Shots from Outer Space that Will Blow Your Mind

NASA/CXC/Penn State/S. Park et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI/UIUC/Y. H. Chu & R. Williams et al.

Scientists still aren't sure what the blue blob on the right side of this image is - though it may be the remnant of a supernova. It is believed to be traveling at 7 million kilometers per hour. Elsewhere, scattered debris from supernova explosion N49 lights up the sky in this gorgeous image.

HCG 87: A Small Group of Galaxies

Sally Hunsberger (Lowell Obs.), Jane Charlton (Penn State)

These galaxies are gravitationally stretching each other during 100-million year orbits around a common center.

The Milky Way Over Pulpit Rock

A rock cropping Cape Schank, Victoria, Australia known as Pulpit Rock. The Milky Way is visible as is its small neighboring galaxy the Small Magellanic Cloud, to the right, just above Pulpit Rock.

Companion of a Young, Sun-like Star Confirmed

Gemini Observatory, D. Lafreniere, R. Jayawardhana, M. van Kerkwijk (Univ. Toronto)

Confirmation of the first direct image of an extrasolar planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun. This photograph was taken in 2008 but confirmed only recently.

A Giant Planet for Beta Pictoris

Image of a giant planet orbiting the young star Beta Pictoris. The planet is detected at two different positions in its orbit.

Galaxies on a String

Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

What looks like a string is a cosmic trail of gas, dust, and stars about 22,000 light-years long. As they swing close to each other, these gravitational tides disrupt galaxies. It is believed that the encounters will likely result in their merger into a single galaxy of stars.

Above Aurora Australis

Viewed from the International Space Station, this enormous, green ribbon is known as the aurora australis or southern lights.

A Partial Lunar Eclipse

On June 28, the face of the moon was partly blocked by Earth's clouds, and partly darkened on the upper right by Earth's umbral shadow.

Young Star Cluster Westerlund 2

Dusty stellar nursery RCW 49 surrounds young star cluster Westerlund 2.

The Starry Night of Alamut

A meteor streaks across the sky, as viewed from the mountain fortress of Alamut in the central Alborz Mountains of Iran.

The Dark Tower in Scorpius

Clumps of dust and molecular gas create a cosmic cloud in the constellation Scorpius, evokinjg a dark tower.

Sunset from the International Space Station

A sunset captured last month by the ISS's Expedition 23.