Images of the week
Fresh views of the universe.
Astronomy worldwide
The latest discoveries.
Releases and pictures from NASA, ESA/Webb, ESA/Hubble, ESO, and NSF NOIRLab. Each story opens on the original institution’s site.
NASA’s Hubble Spies Spiral’s Edge
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the edge-on, intermediate spiral galaxy NGC 1827, located roughly 37 million light-years away in the constellation Columba, the Dove.
Read at NASA (opens in a new tab)
NASA’s Chandra Breaks Down ‘Treble Clef’s’ Galaxy Cluster Collision
Astronomers have used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to break down the cause of a remarkable formation of radio waves they have nicknamed the “Treble Clef” because its distinct shape strongly resembles the mu…
Read at NASA (opens in a new tab)
Pandora
NASA's Pandora is designed to study the atmospheres of exoplanets and the activity of their host stars.
Read at NASA (opens in a new tab)
NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory Welcomes Local Community to Tohono O’odham Nation Open Night
More than 90 NSF NOIRLab volunteers welcomed visitors from the Tohono O’odham Nation to NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory to enjoy an evening of cultural performances and educational activities.
Read at NSF NOIRLab (opens in a new tab)
Webb measures distance to farthest fast radio burst, suggesting origin
First discovered in 2007, fast radio bursts are enigmatic, millisecond-long flashes of radio emission from the distant Universe. Their origin remains uncertain, particularly since most are seen once and never a…
Read at ESA/Webb (opens in a new tab)
Gemini North Reveals Pearl-Like Knots in the Remnant of a Supernova Witnessed in the Year 1181
The Gemini North telescope located on Maunakea in Hawai‘i has revealed the most detailed view yet of Pa 30, the likely remnant of the historic supernova seen in the year 1181. The new observations reveal that i…
Read at NSF NOIRLab (opens in a new tab)
Webb captures commotion from nebula’s stellar jets
A technicolor dreamscape is revealed in this new image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. It portrays a stellar nursery known as NGC 7129, a nebula that holds numerous protostars and stars within…
Read at ESA/Webb (opens in a new tab)
Suspected second-generation planet solves Hubble cold case
For more than a quarter century, unidentified chemical signatures from a white dwarf star have laid dormant in the archive of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, until diligent sleuthing by a young astronomer…
Read at ESA/Hubble (opens in a new tab)
Webb provides crash course on planet-shattering collisions
In the early history of our Solar System, a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant Earth, vapourising massive amounts of rock and blasting it into space. Some of that material coalesced into the…
Read at ESA/Webb (opens in a new tab)
Extremely Massive Galaxy Proto-Supercluster Smashes Distance Records
An international team of astronomers has discovered the most distant progenitor to a galaxy supercluster ever. The discovery supports existing theories of how galaxy clusters evolve, and reveals how they are co…
Read at NSF NOIRLab (opens in a new tab)
Hubble tracks new decagon encircling Saturn’s south pole
Recent observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a giant, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn’s south pole. This discovery marks the first time a large regular-sided j…
Read at ESA/Hubble (opens in a new tab)
Milky Way's fastest star orbits our supermassive black hole so closely it feels its spin
Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star in our galaxy, the Milky Way, orbiting the black hole at its centre. The star, named S301, was detected with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Tel…
Read at ESO (opens in a new tab)Spaceflight
Next launches.
Rockets leaving for orbit and beyond in the coming days, from launch sites around the world. Launch times are “no earlier than” estimates and often slip.
Starlink Group 15-15 (opens in a new tab)
Falcon 9 Block 5
Go for launch
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Photo: SpaceX, CC BY-NC 2.0.
We're Not Hawking Around (3x HawkEye 360) (opens in a new tab)
Electron
Date to be confirmed
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
File photo of Electron: Yourong F. Wang, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Long March 6A (opens in a new tab)
Payload not yet announced
Go for launch
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
File photo of Long March 2F: China News Service, CC BY 4.0.
Long March 4B (opens in a new tab)
Payload not yet announced
Go for launch
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
File photo of Long March 2F: China News Service, CC BY 4.0.
Sky and space this week
What to watch for.
Space station passes
Visible from Rockville, MD
- Working out the next passes…
A pass is visible when the station is lit by the Sun and the sky is dark. Times are local time in Rockville.
See every satellite on the globeAurora and space weather
Below storm level
- Thu, Oct 22 (UTC)Kp 3.7Below storm level
- Fri, Oct 23 (UTC)Kp 1.7Below storm level
- Sat, Oct 24 (UTC)Kp 3.3Below storm level
ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 4 Oct 21 (UTC)
WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 4 expected Oct 21 (UTC)
WATCH: Geomagnetic Storm Category G1 Predicted Oct 20 (UTC)
Kp 5 or higher is a geomagnetic storm on NOAA’s G1–G5 scale. Fairbanks sits under the auroral oval, so even Kp 1–3 nights can bring aurora when the sky is dark and clear; around Washington, D.C. it usually takes a strong storm near Kp 7 or more.
NOAA aurora dashboard (opens in a new tab)Moon and night sky
- Full MoonMon, Oct 26 · 4:12 am UTC
- Last QuarterSun, Nov 1 · 8:28 pm UTC
- New MoonMon, Nov 9 · 7:02 am UTC
- First QuarterTue, Nov 17 · 11:48 am UTC
Skywatching guides from NASA
Asteroid close approaches
- Wed, Oct 21 (UTC) 2026 TV8 (opens in a new tab) 4.8 lunar distances · about 19–42 m wide · 9.2 km/s
- Thu, Oct 22 (UTC) 2026 TU1 (opens in a new tab) 12.8 lunar distances · about 19–42 m wide · 7.9 km/s
- Thu, Oct 22 (UTC) 2026 TX84 (opens in a new tab) 10.6 lunar distances · about 17–39 m wide · 7.4 km/s
- Thu, Oct 22 (UTC) 2026 TK77 (opens in a new tab) 9.6 lunar distances · about 11–25 m wide · 6.2 km/s
- Thu, Oct 22 (UTC) 2017 UX7 (opens in a new tab) 16.9 lunar distances · about 20–45 m wide · 10.3 km/s
Objects passing within 0.05 au (about 19 lunar distances) of Earth in the next 60 days. Sizes are estimated from brightness.
Sources and image credits Updated hourly · last update 17 minutes ago
- Fresh views of the universe.
- NASA Image of the Day · ESO Picture of the Week · ESA/Webb Picture of the MonthNASA images are generally public domain; ESO and ESA/Webb images are CC BY 4.0. Full credits appear on each original page.
- The latest discoveries.
- NASA (United States) · ESA (Europe) · ESA/Webb (Europe) · ESA/Hubble (Europe) · ESO (Europe and Chile) · NSF NOIRLab (United States and Chile) · ALMA (Chile) · NAOJ (Japan) · Keck Observatory (Hawaiʻi) · NSF NRAO (United States) · SETI Institute (United States)Headlines and summaries come from each institution’s public news feed; full image credits appear on the original release.
- Next launches.
- The Space Devs Launch LibraryEach name opens the launch on Space Launch Now. Mission photos are credited on each card; when a mission has no openly licensed photo, a file photo of the same rocket from Wikimedia Commons is shown.
- What to watch for.
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center · U.S. Naval Observatory · NASA · NASA/JPL CNEOS · CelesTrakTimes are shown in the site’s time zone, except station passes, which use local time in Rockville, MD.