Failed Launch Seen from Space
Monday, October 15, 2018: As the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft failed to reach orbit on its way to deliver two Expedition 57 crewmembers to the International Space Station last week, European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst photographed the aborted launch from aboard the orbiting laboratory. — Hanneke Weitering
Orange 'Airglow' Over Earth
Tuesday, October 16, 2018: The Milky Way glitters over Earth's orange glow in this photo captured by one of the International Space Station's external cameras. This orange glow appears when solar radiation interacts with molecules in Earth's atmosphere. — Hanneke Weitering
Hangin' Out with JWST
Wednesday, October 17, 2018: The reflections of two spacecraft technicians are captured in the gold-plated mirrors of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Currently under construction at Northrop Grumman's Los Angeles facility, JWST is scheduled to launch in 2021 and will serve as a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. — Hanneke Weitering
Messier 95
Thursday, October 18, 2018: A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the spiral arms of Messier 95, a galaxy 35 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Leo. Also known as NGC 3351, this galaxy is rich with stars both young and old. New stars are forming in the bright ring around the galaxy's center. In 2016, astronomers observed a supernova explosion in one of its spiral arms. — Hanneke Weitering
A Deep-Space Smiley Face
Friday, October 19, 2018: Three galaxies in deep space appear to form an astronomical smiley face in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope. Beneath its two bright-yellow "eyes" is an arc-shaped galaxy that has been gravitationally lensed, meaning that it appears distorted because the light it emits is warping around a massive object as it travels through space. — Hanneke Weitering
A Moonlit Liftoff
Monday, October 22, 2018: The BepiColombo mission launches to Mercury in this fisheye view from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. BepiColombo launched on Friday (Oct. 19) and became the first mission to head to Mercury in 14 years. — Hanneke Weitering
A Cyclonic Storm on Jupiter
Tuesday, October 23, 2018: Squiggly clouds swirl around a Jovian vortex in this image from NASA's Juno spacecraft. Juno captured the image with its JunoCam instrument, and citizen scientist Kevin Gill processed the raw data to create this. — Hanneke Weitering
The Cat's Paw Nebula
Wednesday, October 24, 2018: A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows a cloud of dust and gas in deep space known as the Cat's Paw Nebula. Officially designated NGC 6334, this star-forming region is located 4,200 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. — Hanneke Weitering
The Skull and Crossbones Nebula
Thursday, October 25, 2018: To get in the spirit for halloween, the European Southern Observatory has released a new image of the Skull and Crossbones nebula, also known as NGC 2467. Astronomers captured this view using an instrument on the Very Large Telescope array known as the Focal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph. — Hanneke Weitering
Hunter's Moon Rises Over Portugal
Friday, October 26, 2018: The full moon of October, sometimes referred to as the "Hunter's Moon," rises over the small Portuguese village of Montes Altos in this photo by José Zarcos Palma. He captured this photo from a hilltop in the nearby town of Moreanes on Wednesday (Oct. 24). — Hanneke Weitering
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