visible in this image, has been discovered by Hubble and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. The gravitational lens effect makes this galaxy appear 20 times brighter than without the effect. This galaxy might represent the growing core of what may have become a full-sized galaxy. [See our full story.]

— Tom Chao

Something Shimmering and White

Something Shimmering and White

Credit: John Colosimo (colosimophotography.com)/ESO

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015: The Milky Way galaxy arches above the platform of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Cerro Paranal, 8650 feet (2635 meters) above sea level in Chile. Our galaxy's cloudy and dusty structure glows in detail as a dim band across the facility’s observation deck. From Earth, the Milky Way appears as a band across the sky because of our vantage point in one of its spiral arms looking towards its center. Astrophotographer John Colosimo submitted this photograph to the Your ESO Pictures Flickr group.

— Tom Chao

Under Waning Moon

Under Waning Moon

Credit: Pauline Acalin

Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015: Astrophotographer Pauline Acalin captured Venus reappearing after being occulted by the moon on Dec. 7, 2015. Acalin is based in Costa Mesa, California.

— Tom Chao

Would You Like to Swing on an Artificial Star?

Would You Like to Swing on an Artificial Star?

Credit: ESO/Y. Beletsky

Friday, Dec. 11, 2015: A laser guide star shoots out from one of the four Unit Telescopes that make up ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal Observatory in Chile. The Unit Telescope in this image bears the name Yepun, which means Venus in the Mapuche language spoken by indigenous people in southern Chile. The laser beam energizes a layer of sodium atoms in the atmosphere, creating a small bright spot, an artificial star. The telescope can then use its adaptive optics, with the artificial star serving as a reference, to reduce distortion from the atmosphere, producing clearer images. Image released Nov. 23, 2015.

— Tom Chao

A Mist from Above

A Mist from Above

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)

Monday, Dec. 14, 2015: Galaxy 2MASX J16270254+4328340 is undergoing a galactic merger. The galaxy with a mouthful for a name has merged with another galaxy, resulting in a fine mist consisting of millions of stars spewing from it in long trails. What we see here is an image of the the event nearing its conclusion. This transforming galaxy advances into old age with its star-forming days nearly behind it. Image released Nov. 23, 2015.

— Tom Chao

The Rift

The Rift

Credit: ESO

Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015: NGC 3699 is a planetary nebula imaged by the ESO Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (EFOSC2) at ESO's La Silla Observatory. A dark rift cuts through the nebula, almost bisecting it. Planetary nebula arise when sun-like stars reach the end of their lives and blow off their gaseous outer layers, which glow with ultraviolet radiation emitted from the stars’ contracting cores. (The term “planetary nebula” is a misnomer arising from William Herschel’s incorrect identification of these objects when viewing them through the telescopes of his era. Planetary nebulas do not have anything to do with planets.) Image released Dec. 15, 2015.

— Tom Chao

Don't You Know That You Are a Shooting Star?

Don't You Know That You Are a Shooting Star?

Credit: Eddie Popovits

Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015: Astrophotographer Eddie Popovits sent in a photo of a Geminid meteor streaking through the sky over Branson, Missouri, on Dec. 15, 2015. He writes in an email message to Space.com: “This one left a nice train that lasted several minutes.”

— Tom Chao

Red Planet Blues

Red Planet Blues

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015: Bright and dark patterns with curving boundaries are seen on the surface of Mars. Lava flows have flooded this area, known as Echus Chasma, producing rough and smooth surfaces. The rough areas captured bright dust, creating the contrasts in brightness. Image released Dec. 10, 2015.

— Tom Chao

We’re Leaving the Planet

We’re Leaving the Planet

Credit: NASA

Friday, Dec. 18, 2015: The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft carrying Expedition 46 crew members docked to the International Space Station on Dec. 15, 2015. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA, and Flight Engineer Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) joined Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly (NASA) and Flight Engineers Sergey Volkov and Mikhail Kornienko (Roscosmos) already onboard the station. The solar array of the docked Orbital AT Cygnus cargo vehicle is seen at right.

— Tom Chao

I’m Running Down This Mountain Pass

I’m Running Down This Mountain Pass

Credit: Greg Wyckoff

Monday, Dec. 21, 2015: Astrophotographer Greg Wyckoff captured the Milky Way through Gates Pass, Arizona. He notes that the light pollution from Tuscon glows in the background. Image submitted Nov. 29, 2015.

— Tom Chao

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Credit: Ruslan Merzlyakov/RMS Photography

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015: Astrophotographer Ruslan Merzlyakov caught an aurora from his seat on a plane flying over the Barents Sea on Dec. 7, 2015. The Barents Sea lies north of Russia and Norway in the Arctic Ocean. He writes in an email message to Space.com: “I was so lucky having [a] window seat!”

— Tom Chao

French Skies

French Skies

Credit: Sébastien Joly

Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015: Astrophotographer Sébastien Joly sent in a photo of the moon rising over Palombaggia Beach, Corsica, France. He writes in an email message to Space.com: This is one of my favourite pictures; I took it in Corsica on Palombaggia Beach (southern Corsica, close to Porto-Vecchio). The yellow light in [the] background is from Sardinia.” Image submitted Nov. 25, 2015.

— Tom Chao

Jellyfish in the Sky

Jellyfish in the Sky

Credit: Jeffrey O. Johnson

Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015: Astrophotographer Jeff Johnson sent in a photo of the Jellyfish Nebula that he obtained on Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The nebula, also knowh as IC 443 and Sharpless 248 (Sh2-248), lies about 5,000 light-years away from us, and represents the remains of a supernova that exploded.

— Tom Chao

Get Me on Your Wavelength

Get Me on Your Wavelength

Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA

Monday, Dec. 28, 2015: Side-by-side images of the sun seen by Solar Dynamics Observatory at the same time on Dec. 10-11, 2015, in two different wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light highlight different features of our fiery star. The 171 Angstrom wavelength (gold), shows fine strands of plasma looping above the sun. The 304 Angstrom wavelength (red) captures cooler plasma closer to the sun's surface. SDO has the capability to observe the sun in 10 different wavelengths so that it can identify different features at various temperatures and elevations above the sun.

— Tom Chao

Everybody, Get in Line!

Everybody, Get in Line!

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015: Saturn's moon Enceladus and Tethys line up for Cassini spacecraft's cameras, with the planet’s signature rings seen below. The two moons were floating at relatively similar distances from Cassini, so the apparent sizes in this image give a good approximation of the relative sizes of Enceladus (313 miles or 504 kilometers across) and Tethys (660 miles or 1,062 kilometers across). Cassini spacecraft’s narrow-angle camera took the image in red light on Sept. 24, 2015. Cassini was flying approximately 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) from Enceladus and 1.6 million miles from Tethys. Image released Dec. 14, 2015.

— Tom Chao

Two into One

Two into One

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)

Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015: Galaxy NGC 6052 lies roughly 230 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Hercules. Two separate galaxies merge together to create this new structure with a a highly chaotic shape. Eventually it will settle into a stable shape. Image released Dec. 28, 2015.

— Tom Chao

Star Cluster

Star Cluster

Credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015: Adam Block of the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter at the University of Arizona captured globular cluster M15 during December 2015. The globular cluster lies about 33,600 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Pegasus. Over 100,000 stars fill M15.

— Tom Chao