Image of the Day Archives
For older Image of the Day pictures, please visit the Image of the Day archives. Pictured: NGC 2467.
One Last Look
July 5, 2016: NASA’s Juno probe on its way to Jupiter snapped this final shot of the gas giant and its moons, at a distance of 3.3 million miles (5.3 million kilometers) June 29 before turning off its instruments in preparation for entering orbit. The spacecraft successfully got into orbit around the planet late last night (July 4), ending its five-year journey through deep space and beginning its investigation of the planet’s gravitational and magnetic fields, as well as its mysterious internal structure. — Sarah Lewin
Bridge to the Milky Way
Wednesday, July 6, 2016: A photographer was stargazing at the Platte River near Louisville, Nebraska, when he captured this image of the Milky Way peeking through the night sky. This beautiful image of the sparkling galaxy that contains our solar system is a composite of about 20 images, taken at varying exposures. — Samantha Mathewson
NGC 6781: Planetary Nebula in Aquila
July 7, 2016: This colorful planetary nebula is located in the constellation Aquila. With a diameter less than 1/15th of the moon’s, NGC 6781 is a relatively small object. It has a pink and blue glow due to the hydrogen and oxygen gases being released by the dying star at the center of the nebula. — Samantha Mathewson
Auroras on Jupiter
Friday, July 8, 2016: Bright auroras shine in Jupiter's atmosphere in this photo from the Hubble Space Telescope. Unlike northern light shows seen on Earth, which are only caused by charged particles from the sun, auroras on Jupiter are the result of charged particles from a variety of sources, including solar wind and Jupiter's network of moons. — Samantha Mathewson
Circle Star Trails Over Oregon
Monday, July 11, 2016: This long-exposure photograph of electric blue star trails swirling over the treetops was taken in Bend, Oregon on May 29, 2016. Photographer Justin Hartney positioned his camera at the North Star, Polaris, to capture the circular star paths you see here. — Samantha Mathewson
Milky Way Shining Over Nantucket Sound
Tuesday, July 12, 2016: Mars and Saturn shine above the center of the Milky Way Galaxy in this spectacular night sky photo overlooking the Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts. City lights from the town of Oak Bluff on Martha's Vineyard Island create a faint glow over the horizon. — Samantha Mathewson
'Morse Code' on Mars
Wednesday, July 13, 2016: A new image of dark dunes on Mars bears a striking resemblance to the dots and dashes of Morse code. The image was taken on Feb. 6, 2016 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Generally, the shape and orientation of dunes on Mars reveals the local wind direction. However, in this case, the collection of dunes photographed is too complex, NASA said in a statement. — Samantha Mathewson
Hubble Spots Cosmic Crime in Dwarf Galaxy
Thursday, July 14, 2016: This new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows an interesting dwarf galaxy known as LEDA 677373. A nearby giant spiral galaxy called Messier 83 is believed to be robbing gas from LEDA 677373 and preventing the birth of new stars. — Samantha Mathewson
Spiral Galaxy Streak
Friday, July 15, 2016: This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the spiral galaxy ESO 137-001 as it whizzes through the Norma cluster and experiences a process known as ram pressure stripping. The trailing blue streaks represent the gas being stripped from ESO 137-001. — Samantha Mathewson
Moonrise Over Manhattan
Monday, July 18, 2016: This spectacular image captures the orange glow of the sunset and the crescent moon peaking over the west side of Manhattan, New York. This photo was taken by photographer Stan Honda on July 5, 2016, from New York's Central Park. — Samantha Mathewson
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
