Dropping In
A probe dropped through Jupiter’s atmosphere in December of 1995, measuring the atmosphere’s temperature, pressure, and composition. Part of the…
Space (Shuttle) Telescope
A set of telescopes stares into space from the cargo bay of space shuttle Columbia in December 1990. The telescopes…
Spectacular Crab
Strands of gas and dust form the spectacular Crab Nebula, the remnant of a star that exploded almost a millennium…
Stormy Skies
A giant storm swirls all the way around Saturn in this 2010 view from the Cassini spacecraft. Such storms have…
Morning Array
The crescent Moon will slip past several bright stars and planets in the early morning hours on October 8 and…
Icy Realm
Billions of icy bodies inhabit the Kuiper Belt, a wide band beyond the orbit of Neptune, the solar system’s most…
The First
This artist’s concept depicts a giant planet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi, in the constellation Pegasus. The planet was the…
First Encounter
The New Horizons spacecraft is closing in on Pluto, with its closest approach scheduled for July 14, as depicted in…
Dark Planet
Mercury, the Sun’s innermost planet, is one of the darkest major bodies in the solar system. It reflects less than…
Best Shot
The New Horizons spacecraft snapped this view of Pluto (bottom) and its largest moon, Charon (top) from a range of…