Background

Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter

Here are some amazing backgrounds. You can make any of these images into your computer desktop wallpaper. Just click on an image to enlarge it, and then choose “Set as Desktop Background”.

Looking Down on Earth

This photo of the earth, particularly the Indian Ocean was captured in 1999 during the STS-96 mission of space shuttle Discovery. Discovery is one of the three operational orbiters of NASA’s space shuttle fleet. Atlantis and Endeavor are the other two.

Spitzer Uncovers Star Hatchery

This image of early age stars was taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. These stars were seen growing at the Trifid Nebula. Spitzer Space Telescope was formerly known as Space Infrared Telescope Facility.

There's More to the North Star Than Meets the Eye

Here’s an interesting image of the North star, also known as Polaris. The North Star, as seen on the image is actually a triple star system. This was captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

A Different View

This image was taken from the International Space Station by a crew member of the STS-129 mission in November 19, 2009. The image shows the amazing view of the earth’s atmosphere behind the Atlantis space craft docked in the station.

Meteors and Aurora

This is an image of the Quadrantid meteor shower and the aurora. This image was obtained from the Quadrantid’s Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign (MAC) flying aboard NASA’s DC-8 aircraft on January 4, 2008. This recent meteor shower was able to generate more than 100 meteors per hour.

We have written many articles that feature amazing backgrounds for Universe Today. Here are some planet earth wallpapers, and here’s a collection of space pics.

If you’d like another amazing background, the best place to look is NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. I also recommend you check out the website for the Hubble Space Telescope.

We’ve recorded many episodes of Astronomy Cast, including one about Hubble. Check it out, Episode 88: The Hubble Space Telescope.