Amazing Space Images | Universe Today

Written by Fraser Cain

Here are some amazing space images.

Alan Bean with Lunar Soil

Here's a picture of astronaut Alan Bean standing on the surface of the Moon as part of Apollo 12. Bean is holding a sample of lunar soil, and you can see a reflection of Pete Conrad, who took the photo.

Doomed Moon of Mars

This is a photo of the larger Mars moon Phobos. You might be interested to know that Phobos is slowly spiraling inward towards Mars, and will crash into the planet in the next 10 million years or so.

Discovery at Dawn

Here's a picture of NASA's space shuttle Discovery rolling out to the launch pad in preparation for mission STS-128. The shuttle is mated with its external fuel tank in the giant Vehicle Assembly Building, and then slowly rolled out at 1 mph to the launch pad where it blasts off into orbit.

The Rite of Spring

This is a picture of Saturn captured by Cassini during the spring equinox. This is the time when Saturn's rings are seen edge on from the inner Solar System, but Cassini had a different vantage point, and captured this beautiful picture.

Boomerang Nebula

Here's the Boomerang Nebula, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. It's a planetary nebula, the remnants of a dying star which has shed off its outer layers. Astronomers are still trying to figure out why planetary nebulae can have this strange asymmetrical structure.

We've written many articles for Universe Today showcasing amazing space images. Here's a beautiful picture of IC 2944 captured by Ken Crawford, and here's a photo of NGC 3718.

If you'd like more amazing photographs, 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.

Filed under: Astronomy