Assault on a Comet
A fleet of spacecraft took aim at Halley's Comet in 1986, providing the first close-up look at any comet. The…
Whirling Along
M51 whirls through space in this Hubble Space Telescope image. The galaxy, also known as the Whirlpool, is similar to…
Habitats for Non-Humanity?
Saturn's giant moon Titan and a smaller moon, Enceladus (left), appear to have all the ingredients for life, including liquid…
Polar Rings
Bright auroras glow at the north and south poles of Jupiter in this combined image from two space telescopes. Hubble…
Busy Galaxy
Dual lanes of gas, dust, and stellar nurseries cross NGC 660, a galaxy in the constellation Pisces. Recent research suggests…
Big Blast
A powerful solar flare erupts in this image from a Sun-watching spacecraft. The flare is an explosion on the Sun’s…
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.…