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A view earned only by leaving the world that made us.

From low Earth orbit, the planet reveals itself in motion — aurora sweeping across the night side, the atmosphere glowing in thin, electric layers, and pieces of the International Space Station drifting quietly through view. In this timelapse, astronauts capture the rhythm of Earth as only orbit can show it: fast, fluid, and alive.

Every frame is a reminder of why we study our home planet from above — to understand its systems, protect its future, and witness the beauty that unfolds just beyond the horizon.

Percy is roving the “Western Frontier” of Mars 🤠

It’s the farthest west our Perseverance rover has explored since landing in Jezero Crater in 2021, and it’s an ancient landscape that may predate the crater itself.

Assembled from 61 individual images, this selfie shows the rover beside a circular abrasion patch on a nearby rock. By grinding away the rock’s outer surface, the rover gives the science team back on Earth a closer look at what lies beneath.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

#NASA #Mars #Perseverance #WildWest

Don’t let anyone dull your shine 💫

The heart of galaxy M77 is shining so brightly in this Webb telescope image, it nearly outshines the galaxy itself. The intense glow is due to gas being pulled into a tight and rapid orbit around the central black hole. The motion of the gas heats it up, releasing tremendous amounts of radiation.

The first image is Webb’s mid-infrared view with swirling filaments of dust shown in blue. The glowing orange bubbles along the arms are being carved out by newly-formed star clusters.

In the second image, the near-infrared reveals a bar spanning 6,000 light-years across the central region. This bar is enclosed by a bright ring, called a starburst ring, formed by the inner ends of the galaxy’s two spiral arms. Starburst regions in galaxies are zones of high star formation rates.

The third image is a composite image, combining both mid and near-infrared shots into one.

Those bright orange lines radiating out of the center of all images are diffraction spikes, an optical effect caused by the telescope itself. When observing a bright object such as a star, the light gets slightly bent (or diffracted) around some of the telescope’s structures. Due to Webb’s optics, its images have a six-plus-two-pointed pattern around bright objects. Hubble images have four-pointed patterns due to its structure.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy

#NASA #Webb #Galaxy

Don’t let anyone dull your shine 💫

The heart of galaxy M77 is shining so brightly in this Webb telescope image, it nearly outshines the galaxy itself. The intense glow is due to gas being pulled into a tight and rapid orbit around the central black hole. The motion of the gas heats it up, releasing tremendous amounts of radiation.

The first image is Webb’s mid-infrared view with swirling filaments of dust shown in blue. The glowing orange bubbles along the arms are being carved out by newly-formed star clusters.

In the second image, the near-infrared reveals a bar spanning 6,000 light-years across the central region. This bar is enclosed by a bright ring, called a starburst ring, formed by the inner ends of the galaxy’s two spiral arms. Starburst regions in galaxies are zones of high star formation rates.

The third image is a composite image, combining both mid and near-infrared shots into one.

Those bright orange lines radiating out of the center of all images are diffraction spikes, an optical effect caused by the telescope itself. When observing a bright object such as a star, the light gets slightly bent (or diffracted) around some of the telescope’s structures. Due to Webb’s optics, its images have a six-plus-two-pointed pattern around bright objects. Hubble images have four-pointed patterns due to its structure.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy

#NASA #Webb #Galaxy

Don’t let anyone dull your shine 💫

The heart of galaxy M77 is shining so brightly in this Webb telescope image, it nearly outshines the galaxy itself. The intense glow is due to gas being pulled into a tight and rapid orbit around the central black hole. The motion of the gas heats it up, releasing tremendous amounts of radiation.

The first image is Webb’s mid-infrared view with swirling filaments of dust shown in blue. The glowing orange bubbles along the arms are being carved out by newly-formed star clusters.

In the second image, the near-infrared reveals a bar spanning 6,000 light-years across the central region. This bar is enclosed by a bright ring, called a starburst ring, formed by the inner ends of the galaxy’s two spiral arms. Starburst regions in galaxies are zones of high star formation rates.

The third image is a composite image, combining both mid and near-infrared shots into one.

Those bright orange lines radiating out of the center of all images are diffraction spikes, an optical effect caused by the telescope itself. When observing a bright object such as a star, the light gets slightly bent (or diffracted) around some of the telescope’s structures. Due to Webb’s optics, its images have a six-plus-two-pointed pattern around bright objects. Hubble images have four-pointed patterns due to its structure.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy

#NASA #Webb #Galaxy

Get unready with us 🧑‍🚀⁣
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Routines are important, especially out in space. In this clip from Flight Day 8 of the Artemis II mission, the crew goes through their pre-sleep checklist, making sure everything is where it should be before turning in for the night.⁣
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Credit: NASA/Sonnet Apple⁣
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#Artemis #NightRoutine

Getting a new perspective

This fisheye-lens view of a Soyuz rocket was taken on April 5, 2025, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Three days later, Soyuz launched NASA astronaut @jonnykimusa and two cosmonauts into low Earth orbit for an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

Jonny Kim—a flight surgeon and former Navy SEAL—ran medicine and biology experiments, tested remote-controlled robots, and took some incredible photos of Earth during his first mission aboard the @ISS. He returned to Earth on Dec. 9, 2025.

This photo was recognized in our 2025 Photographer of the Year awards.Check out the full set at the link in our bio.

Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

#NASA #Space #Astronaut

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers on Earth, from all of the mothers currently in space.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers on Earth, from all of the mothers currently in space.

M O T H E R
 
#MothersDay #Earth

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Life inside Orion!

From April 1-10, the Artemis II astronauts lived and worked inside of the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity. NASA astronauts @Astro_Reid, @Astro_Christina, @AstroVicGlover, and @CanadianSpaceAgency astronaut @AstroJeremy spent those ten days observing the Moon and the Earth, collecting scientific data, and maintaining operations on the spacecraft.

The Moon joy was (and continues to be!) contagious as the Artemis II mission flew around the Moon and broke the record for farthest distance traveled from Earth.

Credit: NASA

#Artemis #MoonJoy #Orion

Eastbound and down 🚛

Recently, the top four-fifths of the SLS core stage for Artemis III traveled from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility to @NASAKennedy, where it will soon be joined with the engine section.

Artemis III will launch crew aboard the Orion spacecraft to test rendezvous and docking capabilities needed to land astronauts on the Moon during future Artemis missions, starting with Artemis IV.

Credit: NASA/Sonnet Apple

Islands of the terminator.

Made by raw sunlight off crater peaks.Citizens of the sublime.

Can you see them?

Islands of the terminator.

Made by raw sunlight off crater peaks.Citizens of the sublime.

Can you see them?

Islands of the terminator.

Made by raw sunlight off crater peaks.Citizens of the sublime.

Can you see them?

Islands of the terminator.

Made by raw sunlight off crater peaks.Citizens of the sublime.

Can you see them?

Paws your scrolling to enjoy some space right meow 🐈

This image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula is a cosmic collab between @NASAWebb and @NASAChandraXray. Chandra contributed X-ray data—the purple blotches within the dusty center of the nebula—to this image snapped by Webb in infrared.

X-rays are energetic beams of light that can break through thick gas and dust, which help scientists study the high-energy activity in the region.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/SAO/CXC; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major

#NASA #JWST #Chandra #Cats

Every cloud has an… icy lining?⁣

In parts of our Milky Way galaxy, there are giant molecular clouds – vast regions of gas and dust where clumps of matter collapse under gravity, giving birth to stars. Our SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) mission mapped ice found inside those clouds.⁣

One of the things SPHEREx does is map the chemical signatures of various types of interstellar ice. This ice includes molecules like water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, which are vital to the chemistry that allows life to develop.

In this image, we can see the presence of water ice in bright blue. Researchers believe these ice reservoirs, attached to the surfaces of tiny dust grains, are where most of the universe’s water is formed and stored.⁣
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Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/IPAC/Hora et al.⁣
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#NASA #Space #MilkyWay #Stars⁣