Earth's Different 'Nightlights' Seen from Space
Thursday, November 29, 2018: While city lights illuminate much of the Earth's land by night, fleets of fishing vessels light up the oceans, too. "Isn't it bizarre that the brightest lights humankind shine out into space come from fishing fleets?" European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst tweeted from the International Space Station, along with this photo of the light-speckled Java Sea. The view also shows the Indonesian port city of Surabaya. Above, on the horizon, you can see a subtle orange airglow. This phenomenon is the result of chemical reactions in Earth's atmosphere. — Hanneke Weitering
Hubble Spots a Supernova Remnant
Friday, November 30, 2018: This twisted mess of bright-red filaments was left behind when a white dwarf star died in a brilliant supernova explosion. Named SNR 0454-67.2, this supernova remnant is located more than 160,000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the Milky Way's galactic neighbors. The Hubble Space Telescope captured this new image of the supernova remnant. — Hanneke Weitering