Lunar Eclipse Composite
This composite image of the July 27 lunar eclipse, shot from Australia, reveals the Earth's shadow in a whole new way. [Full Story: This Amazing Photo Reveals a Lunar Eclipse Like You've Never Seen It Before]
The Propeller Nebula
This squiggly, red space cloud is the Propeller Nebula, part of a much larger expanse of glowing hydrogen about 4,500-6,000 light years away from Earth. Astrophotographer Ron Brecher captured this wide-field image of the nebula, which is part of "an extremely rich part of the Milky Way, which is why it is chock-full of stars,” Brecher said.
Mercury, Venus and the Moon
The crescent moon, Venus and Mercury form a nearly straight line in this photo Rogus took on the evening of March 18. The two planets were officially at conjunction the night before on March 17. [Capturing Venus: An Amateur Astronomer's Famous Moon Shot]
NGC 3717
A colorful sea of stars surrounds the spiral galaxy NGC 3717 in this deep-space image by astrophotographer Warren Keller.
A Bipolar Nebula
Located about 4,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Norma is the bipolar nebula NGC 6164/6165. The term "bipolar" means that it has an asymmetric, two-lobed appearance. Astrophotographers Warren Keller and Steve Mazlin created this image using data from the Star Shadows Remote Observatory.
The Heart Nebula
The colorful core of the Heart Nebula glows inside a shell of thick cosmic dust in this image by astrophotographer Terry Hancock. "The Heart Nebula shows the reddish glow of hydrogen atoms energized by bright stars that form inside this emission nebula. Lanes and patches of dark nebulae are also visible in the foreground of this star forming region of the Milky Way,” Hancock said.
Fisheye aurora
Auroras swirl over the White Mountains of Alaska in this far-out selfie by astrophotographer John Chumack.
The Triangulum Galaxy
The Triangulum Galaxy, designated M33, shimmers in hues of purple, pink and red in this image by astrophotographer Terry Hancock.
A Croissant in Cygnus
A cosmic croissant floats in the Cygnus constellation in this image by astrophotographer Terry Hancock. He and Col. John Mansur captured the image from the Grand Mesa Observatory is Purdy Mesa, Colorado.
The Bubble Nebula
Looming in the center of this cosmic cloud is a spherical nebula called NGC 7635, also known as the Bubble Nebula. Astrophotographer Terry Hancock used a Hubble Space Telescope palette image and an LRGB image he captured from the Grand Mesa Observatory so create this view of the distant "bubble."
