Artemis I: Flight Day 13On flight day 13 (November 28, 2022) of the Artemis 1 mission, the Orion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth. At over 430,000 kilometers from Earth, its distant retrograde orbit also puts Orion nearly 70,000 kilometers from the Moon. In the same field of view in this video frame from flight day 13, planet and…Read More

NGC 1333: Stellar Nursery in PerseusNGC 1333 is seen in visible light as a reflection nebula, dominated by bluish hues characteristic of starlight reflected by interstellar dust. A mere 1,000 light-years distant toward the heroic constellation Perseus, it lies at the edge of a large, star-forming molecular cloud. This telescopic close-up spans…Read More

NGC 2442: Galaxy in VolansDistorted galaxy NGC 2442 can be found in the southern constellation of the flying fish, (Piscis) Volans. Located about 50 million light-years away, the galaxy’s two spiral arms extending from a pronounced central bar give it a hook-shaped appearance in this deep and colorful image, with foreground stars scattered across…Read More

M78: Reflecting Blue in a Sea of RedIn the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex, several bright blue nebulas are particularly apparent. Pictured here in the center are two of the most prominent reflection nebulas – dust clouds lit by the reflecting light of bright embedded stars. The more famous nebula is M78, in the image center, cataloged over…Read More

Orion’s Treasures over Snowy MountainsRising over a frozen valley in the Tatra Mountains, the familiar stars and nebulas of Orion dominate this wide-field nightscape. The featured deep photo was taken in southern Poland’s highest mountain range last month, where dark skies and alpine terrain combined to reveal both Earth’s rugged beauty and the…Read More