NASA has captured some of the most breathtaking images of stars, galaxies, and celestial events using powerful instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope, the Cassini spacecraft, and the International Space Station. These images reveal the beauty and complexity of the universe, from distant spiral galaxies and glowing nebulae to variable stars and massive star clusters. Each photograph tells a story of cosmic evolution, star formation, and the hidden forces shaping space. Whether it’s the shimmering glow of a globular cluster or the light from a supernova millions of light-years away, these visuals deepen our understanding of the vast universe we inhabit.
NASA’s top 10 views: From spiral galaxies to variable stars
1. Sunrise on Crew-11 Launch Attempt
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On the morning of July 31, 2025, the Sun rises over NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as preparations continue for the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission. Originally scheduled for July 31, the launch was delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions. Teams are now aiming for liftoff at 11:43 a.m. EDT on Friday, August 1.The mission will carry NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov to the International Space Station, where they will conduct scientific research, technology demonstrations, and carry out maintenance operations.2. Looking Forward To The Moon
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On May 8, 2022, Shawn Quinn, Program Manager for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems, captured this cropped image of the Hadley–Apennine region on the Moon, which includes the Apollo 15 landing site, located near the shadow cast by one of the area’s lunar mountains. Building on the legacy of the Apollo missions, Artemis crews aim to demonstrate the capabilities needed for human deep space exploration and lay the foundation for sustained scientific research and long-term presence on the lunar surface.3. Hubble Spies Swirling Spiral
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This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 3285B, located 137 million light-years away in the Hydra constellation, the largest and longest constellation in the sky. NGC 3285B is part of the Hydra I galaxy cluster, which contains thousands of galaxies and is anchored by two massive ellipticals.Situated on the cluster’s outskirts, NGC 3285B caught astronomers’ attention when it hosted a Type Ia supernova, SN 2023xqm, visible as a bluish dot on the galaxy’s edge. Hubble observed this galaxy as part of a program studying 100 Type Ia supernovae across multiple wavelengths to improve cosmic distance measurements by accounting for the effects of dust and distance.4. The Day Earth Smiled
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On July 19, 2013, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured a rare image of Saturn with Earth visible in the distant background, spanning about 404,880 miles. Saturn blocked the Sun’s intense rays, allowing Cassini to take a detailed panoramic mosaic of the ringed planet and its system, backlit by the Sun.This was only the third time Earth was photographed from the outer solar system and the first time people knew in advance their planet would be imaged from so far away. Cassini’s mission, which ended in 2017, has influenced future explorations like NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, launching in 2024 to study Jupiter’s icy moon for signs of life.5. Hubble Snaps Galaxy Cluster’s Portrait
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Hubble image features Abell 209, a massive galaxy cluster 2.8 billion light-years away in the constellation Cetus. The cluster contains over a hundred galaxies separated by vast distances, with hot gas filling the space between them – visible only in X-rays – and an invisible presence of dark matter detected through its gravitational effects.Hubble’s observations help astronomers study dark matter and dark energy by using the cluster’s immense gravity to warp spacetime and magnify distant galaxies, a process called gravitational lensing. Though Abell 209 doesn’t show dramatic lensing rings, subtle distortions reveal the cluster’s mass distribution, aiding our understanding of the universe’s evolution.6. Hubble Observations Give “Missing” Globular Cluster Time to Shine
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This Hubble image shows the globular cluster ESO 591-12 (also known as Palomar 8), a dense, spherical group of stars bound by gravity. Globular clusters like this one formed early in galactic history, with stars of similar age. In the image, red and blue stars indicate cooler and hotter temperatures, respectively.Hubble captured this data as part of the Missing Globular Clusters Survey, aiming to study 34 previously unobserved Milky Way clusters. The project helps determine their ages, distances, and properties, offering insights into the early formation of our galaxy.7. Stellar Duo
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In this image released on January 27, 2023, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captures the bright variable star V 372 Orionis and its companion within the Orion Nebula, about 1,450 light-years away.V 372 Orionis is an Orion Variable—a young star whose brightness changes irregularly due to early-stage instability. It’s surrounded by the Orion Nebula’s patchy gas and dust, typical of stars of this kind.8. Hubble Captures an Active Galactic Center
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This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy UGC 11397, located in the constellation Lyra, with its light traveling 250 million years to reach us. While it appears like a typical spiral galaxy, its center hosts a supermassive black hole 174 million times the mass of the Sun.Though much of the black hole’s energetic activity is hidden by dust in visible light, its strong X-ray emissions revealed it as a Type 2 Seyfert galaxy. Hubble is studying galaxies like UGC 11397 to better understand black hole growth, star formation in galactic centers, and the evolution of supermassive black holes over cosmic time.9. Waning Crescent Moon
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On May 8, 2022, NASA astronaut Bob Hines captured this image of the waning crescent Moon as the International Space Station passed into an orbital sunrise, 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean near the northwest coast of the United States. Since becoming operational in November 2000, the station’s crew members have taken hundreds of thousands of photos of the Moon and Earth as part of the Crew Earth Observations program.10. Far Out
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Pismis 24, shown in this image released on December 11, 2006, is a star cluster located within the larger emission nebula NGC 6357, about 8,000 light-years from Earth. The cluster’s brightest object was once believed to be a single, extremely massive star weighing between 200 and 300 times the mass of the Sun – well above the accepted upper limit of around 150 solar masses for individual stars. However, observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope revealed that this object, known as Pismis 24-1, is actually two separate stars. This discovery effectively reduced their estimated mass to approximately 100–150 solar masses each.Also read | Japanese scientists discover new plastic that dissolves in water within hours
