Milky Way Arcs Above Death Valley
From eclipses to comets and auroras, there were plenty of amazing celestial sights for skywatchers to catch this year. Check out some of the best photos taken by Space.com readers in 2017 in this year-end gallery. HERE: The arc of the Milky Way lights up the sky over Zabriskie Point in California's Death Valley National Park in a panoramic photograph captured by veteran astrophotographer Miguel Claro.
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Deep Blue and Bright Pink Lights
Astrophotographer Hunter Davis captured this view of the Milky Way and southern lights at the South Pole.
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'Diamond Ring' Over Oregon
Photographer Peter Robbins captured this incredible view of the sun peeking out from behind the moon just as totality came to an end in Oregon on Aug. 21. Robbins photographed the eclipse from Ochoco National Forest using a Nikon D7200 camera. To capture the "diamond ring effect" with a brilliant burst of light, he set used a tiny aperture setting of f32.
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Moonbow under the Aurora by Petricca
A double moonbow meets the northern lights under starry skies in this photo by astrophotographer Giuseppe Petricca.
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Geminid Meteor Over Alaska
A gorgeous, green meteor flies toward the northern lights in this stunning image by astrophotographer Matthew Skinner. He captured the meteor over a mountain range near Palmer, Alaska just after midnight on Dec. 14, when the Geminid meteor shower was at its peak. To the left of the meteor, a lime-green aurora peeks out from the top of the mountain range. [The 2017 Geminid Meteor Shower: Amazing Photos by Stargazers]
Starry Sky over Denmark
A shimmering sky of stars dances above skywatcher Ruslan Merzlyakov in this stunning image taken on Jan. 20, 2017 in Stenbjerg, Denmark.
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Comet 41P & NGC 3198
Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacombini-Kresák zooms past the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3198 in this photo taken by astrophotographer Chris Schur on March 14. At the time, the glowing, green comet was about 16 million miles (25 million kilometers) from Earth. This "April Fool's Day Comet" will make its closest approach on April 1, passing within 13.7 million miles (22 million km) of the Earth. NGC 3198, also known as Herschel 146, may appear close by, but it lies 47 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.
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Venus Lights Up the Night Sky Over Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland
The bright planet Venus reflects off the ocean surface and illuminates the evening sky at the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland in this photo by Miguel Claro.
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Iridium Flare Over Maine
Astrophotographer Charles Cormier unexpectedly captured this Iridium flare in the night sky over Limerick, Maine. These short bursts of light happen when sunlight reflects from Iridium communications satellites that orbit the Earth.
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Northern Lights from Denmark
Astrophotographer Ruslan Merzlyakov took this image over Feggesund, Mors island, Denmark on April 22.
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Reflection of the Milky Way
Stars of the Milky Way reflect off of California's Lake Sabrina in this image by astrophotographer Chirag Upreti. To the left, a meteor streaks over a snow-capped mountain peak of the Eastern Sierra.
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