Images of 2021: International Space Station Transits the Sun

This composite image made from seven frames shows the International Space Station, with a crew of seven onboard, in silhouette as it transits the Sun. via NASA https://ift.tt/3sMiWHA

James Webb Telescope Rolls to the Pad Aboard an Ariane 5 Rocket

Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope onboard, is rolled out to the launch pad, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3EiVJyZ

Small (But Mighty) Weather Instruments

In this image, the COWVR and TEMPEST instruments are shown in the trunk of the cargo craft. via NASA https://ift.tt/3qgE1ac

Behold a Winter Solstice

The Earth's solstices come twice a year. For the Northern Hemisphere, this year's winter solstice happens on Dec. 21. via NASA https://ift.tt/33O7Lnn

Blueprints of the James Webb Space Telescope

These blueprints of the James Webb Space Telescope were created as a prop for a video series. via NASA https://ift.tt/32mzH0F

Hubble Views a Galaxy With an Explosive Past

In this image, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures a side-on view of NGC 3568, a barred spiral galaxy roughly 57 million light-years from the Milky Way in the constellation Centaurus. via NASA https://ift.tt/3GT3pcU

Reflections of Starlight

This Hubble Space Telescope image captures a portion of the reflection nebula IC 2631, which contains a protostar, the hot, dense core of a forming star that is accumulating gas and dust. via NASA https://ift.tt/3s7vAkd

Eugene Parker Watches the Liftoff of the Mission Named in His Honor

Dr. Eugene Parker (seated), a pioneer in heliophysics, watches the liftoff of the mission named in his honor. via NASA https://ift.tt/3pVQ6l7

A Cosmic Delivery – NASA Receives Samples of Asteroid Ryugu

IIn this image, a Hayabusa2 sample canister containing sample fragments of the asteroid Ryugu is transferred from JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, to NASA. via NASA https://ift.tt/3pWiy6j

The Geminids Are Here!

Each December the Geminids meteor showers appear in the night sky. via NASA https://ift.tt/3IJLyqy

Snoopy to Fly Aboard Artemis I

Snoopy, the Zero G Indicator for the Artemis I mission, was delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 2 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3pJgdvw

Exploring the Secrets of the Universe

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft onboard from Launch Complex 39A, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3oDqk5B

Observing a Dark Nebula

This stunning image captures a small region on the edge of the inky Coalsack Nebula, or Caldwell 99. via NASA https://ift.tt/3rKEm7x

Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Lifts Off!

NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, or LCRD, launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3GnUPlY

Eclipse Over Antarctica

This image of our home planet shows how Earth looked from more than 950,000 miles, or 1.5 million kilometers, away during the total solar eclipse visible in Antarctica on Dec. 4, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3Gn7lCt

Become a Flight Director ... And Perhaps a Legend

Christopher Kraft, flight director during Project Mercury, works at his console inside the Flight Control area at Mercury Mission Control. via NASA https://ift.tt/31vAAna

Photographing Mars

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its black-and-white navigation cameras to capture panoramas of this scene at two times of day on Nov. 16, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3Ei8v1i

Eagle, Omega Nebula, Trifid, and Lagoon: Four Famous Nebulae

These four nebulae are known for their breathtaking beauty: the Eagle Nebula (which contains the Pillars of Creation), the Omega Nebula, the Trifid Nebula, and the Lagoon Nebula. via NASA https://ift.tt/3o9pJZd

Dragons-Eye View

As the Crew-2 mission departed the International Space Station aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour, the crew snapped this image of the station. via NASA https://ift.tt/3p70TII

Hubble’s View of Planetary Nebula Reveals Complex Structure

NGC 6891 is a bright, asymmetrical planetary nebula in the constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin. via NASA https://ift.tt/3CXMLX6

Black Hole Collision May Have Exploded With Light

This artist's concept shows a supermassive black hole surrounded by a disk of gas. via NASA https://ift.tt/3rb2Eao

Hubble Witnesses Shock Wave of Colliding Gases in Running Man Nebula

Mounded, luminous clouds of gas and dust glow in this Hubble image of a Herbig-Haro object known as HH 45. via NASA https://ift.tt/3oVC7es

Stay Tuned for DART!

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will help determine if intentionally crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is an effective way to change its course. via NASA https://ift.tt/3xdNceC

Hubble Spots Swirls of Dust in the Flame Nebula

The Flame Nebula, also called NGC 2024, is a large star-forming region in the constellation Orion that lies about 1,400 light-years from Earth. It’s a part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. via NASA https://ift.tt/3HTxAC6

Crew-1 Astronaut Victor Glover Meets with DC Students

NASA astronaut Victor Glover speaks with students about his time aboard the International Space Station, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, at Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington. via NASA https://ift.tt/3DDIBEX

Suits at the Ready for Next Spacewalk

A pair of U.S. spacesuits are pictured inside the International Space Station's Quest airlock ready for an upcoming spacewalk. via NASA https://ift.tt/3crHnR6

Hubble Spies Newly Forming Star Incubating in IC 2631

This Hubble infrared image captures a protostar designated J1672835.29-763111.64 in the reflection nebula IC 2631, part of the Chamaeleon star-forming region in the southern constellation Chamaeleon. via NASA https://ift.tt/3np9Ldd

Observing Earth from the Space Station

This image taken from the space station shows the blue-green waters around the Bahamas. via NASA https://ift.tt/3oyGoEt

Crew-3 Launches to the Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. via NASA https://ift.tt/3qtnD85

Mocha Swirls in Jupiter’s Turbulent Atmosphere

During its 36th low pass over Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this view of striking cloud bands and swirls in the giant planet’s mid-southern latitudes. via NASA https://ift.tt/30cV57P

Crew Dragon Endeavour Recovered After a Successful Splashdown

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is lifted onto the GO Navigator recovery ship after it landed off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Mon., Nov. 8, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3EXBBD8

Spotted by Hubble: Dark Star-Hatching frEGGs

This image shows knots of cold, dense interstellar gas where new stars are forming. These Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules (frEGGs) are located in the Northern Coalsack Nebula in the direction of Cygnus, the Swan. via NASA https://ift.tt/3mT8g6v

Particles From the Sun Produce Light Show on Earth

The aurora borealis glow on the northern horizon while stars wheel overhead in this long exposure, taken near the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Nov. 4, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3CQbIo1

Hubble Images Colorful Planetary Nebula Ringed by Hazy Halo

The colorful planetary nebula, NGC 2438, formed after the death of a Sun-like star. It appears to lie on the outskirts of the open star cluster, M46 (NGC 2437), when in fact it is in the foreground between us and the star cluster. via NASA https://ift.tt/3CSlbvm

Mariner 10: First Mission to Use an Interplanetary Gravity Assist

​An artists' impression of the Mariner 10 mission, the first mission to perform an interplanetary gravity assist. via NASA https://ift.tt/3wajlmW

An Aurora Seen From Space

An aurora dimly intersected with Earth's airglow as the International Space Station flew into an orbital sunrise 264 miles above the Pacific Ocean. via NASA https://ift.tt/3CCSylu

SpaceX Crew-3 Rollout

In this 90-second exposure, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is rolled to the launch pad on Oct. 27, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/3Ct4Qgk

Gamma Ray Ghouls!

Take a tour of some of the most terrifying and mind-blowing destinations in our galaxy ... and beyond. via NASA https://ift.tt/3moeew2

Our Sun as a Glowing Pumpkin

On October 8, 2014, active regions on our Sun gave it the appearance of a jack-o'-lantern. via NASA https://ift.tt/3Eq11ZZ

A Sample of Asteroid Ryugu

In June 2021, NASA received its first sample of asteroid Ryugu, which was returned to Earth in December 2020. via NASA https://ift.tt/3CgAs8P

The Force Awakens in a Newborn Star

This celestial lightsaber does not lie in a galaxy far, far away, but rather inside our home galaxy, the Milky Way. via NASA https://ift.tt/3GiE9xc

Orion Spacecraft Joins Artemis I Moon Rocket at Kennedy

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida lifted the Orion spacecraft and placed it atop the Space Launch System Moon rocket. via NASA https://ift.tt/3Bch7EA

Hubble Snapshot of 'Molten Ring' Galaxy Prompts New Research

The Hubble Space Telescope's glamour shots of the universe nearly always have a discovery behind them. via NASA https://ift.tt/3DTFBEe

Behold an Aurora Over the Southern Skies

​A vivid aurora streams over the Earth as the International Space Station orbited 274 miles above the southern Indian Ocean. via NASA https://ift.tt/3BYXbWI

Mars Sample Return Artist's Concept

Concept for a set of future robots working together to ferry back samples from the surface of Mars collected by the Mars Perseverance rover. via NASA https://ift.tt/3DYoPDI

Lucy Mission Set to Launch to Study Trojan Asteroids

With the Lucy spacecraft aboard, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility. via NASA https://ift.tt/3BQ7PPy

Lucy: Inspiration and Asteroids

NASA's Lucy mission will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids. via NASA https://ift.tt/3azqXW2

Like Monsters in the Sky

A violent and chaotic-looking mass of gas and dust is seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image of a nearby supernova remnant. via NASA https://ift.tt/3lwV5aF

Hubble Detects a Dangerous Dance

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features two interacting galaxies that are so intertwined, they have a collective name – Arp 91. via NASA https://ift.tt/3Ao0K7n

Smile! You're on the International Space Station

The seven-member Expedition 65 crew gathered for a portrait inside the International Space Station. via NASA https://ift.tt/3AlFgYO