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Bledsoe, Texas, USA May 29, 2015 Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Olbinski

Resembling a diamond-encrusted bracelet, a ring of brilliant blue star clusters wraps around the yellowish nucleus of what was once a normal spiral galaxy in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). This image is being released to commemorate the 14th anniversary of Hubble's launch on April 24, 1990 and its deployment from the space shuttle Discovery on April 25, 1990. The sparkling blue ring is 150,000 light-years in diameter, making it larger than our entire home galaxy, the Milky Way. The galaxy, cataloged as AM 0644-741, is a member of the class of so- called "ring galaxies." It lies 300 million light-years away in the direction of the southern constellation Dorado. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI) Explanation from: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0415a/

Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 10,878 km2 (4,200 sq mi). It is located in the province of Alberta, north of Banff National Park and west of Edmonton. The park includes the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, hot springs, lakes, waterfalls and mountains. Jasper was named after Jasper Hawes, who operated a trading post in the region for the North West Company. Before this it was referred to as Fitzhugh. The park was established on September 14, 1907 as Jasper Forest Park, and was granted national park status in 1930, with the passing of the National Parks Act. In 2014, Jasper National Park had 2,154,710 visitors. Mammalian species found in the park are the elk, caribou ( also known as Reindeer,) moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, porcupine, lynx, beaver, two species of fox, marten, pika, grizzly bear, coyote, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, black bear, timber wolf, hoary marmot, cougar, and wolverine. The most common birds that fly arou...

Astronomer Fred Bruenjes recorded a series of many 30 second long exposures spanning about six hours on the night of August 11 and early morning of August 12, 2004 using a wide angle lens. Combining those frames which captured meteor flashes, he produced this dramatic view of the Perseids of summer. There are 51 Perseid meteors in the composite image, including one seen nearly head-on. Image Credit & Copyright: Fred Bruenjes

Seen edge-on, observations of NGC 4945 suggest that this hive of stars is a spiral galaxy much like our own Milky Way, with swirling, luminous arms and a bar-shaped centre. Sites of active star formation, known as HII regions, are seen prominently in the image, appearing bright pink. These resemblances aside, NGC 4945 has a brighter centre that likely harbours a supermassive black hole, which is devouring reams of matter and blasting energy out into space. NGC 4945 is about 13 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus (the Centaur) and is beautifully revealed in this image taken with data in five bands (B, V, R, H-alpha and S II) with the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at La Silla. The field of view is 30 x 30 arcminutes. Image Credit: ESO Explanation from: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0931a/

In its season of "lasts," NASA's Cassini spacecraft made its final close approach to Saturn's moon Mimas on January 30, 2017. At closest approach, Cassini passed 25,620 miles (41,230 kilometers) from Mimas. All future observations of Mimas will be from more than twice this distance. This mosaic is one of the highest resolution views ever captured of the icy moon. Close approaches to Mimas have been somewhat rare during Cassini's mission, with only seven flybys at distances of less than 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers). Mimas' surface is pockmarked with countless craters, the largest of which gives the icy moon its distinctive appearance. Two versions of the mosaic are provided. In one, the left side, which is lit by reflected light from Saturn, has been enhanced in brightness in order to show the full surface. The second version features more natural illumination levels. Imaging scientists combined ten narrow-angle camera images to create this mosaic view. The...

Space Shuttle Discovery, Orbit of the Earth March 25, 2009 Image Credit: NASA