Night Sky Pictures: Stargazer Photos of Stars and Planets

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.

Latest about night sky photos

A swirling, dynamic, long-exposure image of Paranal Observatory at night. The backdrop of the night sky is a deep blue, with long arcs of white light bending across it horizontally. The circular pattern of stars is broken by two beams of orange light erupting out of a cylindrical telescope house. There are two other similar cylindrical domes to its left, and a smaller one further behind. In the foreground of the image on the right-hand side is the spherical white structure of an Auxiliary Telescope, with its shell open so that the telescope inside can observe the cosmos.

Lasers cut through star trails in beautiful photo from the European Southern Observatory

By Samantha Mathewson published

A new long exposure image from the European Southern Observatory captures stars as they travel overhead, creating what is known as star trails with the help of bright laser guide star beams.

Stars
a circular overhead view of the sky and shooting stars and the milky way

Watch the glow of the Milky Way and ghostly zodiacal light during the 2023 Perseid meteor shower (video)

By Miguel Claro published

The new moon glows in the sky above Turkey with the reflected light of Earth shining upon it in gorgeous photos by astrophotographer Miguel Claro.

Meteors & Meteor Showers
a large orange moon hovers over a distant castle built wide across the top of a hill or small mountain.

See the Super 'Blue' Moon of 2023 rise over a castle in this epic photo and time-lapse video

By Miguel Claro published

A single shot shows a Super Full “Blue” Moon which don’t have nothing of blue, rising above Monsaraz castle at Dark Sky® Alqueva, in Portugal.

Stargazing
two images, showing a dark, star-studded sky on the left and a light-polluted city sky on the right.

The loss of dark skies is so painful, astronomers coined a new term for it

By Paul Sutter published

Humanity is slowly losing access to the night sky, and astronomers have invented a new term to describe the pain associated with this loss: 'noctalgia,' meaning 'night grief.'

Stargazing
A bright galaxy hangs in space near a smear of blue nebulas gas and beside a mush smaller, more distant galaxy.

Stunning image of Andromeda galaxy takes top astronomy photography prize of 2023 (gallery)

By Josh Dinner published

The Royal Observatory of Greenwich's annual contest draws more than 4,000 submissions, and the winning images from this year's categories are stunning.

Galaxies
A figure sitting next to a campfire points up at a starry sky, streaked with shooting stars.

Perseid meteor shower 2023 lights up the sky in these gorgeous reader photos (gallery)

By Josh Dinner published

Gaze at some of our best 2023 Perseid meteor shower photo submissions from across the world.

Meteors & Meteor Showers
Venus as a razor-thin crescent as it nears inferior conjunction with the sun.

Why Venus is now a slim crescent and will disappear from the evening sky this weekend

By Jamie Carter published

Venus is approaching 'inferior conjunction' as it swaps from being the 'Evening Star' to the 'Morning Star,' passing between Earth and the sun in the meantime.

Stargazing
a mountain peak in the foreground in darkness. behind are shooting stars streaking toward the horizon. the milky way is glowing in the background in the vertical middle of the image

Shiny Perseid meteors light up a dark sky in Portugal (video)

By Miguel Claro published

The Perseid meteor shower will bring shooting stars to your neighborhood on Aug. 11 and Aug. 12. You can get a preview of the spectacular show in this video.

Meteors & Meteor Showers
A book leans against a tree against the background of a house in the distance and a dark grassy yard. The night sky is filled with the streaks of stars, traced through the sky through long exposure photos.

New book 'Stargazing: Contemplating the Cosmos to Find Inner Peace' teaches meditation to bring stargazing down to Earth

By Josh Dinner published

Swapna Krishna, author of the new book "Stargazing: Contemplating the Cosmos to Find Inner Peace," writes a guide to getting the most out of the night sky wherever you are.

Space Books
view of the full moon from the space station, showing it hanging in the blackness of space over earth's wispy blue atmosphere

Astronaut shares stunning view of July's supermoon from space (photo)

By Samantha Mathewson published

July's full Buck Moon — the first of four consecutive supermoons — rose on July 3, and an astronaut aboard the ISS snapped a stunning view of the celestial sight.

Astrophotography
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Archives