Doomed Comet
A comet (lower right) streaks toward its doom as it nears the Sun in this image from SOHO, a spacecraft…
The Whole Gang
All five of the planets that are easily visible to the unaided eye remain in view in the dawn sky,…
First Landing
Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon, in Februay 1966 (artist’s concept, top). The Soviet probe…
Faint Neighbors
A tiny brown dwarf glows next to its stellar companion, Gliese 229, in this false-color image from Hubble Space Telescope.…
Running Interference
This artist’s concept depicts the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer, an array of telescopes under development in New Mexico. When completed,…
Dropping In
A probe dropped through Jupiter’s atmosphere in December of 1995, measuring the atmosphere’s temperature, pressure, and composition. Part of the…
Spectacular Crab
Strands of gas and dust form the spectacular Crab Nebula, the remnant of a star that exploded almost a millennium…
Space (Shuttle) Telescope
A set of telescopes stares into space from the cargo bay of space shuttle Columbia in December 1990. The telescopes…
Crowded Skies
The western evening sky features several bright stars and planets in late May. This view, on May 22, is roughly…
Last Visit
Saturn’s moon Dione stands in front of Saturn and its rings in this August 17 view from the Cassini spacecraft.…