Night Sky Photos

The night sky is filled spectacular cosmic treasures, from the moon and other planets to distant stars and galaxies. See amazing pictures of the night sky as seen by veteran observers and amateur astronomers here. 

Related Topics: Space History Photos

Latest Updates

Astrophotography Andrew MCarthy of Arizona captured this stunning view of Jupiter by stacking 600,000 images of the planet to create his sharpest view ever.

This jaw-dropping Jupiter photo is a photographer's sharpest ever and made of 600,000 images

By Tariq Malik published

Veteran astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy of Arizona unveiled this spectacular photo of Jupiter this month on Sept. 17 after capturing his best view yet of the giant planet.

A photograph of Jupiter in the night sky.

See Jupiter at its best in the night sky as it nears closest point to Earth since 1963

By Joe Rao published

This marks a rather auspicious week, for we will see Jupiter loom as large and as bright as it ever can get from our earthly vantage point.

European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti posted on Twitter this photo of the Soyuz astronaut launch on Sept. 21, 2022, taken from the International Space Station.

Soyuz rocket launch spotted from space station in amazing astronaut photos

By Mike Wall published

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station saw a Russian Soyuz rocket launch their newest set of crewmates into orbit today (Sept. 21).

comet with long tail

Stunning image of Comet Leonard breakup wins top astronomy photography prize of 2022

By Elizabeth Howell published

A 'disconnection event' in the bright Comet Leonard caught the eyes of judges at Royal Observatory Greenwich.

fireball with green tinge

Brilliant green meteor lights up the skies over United Kingdom (video)

By Elizabeth Howell published

A fireball broke up between northern Ireland and Scotland on Wednesday (Sept. 14) at 9:57 p.m. local time, glittering green in the view of populations around the United Kingdom.

starlink satellites fly in front of green aurora

Wow! Shiny SpaceX Starlink satellites soar with glowing aurora in stunning video

By Elizabeth Howell published

A trail of SpaceX Starlink satellites are visible in front of a haunting green aurora, as witnessed by AuroraWatchers.com in a video shot near Fairbanks on Sept. 2.

Full Harvest Moon setting behind the Statue of Liberty through a telephoto lens

Harvest Moon 2022: September's full moon thrills stargazers around the world (photos)

By Tariq Malik published

The full Harvest Moon of September lit up the night sky this weekend in a dazzling lunar sight enjoyed by skywatchers around the world.

lightning strikes a lightning tower to the right of a big red rocket

These NASA photos of lightning strikes at the Artemis 1 moon rocket launch pad are amazing

By Elizabeth Howell published

Bolts of lightning struck several lightning towers surrounding the Artemis 1 mega moon rocket Saturday (Aug. 27), and there are epic photos showing just how it looked.

The near side of the moon, as seen by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.

Photographers capture 'ridiculously detailed image' of the moon for NASA's Artemis 1 launch

By Tariq Malik published

Two astrophotographers have captured a spectacular photo of the moon with a mind-blowing resolution of 174 megapixels to honor NASA's Artemis 1 mission.

The planet Saturn seen through a telescope

Saturn is at opposition. See it shine at its best for 2022 in a free webcast tonight.

By Tariq Malik published

The ringed planet Saturn is often hailed as the jewel of the solar system and you have a chance to see why in a free webcast tonight.

Perseid meteors streak over a striking landscape in China with a person holding a flashlight

Perseid meteor shower of 2022 thrills stargazers despite bright moon (photos)

By Tariq Malik published

Stargazers around the world captured some dazzling views of the Perseid meteor shower as it peaked overnight Friday and Saturday (Aug. 12-13)

A Perseid meteor viewed from roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) outside of Las Vegas in 2021.

Perseid meteor shower peaking now, but bright moon will get in the way

By Samantha Mathewson published

The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak overnight on Aug. 12 and 13, unfortunately coinciding with this month’s full Sturgeon Moon.

comet streaking in sky

Bright fireball over Madrid traced back to comet of origin

By Robert Lea published

A meteor that erupted in a fireball at the end of July has been traced back to the debris of a comet that formed 4.6 billion years ago.

The night sky light phenomenon called STEVE lights up a sky filled with stars over a lake.

'STEVE' descends on North America after surprise solar storm

By Brandon Specktor published

A surprise solar storm bashed Earth on Aug. 7 and 8, triggering an appearance of the mysterious glowing phenomenon called STEVE.

Several meteors can be seen streaking across a starry night sky.

Perseid meteor shower peaks this week, but don't expect much

By Samantha Mathewson published

The peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower shares the sky with August's full moon this week, meaning it will be difficult to view the iconic shooting stars.

After the sudden outburst in 2007, the coma of comet 17/P Holmes became temporarily wider than the sun.

Skywatchers can see debris from spectacular comet outburst this month

By Tereza Pultarova published

Debris produced by the most spectacular comet outburst ever observed will be visible from Earth later this month even to amateur telescopes. Here is how to look for it.

The Virtual Telescope Project will livestream views of the Mars-Uranus conjunction on Aug. 1, 2022, at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT on Aug. 2).

Watch Mars and Uranus meet up in night-sky webcast tonight

By Mike Wall published

Mars and Uranus are night-sky neighbors at the moment, and you can get good views of their unusual meetup online tonight (Aug. 1).

The full moon as seen from the International Space Station on Dec, 20, 2021.

Watch the full moon dance over one year in stunning time-lapse video by photographer

By Tariq Malik published

A new time-lapse video from astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy shows the moon's dance, or libration, over a year of full moons.

A Chinese Long March 5B rocket launches the Wentian module of China's Tiangong space station on July 24, 2022.

See China's huge uncontrolled rocket debris fall from space in fiery skywatcher videos

By Tariq Malik published

A huge Chinese rocket fell back to Earth this weekend in a dazzling (if fiery) display as it broke apart during reentry as it plunged from space over the Indian Ocean.

Starry Night graphic showing the location of Mars and Uranus in the night sky.

Use Mars to spot elusive Uranus on Sunday

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Mars will begin to approach Uranus early Sunday morning (July 31). The pair will be close enough to share the same field of view as seen through binoculars.