Comet Jacques on Aug. 30, 2014
In March 2014, amateur astronomers discovered the Comet C/2014 E2 in our solar system. Known as Comet Jacques, after its discovery team, the comet is proving to be a stunning object for amateur astronomers. See amazing photos of Comet Jacques in this Space.com gallery if stargazer photos.
Photographer Captures Stunning Nightscapes from California Parks (Video, Photos)
Astrophotographer Gavin Heffernan sent Space.com some spectacular photos and time-lapse videos captured over three days inside the parks, located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range. [Read the full story here.]
Milky Way Over San Pedro de Atacama
The summer night sky can be a wonderland for amateur astronomers and seasoned astrophotographers, offering views of planets aplenty. In this gallery, you'll see some of the most amazing night sky views sent in to Space.com in September 2014 by stargazers.
Whoops! So-Called 'Asteroid' Is Actually a Comet
An object, observed by NEOWISE, that seemed to have been an asteroid is actually a comet. [Read the full story here.]
Breathtaking Auroras Wow Astronauts in Space (Photos)
The northern lights are a stunning sight for people on Earth, but even astronauts can see the incredible light shows from outer space. [Read the full story here.]
Saturn Moon and Glorious Rings Shine in Spectacular NASA Photos
A bright moon of Saturn stands out against the planet's dark background in an amazing new photo taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft studying the ringed wonder and its moons. [Read the full story here.]
Cosmic Spider Swallows Starlight in Amazing Telescope View (Video, Photos)
A dark, spider-shaped blob of gas blocks light from distant stars in a stunning new photo from the European Southern Observatory. [Read the full story here.]
Having a Blast
Friday, Sept. 5, 2014: A coronal mass ejection associated with an M-class flare on the sun hurled a long stream of plasma into space on Aug. 24, 2014. Image captured by the STEREO (Behind) spacecraft. A view of the sun in extreme UV light combines here with a broader visible light view of the sun's corona. Much of the plasma lacked sufficient kinetic energy to break free from the sun's gravity, and fell back into the sun. [See the video.]
Going Down to the Laser Show
Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014: A yellow laser beam appears to fan out across the sky over the Allgäu Public Observatory in Ottobeuren, Germany. A long exposure time makes the thin beam spread out in the image, on a night when the observatory was examining the Northern Celestial Pole. The instrument seen here is the facility's 0.6-meter Cassegrain reflector telescope, dating back to 1996. The laser provides a guide star, which can serve as an artificial reference star to help calibrate the adaptive optics of the telescope that minimize atmospheric blurring. Image released Sept. 1, 2014. [See more photos here.]
Date Night
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014: Astrophotographer William Praniski sent in a photo of the night sky over the Chilean town of San Pedro de Atacama, taken July 27, 2014. He mentions in an email to Space.com that he visited northern Chile with his girlfriend to search for the famous dark skies of that region, and this photo sums up his 7-day trip. [See more photos here.]
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