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It’s oh-so-easy to be mesmerized by this spiral galaxy. Follow its clearly defined arms, which are brimming with stars, to...
Webb’s image of NGC 4254 shows a densely populated face-on spiral galaxy anchored by its central region, which has a light blue haze that takes up about a quarter of the view. In this circular core is the brightest blue area. Within the core are populations of older stars, represented by many pinpoints of blue light. Spiny spiral arms made of stars, gas, and dust also start at the center, largely starting in the wider area of the blue haze. The spiral arms extend to the edges, rotating counterclockwise. The spiraling filamentary structure looks somewhat like a cross section of a nautilus shell. The arms of the galaxy are largely orange, ranging from dark to bright orange. Scattered across the packed scene are some additional bright blue pinpoints of light, which are stars spread throughout the galaxy. In areas where there is less orange, it is darker, and some dark regions look more circular.
STS-60 commander Charles F. Bolden is seen at the commander's station on the forward flight deck of the space shuttle...
Astronaut Charles F. Bolden, a Black man, looks over his right shoulder and smiles at the camera. He is wearing an orange launch and entry suit and square tinted glasses without temples. He is sitting at the commander's station, which has many switches and dials, along with a notebook, a 3-ring binder, and various sheets of paper.
"Being able to see the world from a different perspective is incredible, and getting to fly in space was the...
Bob Hines, wearing a red work polo and white gloves, smiles at the camera from his position at a workstation with many screens and wires aboard the International Space Station.
The crewmen of the third and final manned Skylab mission relax on the USS New Orleans, prime recovery ship for...
The crewmen of the third and final manned Skylab mission relax on the USS New Orleans, prime recovery ship for their mission, about an hour after their Command Module splashed down at 10:17 a.m. (CDT), Feb. 8, 1974. The splashdown, which occurred 176 statute miles from San Diego, ended 84 record-setting days of flight activity aboard the Skylab space station cluster in Earth orbit.
Astronaut Bruce McCandless II approaches his maximum distance from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger in this 70mm frame photographed by...
An astronaut is surrounded by empty space as he floats at a 45-degree angle above Earth.
NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman exits the side of a mockup of the Orion spacecraft during a...
NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman exits the side of a mockup of the Orion spacecraft during a training exercise in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Jan. 23. As part of training for their mission around the Moon next year, the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the crew of four astronauts practiced the recovery procedures they will use when the splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
"... it's challenge, service, and building the future. If I don't do anything else in my entire life except for...
Rodney Martin, wearing an olive-colored NASA jacket and a blue dress shirt underneath, smiles at the camera. He is standing in the foreground with Lake Chabot Park in the background.
This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows ESO 185-IG013, a luminous blue compact galaxy (BCG). BCGs are nearby galaxies...
This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows ESO 185-IG013, a luminous blue compact galaxy (BCG). BCGs are nearby galaxies that show an intense burst of star formation. They are unusually blue in visible light, which sets them apart from other high-starburst galaxies that emit more infrared light.
NASA completed a full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine Jan. 17, continuing a critical test series to...
White vapor clouds billow up and to the right of this image during a hot fire test. The sun is a diffuse, bright yellow spot, covered by wispy clouds that dominate the sky.
A successful liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus...
A black and white rocket takes off against the brilliant blue backdrop of the sky. It leaves a trail of fire and billowing clouds of white smoke behind it, which partially obscures some structures around the launchpad. The light reflects on the mirror-like surface of a nearby body of water. The image is delicately framed on the left, right, and bottom by green leaves.
This high exposure photograph revealed Earth's atmospheric glow against the backdrop of a starry sky in this image taken from...
The Pacific Ocean, peppered with bands of white clouds, is seen below a starry sky from the vantage point of the International Space Station. Above the curve of the globe, a well-defined atmospheric glow of yellow-orange is visible, with an additional band of red slightly above. The space station's Nauka science module and Prichal docking module are visible on the left.
The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F....
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter prototype sits on a round, gray surface. Sunlight glints off of one of its blades. The blades are stacked vertically on a thin column. Four thin legs with white tips are attached to the column. A bundle of wires protrudes from the helicopter and rests on the table.
From left to right, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and Deputy Chief of Mission for the...
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson (far left), NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (left), and Deputy Chief of Mission for the Embassy of Israel Eliav Benjamin (right) stand on opposite sides of the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial at Arlington National Cemetary. They are all dressed in dark clothing and look at the memorial. The memorial is a rectangular dark gray stone with a large bronze plaque on it; it has a large pink flower wreath draped on it. White headstones line the background. In the left foreground, NASA employees look on.
On the 20th anniversary of the landing of Spirit and Opportunity, celebrate NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Project with this two-sided...
In this commemorative poster, Spirit and Opportunity, NASA's twin rovers, pose atop the rocky Martian landscape, facing away from each other. The dominant colors of the image are red, purple, orange, and white. The Martian sky, which fades from purple at the top to orange at the bottom, takes up three-quarters of the image. A light orange "20" in a thin, simple font stretches over the sky; it is slightly covered up by the rovers. At bottom left is the text "Trailblazers" and "Spirit & Opportunity 20th Anniversary." At bottom right is the red JPL logo.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft for Axiom Space’s Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) to the International...
A black and white SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches upward through the sky, a bright white-yellow plume trailing behind it.
A NASA intern uses an augmented reality headset to test out heads-up display technology being developed for future Artemis missions....
A NASA intern wearing a dark-colored polo shirt stands in a rocky outcrop at the aptly named “Rockyard” at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas as the sun sets. In the background, another intern sits on a camping chair and the sky is light greyish blue of early dusk.
A top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with the lid removed, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample...
A top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with the lid removed, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample inside. The TAGSAM is round, metallic silver, and looks like three concentric circles. The outermost circle has eight triangular metal ridges. The second ring is covered in deep gray, rocky dust particles and small rocks, with silver bolts peeking through the dust. The central circle has three metal bars, crossing in a star pattern.
This Hubble Picture of the Week features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that in fact comprises two galaxies — NGC...
Two galaxies form a teardrop, paisley-like shape at right as they collide. Other galaxies dot the darkness of space.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of the aurora borealis,...
The aurora borealis on Nov. 5, 2023, is seen as swirls of white smoke and sparse, but bright splashes of white light against a dark background.
NASA and Lockheed Martin publicly unveil the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft at a ceremony in Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works...
Members of an audience lift their phones to snap a photo of the recently revealed X-59 aircraft. The plane's long, sharp nose appears to jut out towards the audience.
The Operational Land Imager-2 on Landsat 9 captured this image of Simsbury on September 15, 2022. The tobacco farm where...
A view of Simsbury, Connecticut from the Landsat 9 satellite. The edges of the image are green, while the center has patches of brown along a water source.
This deep dataset from Chandra of the remains of a supernova known as 30 Doradus B (30 Dor B) reveals...
This deep dataset from Chandra of the remains of a supernova known as 30 Doradus B (30 Dor B) reveals evidence for more than one supernova explosion in the history of this remnant. Unusual structures in the Chandra data cannot be explained by a single explosion. These images of 30 Dor B also show optical data from the Blanco telescope in Chile, and infrared data from Spitzer. Additional data from Hubble highlights sharp features in the image.
An Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen as it launches from Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Thursday, January...
A white rocket launches upward, leaving a short trail of vapor behind it. The flame at the bottom of the rocket is a bright spot near the center of the photo. To the left of the rocket is a white tower and other structures. Thick plumes of white smoke frame the field in the foreground.
For the first time, astronomers have combined data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope to study...
This image of Cassiopeia A resembles a disk of electric light with red clouds, glowing white streaks, red and orange flames, and an area near the center of the remnant resembling a somewhat circular region of green lightning. X-rays from Chandra are blue and reveal hot gas, mostly from supernova debris from the destroyed star, and include elements like silicon and iron. X-rays are also present as thin arcs in the outer regions of the remnant. Infrared data from Webb is red, green, and blue. Webb highlights infrared emission from dust that is warmed up because it is embedded in the hot gas seen by Chandra, and from much cooler supernova debris. Hubble data shows a multitude of stars that permeate the field of view.
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features a richness of spiral galaxies: the large, prominent spiral galaxy on...
Against the blackness of space, one very large spiral galaxy and three smaller spiral galaxies are prominently visible amidst the other colorful specks of light.
Expedition 70 NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara has her Russian Sokol spacesuit pressure checked ahead launching to the International Space Station...
Astronaut Loral O'Hara looks upward while in a reclined position. Her feet are out of focus in the foreground. Her hand rests on the blue rim of her helmet. She wears a white and blue spacesuit.
Amazonian leaders visit "Space for Earth," an immersive audio-visual installation that draws from near real-time satellite data and images, in...
Amazonian leaders stand in the small "Space for Earth" immersive installation room, with tiny white dots of light representing atmospheric rivers flowing all around them on the walls and floor.
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins, and Robert Hines participate in STEM demonstrations with local students at the Martin Luther...
Fog rolls across the floor of an auditorium full of students and teachers. In the background at left are NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines, along with students and teachers. To the right are rows of orange seats, where the audience sits, watching the experiment underway.
Jupiter, top, and Venus, bottom, are seen with the crescent Moon above the Vehicle Assembly Building, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023,...
The sky shifts from a deep blue to burnt orange (top to bottom). The crescent moon is at the top of the image, with Jupiter to its right and Venus below it. The silhouette of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center stands out against the orange sky.
Resembling sparks from a fireworks display, this image taken by a JPL camera onboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows delicate...
Many points of light are scattered across the black background of space like confetti. At center are blue and orange strands, debris from a star explosion.
Creating an artistic reflection, a Great Blue Heron skims its wings on a waterway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in...
A large gray bird flaps its wings just above a body of water, disrupting the water's surface. There is a reflection of the bird in the water.
"It takes a lot of courage to confront your fears and failures. Each and every time is really difficult, but...
A Vietnamese-American woman with shoulder-length black hair stands in front of a building that is out of focus. She wears a light blue shirt with buttons and a red blazer with a small NASA "meatball" pin.
Seen here by Webb, ice giant Uranus is a dynamic world with rings, moons, storms, extreme seasons, and more. Webb’s...
An image with a black background. The planet Uranus is a glowing orb near the center surrounded by rings. The planet appears blue with a large, white patch taking up the right half. The patch is whitest at the center, then fades into blue at it expands from right to left. A thin outline of Uranus is also white. Around the planet is a system of nested rings. There are faint orange and off-white smudges, some oval, some circular, that are background galaxies scattered throughout the image. Several bright blue point sources closer to Uranus are the planet’s moons. There is also a bright star at the left of the field, with 8 diffraction spikes.
Four reindeer walk past the BARREL payload on the launch pad at Esrange Space Center near Kiruna, Sweden. The BARREL...
Four reindeer walk past the BARREL payload. Two are on the left of the payload and two are on the right. The payload looks like a large white box with red square patches on two sides, resting atop a platform with four wheels. The ground is brown with small rocks, and in the background, a forest of green trees spreads over hills in the distance. The sky is overcast.
Artemis II crew members: CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, left, NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid...
Four astronauts, wearing blue jackets and black pants, pose for a photo at the White House in front of decorations like trees, wreaths, and boughs. The astronauts, members of the Artemis II mission, have their arms around each other's shoulders. Behind them are two flags, and a seal high on the wall that reads "Seal of the President of the United States."
At the start of October 2023, green conifers and golden aspen covered the slopes of Monroe Mountain in Utah’s Fishlake...
A hillside is covered in gold and green trees. At the center of the image, orange flames burn brightly, sending huge clouds of gray and brown smoke into the sky. The smoke covers most of the muted blue sky.
This composite image shows the Christmas Tree Cluster. The blue and white lights (which blink in the animated version of...
This composite image shows the Christmas Tree Cluster. The blue and white lights (which blink in the animated version of this image) are young stars that give off X-rays detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Optical data from the National Science Foundation’s WIYN 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak shows gas in the nebula in green, corresponding to the “pine needles” of the tree, and infrared data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey shows foreground and background stars in white. This image has been rotated clockwise by about 160 degrees from the astronomer’s standard of North pointing upward, so that it appears like the top of the tree is toward the top of the image.
The surface of Mars is littered with examples of glacier-like landforms. While surface ice deposits are mostly limited to the...
A black and white image of a portion of Mars' surface from above. Ridges stretch from top right to the bottom, the result of ice moving over possibly thousands of years. The glacier-like forms left behind have a mottled appearance.
Orville Wright makes the first powered, controlled flight on Earth as his brother Wilbur looks on in this image taken...
In this black and white photo, a white airplane with two sets of stacked wings with wires connecting them flies low to the ground. A man, Wilbur Wright, stands on the right with his back to the camera.
"Once the rocket launched, [I saw] how it illuminated such a dark space. So even when you're in a dark...
Ales-Cia Winsley smiles for the camera as she sits in front of a row of desks in Firing Room 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. She is wearing a bright magenta jacket with two pins (the NASA "meatball" insignia and the NASA Artemis logo) present on her right lapel, a white shirt, and striped slacks.