Our most powerful telescopes and exploratory spaceships offer up amazing views of the universe, from brilliant nebulae to massive spiral galaxies.
There has been a lot of amazing space photos shared in 2021, from the Hubble Space Telescope to extraterrestrial missions. Take a moment to relax and remember that we're in the middle of it all, and that the beauty of outer space is all around us. That's pretty cool.
The most stunning photos of space in 2021.
A newborn star is angry.
The Herbig-Haro object was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. B. Nisini is a credit to the ESA/Hubble and NASA.
A Herbig-Haro object is a rare phenomenon in which a newly formed star violently ejected long streams of matter at incredible speeds. As the matter hits the gas, it erupts in bright, colorful bursts. The star isn't visible in this flurry captured by Hubble, but its presence is felt in the gap between the diagonal bursts.
A trip to Mars.
We can see a panorama of the new home of the Perseverance rover on Mars as of February 18. Imagine what it would be like to be in the Jezero Crater, formed by a meteorite impact. Perseverance will be collecting data in the area as well as preparing samples of soil to be picked up and returned to Earth in a future mission, which will be in the vicinity of Jezero Crater, where there is evidence of an ancient river delta.
A black hole has a magnetic field.
The new view of the black hole was released by the EHT. The european southern observatory is a credit.
55 million light years away lies a black hole in the center of the Messier 87 galaxy. The first ever image of a black hole was released by a group of scientists in 2019. A new image of the black hole was created using more data from the telescopes, which may look similar to the original image, but gives new insight into this giant. The new lines in the ring of light show the field of light that's 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- 888-609-
The eye of the galaxy is evil.
The dark band of dust that sweeps across one side of the bright nucleus is referred to as the "Black Eye" or the "Evil Eye" galaxy. The PHANGS-HST Team and J. Lee are credited.
The Evil Eye or Black Eye galaxy is 17 million light years away from Earth. The gas in the inner part of the galaxy rotates in one direction, while the gas further away from the center rotates in the opposite direction, an odd trait for a galaxy. There is a theory that Evil Eye is the result of two colliding galaxies. The dark, almost fluffy-looking gas that wraps its way throughout gives it an almost ominous appearance.
There were storms of Jupiter.
The image of Jupiter shows a cloudy atmosphere. The credit is NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS.
NASA's Jupiter mission has been collecting all kinds of data to demystify the giant gas giant and help scientists understand more about our solar system. In this image taken by Juno and color enhanced by a citizen scientist, we see a collection of storms that are circular, swirling and moving south of its famous red spot. The atmosphere is very fascinating. Jupiter's atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium and it doesn't have a solid surface like Earth, so storms are constantly occurring. The red spot is twice the size of Earth and has raged for 100 years.
Moody Venus.
Venus, Earth's closest neighbor, gets a photo shoot. NASA, NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, GUILLERMO STENBORG, and BRENDAN GALLAGHER are all credited.
NASA's solar probe is on a mission to the sun where it will gather as much data as it can before it burns up. The image was taken by the probe in July 2020 and gives an eerie look at one of our closest planetary neighbors. The dark area on Venus is part of the Aphrodite Terra highlands region, which is home to a lot of lava. The streaks of light that give the image so much life may be particles of dust that hit the probe. The stars are icing on the cake.
Perseverance touching down.
It wasPerseverance's last moment before it reached its destination. Credit: jpl-caltech
It's a big year for Mars, if you haven't already noticed. This image shows the moment when NASA's Perseverance touched the surface of the red planet. The dramatic photo was taken by the rover's jetpack-like lander as it hovered 60 feet above the surface, lowering the rover softly to the ground. The rover traveled for almost 300 million miles to Mars, and the lander traveled with it at a very fast 1,000 miles per hour. The picture is a unique look at an extraterrestrial landing, but it also represents the collective relief and elation of countless individuals who worked for years to make this mission a success.
The Trippy nebula is a Trippy.
A new look at the Veil Nebula uses new processing techniques to bring out the delicate threads and ionised gas. Z. Levay is a credit to the ESA/Hubble and NASA.
The best views of the Veil Nebula are in the fall, but you can see it with a pair of binoculars. This new look at it from the Hubble Space Telescope uses five filters to show off the ionized gases that make up its body. The image is only a small part of the whole. Our own solar system is about 100 times larger than the nebula.
The galaxies are colliding.
This image of IC 1623 is an updated, broader look at the interacting galaxy system that Hubble captured in 2008.
The Hubble Space Telescope captured IC 1623 as an "Interacting galaxy system." The collision of two spiral galaxies is what you're looking at. The duo is roughly 275 million light-years away from Earth, giving off a brilliant array of light wavelengths from across the spectrum. They'll marry in a dense blob called a starburst galaxy.
Big old man.
The largest moon in our solar system is Ganymede. NASA/JPL-CALTECH/SWRI/MSSS
The moon of Jupiter was captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft. The biggest moon in our solar system is called Ganymede. There is evidence pointing to a liquid ocean beneath the thick, icy crust of the moon. The data collected by the spacecraft about the surface, composition, atmosphere layers, and magnetosphere of Jupiter and Ganymede was used to make decisions about the trip.
The spiral galaxy is relaxing.
There is a spiral galaxy in the constellation. Credit: NASA, D. ROSARIO, ACKNOWLEDGMENT: L.
Roughly 150 million light-years away sits a spiral galaxy called NGC 5037, which appears to be chilling at a nice, relaxed angle. The arms of NGC 5037 are illuminated by star-forming activity. Despite being the most common form of galaxy in the observable universe, their massive structures are extraordinary sights through the eyes of the Hubble.
A star is dying young.
AG Carinae is one of the most brilliant stars in the universe. Its bright and colorful form is an indication that it is nearing the end of its life. The credit is given to NASA, the ESA and the STScI.
NASA and the European Space Agency shared a photo of the star AG Carinae in celebration of Hubble's 31st birthday. An ultra-bright star known as AG Carinae is classified as a Luminous blue variable. This massive star was formed just a few million years earlier than this image shows, and it has a conflict between the inward influence of gravity and the outward force of radiation. The ring around the star was caused by a large amount of radiation. It's not our closest solar neighbor, which is about the same distance away.
A storm from above.
Hurricane Larry is seen from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA.
Hurricane Larry was a Category 1 in Canada. Hurricane Larry's swirls can be seen from above in this photo taken from the cupola of the International Space Station. This image was selected by NASA as one of the best taken on the International Space Station.
It's off to deep space.
The last glimpse of the James Webb Space Telescope was Credit: Arianespace.
The most powerful space telescope ever made was launched on Christmas Day and is currently in deep space. This is a final shot of the telescope as it separated from the rocket that took it off Earth.
A total eclipse can be seen from space.
There is a dark spot over the frozen continent. Credit: NASA.
There was a solar eclipse on display. The moon's shadow looks like a black smudge over the ice covered region in this image.
The galaxies are very strange.
The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies has a trio of galaxies from Arp 195. J. Dalcanton is a credit to the ESA/Hubble and NASA.
The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies includes a trio of galaxies captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
It was twinkle, twinkle.
That's a lot of stars. R. Cohen is a credit to the ESA/Hubble and NASA.
The cluster of stars is pictured by the Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Spiraling out.
200 million light-years away from Earth is the location of the galaxy NGC 6984. D. Milisavlje is a credit to the ESA/Hubble and NASA.
The spiral galaxy is 200 million light-years away from Earth. The Hubble Space Telescope has a picture of this.
The story was updated in July and December of 2011.
