100 Most Spectacular Night Sky Photos of 2013

Los Volcanes, Venus y la Luna

Eduardo Davila

This stunning photo of Venus and the moon was taken in the early morning hours of Jan. 10th, 2013 from Santa Fe in the west side of Mexico City, Mexico by Eduardo Davila.

Moon Venus Sunrise North Carolina Greg Diesel Walck

Greg Diesel Walck/facebook.com/GregDieselPhotography

Greg Diesel Walck captured this image of the Moon and Venus from Currituck, North Carolina during the sunrise on Jan. 10, 2012. He used a Sony Alpha 65 camera with a 495mm zoom, ISO 1600, and shutter 1/8 second exposure to take the photo.

Comet Lemmon Seen in New Zealand

John Drummond

Astrophotographer John Drummond sent in his photo of Comet Lemmon taken on Jan. 23, 2013, in New Zealand.

M42 and M43 by Jeffrey P. Nunnari

Jeffrey P. Nunnari

Astrophotographer Jeffrey P. Nunnari sent in his photos of nebulas M42 and M43. Photos undated and location unspecified.

Full Moon Setting Next to Bodie Island Lighthouse

Bill Snyder Astrophotography

NGC1491 is an emission nebula in Perseus. It is about 10,000 light years away. Veteran astrophotographer Bill Snyder shot this photo in early 2013 from Heavens Mirror Observatory SRO in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. He used a Planewave 17 inch telescope with an Apogee U16 camera, as well as a Paramount ME mount to capture the image.

Moon and Comet Pan-STARRS Over Rio Rancho, NM

Josh Knutson

Astrophotographer Josh Knutson sent in a photo of the crescent new moon and Comet Pan-STARRS taken northwest of Rio Rancho, New Mexico. A church stands in the foreground of this picture. Image submitted March 12, 2013. [Full Story: Comet Pan-STARRS and the Moon Wow Stargazers]

Auroramax, March 17, 2013, 00:09 MDT

Auroramax

Canada's automated aurora camera tweeted this photo on March 17, 2013. The tweet read: "AURORAMAX GALLERY • Latest #photo of #aurora borealis above Yellowknife, NWT taken at 00:09 MDT on March 17, 2013. pic.twitter.com/tzWItOaBZj"

Aurora over Norway

Tommy Eliassen

Astrophotographer Tommy Eliassen took this image of an aurora over Hemnesberget, Norway on April 6th, 2013. Comet pan-STARRS and andromeda are also visible in the image.

Saturn in the Sky

Andrew Kwon

Andrew Kwon took this image of Saturn on April 4, 2013 from his backyard observatory in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Milky Way Over Marshall Point Light in Port Clyde, MN

Mike Taylor

Astrophotographer Mike Taylor sent in a photo and wrote: “The Milky Way makes a dramatic background for Marshall Point Light in Port Clyde, Maine. Photographed ... March 18, 2013.”

M 42 Great Nebula in Orion Wittich

Reinhold Wittich / www.wittich.com

Reinhold Wittich took this photo of the Orion Nebula from his backyard observatory in Germany from Feb. 10, 2013 to March 5, 2013 using a 12" f/4 Newton telescope. The image was processed with CCDStack, PixInsight and Photoshop.

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