Night Sky Pictures: Stargazer Photos of Stars and Planets

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Latest about night sky photos

An eerie blue spiral seen over Hawaii following a SpaceX launch on Wednesday (Jan. 18).

Eerie blue spiral in night sky over Hawaii spawned by SpaceX rocket

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Subaru Telescope spotted a spiral shape in the sky shortly after SpaceX sent a GPS satellite to space on Wednesday (Jan. 18).

Launches & Spacecraft
The image captures the movement of Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF over 3 days (Dec. 27, 28, and 29 2022) in the night sky.

See '3 days in the life' of gorgeous green comet as it heads towards Earth (photo)

By Brett Tingley published

A photo taken by Soumyadeep Mukherjee of Kolkata, India depicts what the photographer calls "Three Days in the Life of a Comet," spanning from Dec. 27 to 29, 2022.

Stargazing
green auroras over a harbor and a boat monument

'Absolutely bonkers' aurora lights up the sky above Iceland (video)

By Elizabeth Howell published

A physics student and 'aurora chaser' got a special treat after reserving a cabin in Iceland: A storm surge of green auroras shimmering in the sky just overhead.

Aurora Borealis
Two major sunspot groups tracked across the surface of the sun between Dec. 2 and Dec. 27, 2022 in this mosaic created by Şenol Şanlı..

Incredible time-lapse photo captures the sun during an 8-year sunspot peak

By Harry Baker published

A new time-lapse image shows two major sunspot groups moving across the surface of the sun in December 2022, when the number of solar splotches also skyrocketed to an eight-year high.

The Sun
Virgin Orbit's carrier plane, Cosmic Girl, at Spaceport Cornwall in England shortly before the liftoff of the "Start Me Up" mission.

LauncherOne rocket from failed Virgin Orbit launch spotted crashing to Earth (video)

By Mike Wall published

An observer captured the fiery return to Earth of a failed Virgin Orbit rocket on Monday evening (Jan. 9).

Launches & Spacecraft
An astrophotographer with a telescope in front of the Milky Way.

Astronomy photographer of the year competition opens for submissions

By Stefanie Waldek published

The institution's annual photography competition seeks to find "the most striking images of our cosmos."

Astrophotography
Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF photographed on Nov. 26, 2022 from Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Amazing photos of gorgeously green Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

By Brett Tingley published

Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF is already putting on a show as it makes its way through our solar system.

Astrophotography
Full moon rises over the US Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia, United States on January 5, 2023.

1st full moon of 2023 was a wonderful Wolf Moon worldwide (photos)

By Brett Tingley published

The first full moon of 2023, January's Wolf Moon, led to some gorgeous imagery around the world.

Stargazing
An image of the Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) taken by astrophotographer Hisayoshi Sato as seen in a still image from a NASA video.

Possible naked-eye comet will visit Earth for 1st time since Neanderthals in 2023

By Robert Lea published

The comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) could be bright enough to be spotted with the naked eye as it passes the sun and Earth at the end of the first month of 2023.

Stargazing
virtual telescope project images of planets and stars in december 2022

See the rare 'planet parade' of 5 naked-eye planets in these photos by an astronomer

By Elizabeth Howell published

Clear skies beckoned Wednesday (Dec. 28) in Rome, allowing the Virtual Telescope Project's Gianluca Masi to get busy with a year-end broadcast.

Stargazing
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