image of the day

Latest about image of the day

four bright yellow lines of light extend up into a starry night sky

Lasers take aim at a galaxy far, far away | Space photo of the day for May 4, 2026

By Brett Tingley published

Looking like a scene out of "Star Wars," this image shows the ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) beaming four separate lasers into the sky towards the Tarantula Nebula.

Astronomy
Two people wearing glasses work above what looks like a large tire with fabric on the outside on a table.

Is it cake? No, it's a parachute! | Space photo of the day for May 1, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

In this donut-shaped bag is a massive parachute. Next stop? Mars.

Mars
A black background of space is speckled with a wide array of stars. At the center is a flat, glowing galaxy shaped like a stretched out sombrero.

The cosmos wears a galactic sombrero | Space photo of the day for April 29, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

The Sombrero galaxy's name fits perfectly.

Galaxies
A view of the Artemis 2 Orion heat shield underwater. The heat shield appears as different shades of dark blue.

Artemis 2 heat shield is a sunken treasure in the ocean | Space photo of the day for April 28, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

This eerie image shows the heat shield following splashdown.

3 Comments
Human Spaceflight
A black space background covered in stars has a central bright, egg-shaped galaxy with blue and red coloring.

Backyard snapshot delivers stunning galaxy image | Space photo of the day for April 27, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

The Small Magellanic Cloud, a neighbor of our Milky Way galaxy, stuns in this ambassador's picture.

Galaxies
A black and white image of the landscape of Mars with crescent-shaped dunes.

Ice melts in the springtime on Mars | Space photo of the day for April 24, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

Springtime has arrived at the Red Planet's Chasma Boreale, as this photo by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows.

Mars
colorful clouds of gas on a starry background

Nebula sparkles in new Hubble snapshot | Space photo of the day for April 23, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

Hubble revisits the Trifid Nebula in a spectacular image, revealing it's expansive splendor.

2 Comments
Hubble Space Telescope
This is an image of Earth captured in space.

Celebrate Earth Day with this Artemis 2 shot | Space photo of the day for April 22, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

Celebrating Earth Day with an image of Earth captured by NASA's Artemis 2 mission around the moon.

5 Comments
Earth
a streak of light crosses a starry sky above a dark earth below it

Astronauts photograph Lyrid meteor shower from ISS | Space photo of the day for April 21, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

NASA's Jessica Meir spotted the Lyrids from aboard the space station.

Human Spaceflight
A photograph of the moon, showing a portion of its far side.

A peek at the far side of the moon | Space photo of the day for April 20, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

The Artemis 2 astronauts captured a unique image of the moon's "dark side" during their historic April 2026 flyby.

The moon
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