https://deepfield.news/gallery/total-solar-eclipse-in-sunflower-field-df9540/ 2026-08-14 /img/3039d5b2f683b2c6.jpg Total Solar Eclipse in Sunflower Field This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain on, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. https://deepfield.news/gallery/total-solar-eclipse-from-greenland-beb9cb/ 2026-08-14 /img/753fe04df300f8e6.jpeg Total Solar Eclipse from Greenland On August 12, the Moon's shadow reached out to touch our fair planet. Beginning in the Arctic Ocean, it swept along a narrow track that led the dark lunar umbra across parts of Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic, Portugal, and northern Spain. And for a moment, denizens of Earth who found themselves with clear skies under the shadow of the Moon could witness a total solar eclipse. After dodging the weather by sea and… https://deepfield.news/gallery/a-sunflowers-view-of-totality-078eb4/ 2026-08-14 https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/esd/eo/images/iotd/2026/a-sunflower&?w=1280#039;s-view-of-totality/55460226954_564d105934_o.jpg?w=4663&h=5277&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint A Sunflower’s View of Totality The Moon slid between the Sun and Earth to produce a stunning celestial show visible from Spain in August 2026. The post A Sunflower’s View of Totality appeared first on NASA Science . https://deepfield.news/gallery/perseids-meteor-shower-ae9af4/ 2026-08-13 /img/387bdd0545f8685d.webp Perseids Meteor Shower The constellation Orion is framed by two Perseid meteors on Aug. 12, 2018, in Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah. https://deepfield.news/gallery/total-solar-eclipse-over-spain-b2bd15/ 2026-08-13 /img/05addb1c13d8532a.jpg Total Solar Eclipse Over Spain On August 12th, 2026, the Moon totally eclipsed the Sun and cast its shadow across Siberia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and Portugal. Today’s image features two total solar eclipses viewed from Zaragoza, Spain, one over the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar and the other reflecting in the Ebro River. For a few moments, Spain saw its first major total solar eclipse since 1905. Those witnessing totality may… https://deepfield.news/gallery/cascade-volcanoes-shrouded-in-smoke-ed5397/ 2026-08-13 /img/c05ac005833acdbf.jpg Cascade Volcanoes Shrouded in Smoke From the International Space Station, astronauts photographed Mount Hood and Mount Rainier as wildfire smoke spread across the Pacific Northwest in summer 2026. The post Cascade Volcanoes Shrouded in Smoke appeared first on NASA Science . https://deepfield.news/gallery/2026-total-solar-eclipse-in-spain-88d744/ 2026-08-12 /img/c0cf4cd26cb8002a.jpg 2026 Total Solar Eclipse in Spain A total solar eclipse is seen from San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. https://deepfield.news/gallery/a-magical-atmosphere-around-soar-b914d5/ 2026-08-12 /img/1ea6bd1f090559ab.jpg A Magical Atmosphere Around SOAR This Image of the Week captures a magical moment in the foothills of the Chilean Andes. The Southern Astrophysical Research ( SOAR ) Telescope, part of the U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF ) Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory ( CTIO ), is captured here atop Cerro Pachón. Its dome is open to the star-speckled sky with the top part of its telescope clearly visible. While SOAR observes a target out of our… https://deepfield.news/gallery/perseids-over-a-little-planet-e98c0f/ 2026-08-12 /img/d8bb2dacea6cd23b.jpg Perseids Over a little Planet It looks like a view from the Little Prince's planet. The featured image is a throwback to the 2024 Perseid meteor shower, surrounded in this projection by the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland. Visible in the sky is the arch of the Milky Way, along with several nebulas in red and over a hundred meteors pointing to the radiant. The Perseids are easily visible and quite popular in the Northern Hemisphere summer… https://deepfield.news/gallery/stops-along-the-path-of-totality-b3acf0/ 2026-08-12 /img/8738ed4876407668.jpg Stops Along the Path of Totality Western Iceland and northern Spain are among the few Northern Hemisphere locations experiencing a total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026. The post Stops Along the Path of Totality appeared first on NASA Science . https://deepfield.news/gallery/lion-nebula-roars-in-webbs-sights-3baa81/ 2026-08-11 /img/109098db600e8a33.png Lion Nebula Roars in Webb's Sights NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope imaged the planetary nebula NGC 2392, the Lion Nebula, using the observatory’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments. The central star’s remains are responsible for the nebula’s structure, including a lion face-shaped bubble of ionized gas and dust “mane.” https://deepfield.news/gallery/six-moons-of-saturn-df02bf/ 2026-08-11 /img/faf3b8d96f1f9a9a.jpg Six Moons of Saturn How many moons does Saturn have? While the total will likely continue to grow, as of June 2026 the ringed gas giant had 293 confirmed moons. That's easily more than any other planet of the Solar System, including ruling gas giant Jupiter with a mere 115 confirmed moons. Most of Saturn's known moons are small, irregular satellites. Many are only few kilometers to a fraction of a kilometer across and grouped in tilted… https://deepfield.news/gallery/irs-3-field-nircam-and-miri-image-00f8fd/ 2026-08-11 /img/28ee5186582900e6.jpg IRS 3 Field (NIRCam and MIRI image) This image features data from Webb’s NIRCam ( Near Infrared Camera ) and MIRI ( Mid Infrared Instrument ) to capture the most detailed mid-infrared view yet of the field that hosts the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole. An international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and… https://deepfield.news/gallery/star-irs-3-close-up-nircam-image-b0f640/ 2026-08-11 /img/36a9f2e68c053d9b.jpg Star IRS 3 (close-up NIRCam image) This image shows a close-up of the surrounding region of the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole. An international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to this supermassive black hole. The observations reveal that the evolved star IRS 3 continues to… https://deepfield.news/gallery/bountiful-roebuck-bay-7999b1/ 2026-08-11 /img/14a5bf0adfa65c24.jpg Bountiful Roebuck Bay Tidal and seasonal shifts leave their mark on this crescent-shaped, productive bay in Western Australia's Kimberley region. The post Bountiful Roebuck Bay appeared first on NASA Science . https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasa-astronaut-jessica-meir-uses-vr-goggles-b0d2c9/ 2026-08-10 /img/d3187464a671479e.jpg NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir Uses VR Goggles NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 commander Jessica Meir wears a set of virtual reality goggles, also called the Nevada Screening Vision System, for a test that measures visual function using a series of vision screening apps testing visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and more. https://deepfield.news/gallery/lion-nebula-miri-image-9351f5/ 2026-08-10 /img/f0e42c26fc802c14.jpg Lion Nebula (MIRI image) The James Webb Space Telescope observed planetary nebula NGC 2392 in mid-infrared light, revealing the presence of dust and its varying structures within this tumultuous environment. Nicknamed the Lion Nebula due to its appearance, this collection of gas and dust is created and sculpted by the remains of a dying star, which is in the center and resembles the button nose of the lion. While some dust is being… https://deepfield.news/gallery/three-galaxy-pairs-f4ceb3/ 2026-08-10 /img/dd81082444a9cdb2.jpg Three Galaxy Pairs ch of these pairs of galaxies is different. The two galaxies at the top are likely not interacting, at least presently. However, the top galaxy with the blue stripe, NGC 4650A, is a polar ring galaxy and may be the result of a past galaxy collision. The two galaxies in the middle of the featured image appear like they could be interacting gravitationally -- but their relative speeds make this unlikely. Of these two… https://deepfield.news/gallery/el-ni-o-alters-marine-life-in-the-20ae46/ 2026-08-10 /img/dc5c4cac9da48309.jpg El Niño Alters Marine Life in the Pacific Satellite measurements of chlorophyll at the sea surface signal shifts in the ocean’s nutrient supplies in mid-2026. The post El Niño Alters Marine Life in the Pacific appeared first on NASA Science . https://deepfield.news/gallery/contemplating-the-sun-552d18/ 2026-08-09 /img/db5398444a55fe93.jpg Contemplating the Sun Have you contemplated your home star recently? Featured here, a Sun partially eclipsed on the top left by the Moon is also seen eclipsed by earthlings contemplating the eclipse below. This spectacular menagerie of silhouettes was taken in 2012 from the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area near Page, Arizona, USA, where park rangers and astronomers expounded on the unusual event to interested gatherers. Also, faintly… https://deepfield.news/gallery/a-messier-moment-for-tempel-2-b48f12/ 2026-08-08 /img/f4bef9358a8ccf2a.jpg A Messier Moment for Tempel 2 Which of these is not a comet? You guessed it - the one on the right is a globular star cluster. The diffuse greenish coma of periodic comet 10P/Tempel 2 is at left in the frame. In fact the globular star cluster is Messier 30, also known as M30, or the 30th entry in astronomer Charles Messier's catalog of things which are not comets. The well-known 18th century astronomer kept a list of objects he observed, now his… https://deepfield.news/gallery/rubins-cosmos-field-6d97db/ 2026-08-07 /img/65c4b660557c07c5.jpg Rubin's COSMOS field There are more than half a million galaxies in the central panel of this image from the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. This is the COSMOS field, a patch of sky several times larger than the full moon, first observed by Hubble. It has also been observed by Webb and other telescopes because it contains comparatively few bright stars from our own galaxy, offering a relatively unimpeded view of other… https://deepfield.news/gallery/antenna-testing-for-nasas-skyfall-mission-c59cd7/ 2026-08-06 /img/1ace10359980f0da.jpg Antenna Testing for NASA’s SkyFall Mission Description SkyFall ground-penetrating radar engineer Maya Román connects a coaxial cable to a test antenna in the Environmental Test Lab’s electromagnetic interference testing chamber at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The antenna was pointed up during test to minimize reflections and interferences with the antenna pattern during the measurement. Equipped with four instruments each, the […]… https://deepfield.news/gallery/taking-flight-to-prepare-for-space-91f3bb/ 2026-08-06 /img/5e9c4707d83b7f4b.jpg Taking Flight to Prepare for Space NASA astronaut candidate Adam Fuhrmann prepares for a training flight aboard NASA’s WB-57 aircraft. https://deepfield.news/gallery/new-sharpest-image-of-the-sun-uncovers-instability-b03083/ 2026-08-06 /img/777de70d4ffb7c95.jpg New Sharpest Image of the Sun Uncovers Instability What does the new sharpest image of our Sun show? Instability. To be clear, a certain kind of interactive process called the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI). This instability can create waves and swirls when two streams flow past each other -- in this case variable streams of solar magnetic plasma. Long hypothesized to occur on the Sun's surface, KHI streaks and swirls were confirmed in just-released dramatic… https://deepfield.news/gallery/webb-opens-a-treasure-chest-filled-with-stars-3a929d/ 2026-08-06 /img/2f864d0cfaa6bb91.jpg Webb opens a Treasure Chest filled with stars This NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month takes us to a fantastical realm within our home galaxy , where piercing starlight and billowing winds sculpt dust clouds into inventive shapes. This scene is from the Carina Nebula, which lies just 7500 light-years away in the constellation Carina (the Keel). Spanning roughly 260 light-years, the nebula is home to an incredible collection of objects… https://deepfield.news/gallery/how-the-tide-turns-at-the-mouth-of-f7deb6/ 2026-08-06 /img/57a18746af1ebe30.jpg How the Tide Turns at the Mouth of the Elbe The ocean’s ebbs and flows reveal dynamic tidal flats and a well-traveled shipping route along the coast of Germany. The post How the Tide Turns at the Mouth of the Elbe appeared first on NASA Science . https://deepfield.news/gallery/distorted-sunset-over-rubin-e207ca/ 2026-08-05 /img/d403ca14e80f52b8.jpg Distorted Sunset over Rubin A flattened Sun hovers beside NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory as the observing team prepares for another night of scanning the sky. To the left of Rubin are the Rubin Auxiliary Telescope ( AuxTel ) (left) and the Rubin Seeing Monitor (right), both of which help measure the atmosphere above the site. The flattening of the Sun is a mirage caused by atmospheric refraction, in which denser, colder air layers near the… https://deepfield.news/gallery/artemis-iii-orion-crew-and-service-modules-joined-7b713e/ 2026-08-05 /img/ee6d9d602e9202d5.webp Artemis III Orion Crew and Service Modules Joined Engineers connect the Orion crew and service modules for the Artemis III mission inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasas-perseverance-captures-phobos-and-earth-082185/ 2026-08-05 /img/17aa2eb12f2d43d8.png NASA’s Perseverance Captures Phobos and Earth Description This composite of seven images from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover shows Earth, visible as a small bright dot moving from upper left to lower right, passing behind the Martian moon Phobos on July 2, 2026, 1,907th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The black background is the result of […] The post NASA’s Perseverance Captures Phobos and Earth appeared first on NASA… https://deepfield.news/gallery/spokes-on-saturns-b-ring-98a134/ 2026-08-05 /img/25432fec126bfb61.gif Spokes on Saturn's B Ring Don’t get spooked by Saturn’s ghostly spokes! Today we feature a nearly two-hour timelapse of Saturn and its rings looping forwards and backwards. If you look closely, a ghoulish shadow appears and disappears as Saturn’s B ring rotates. Decades of observation with Voyager 2, Cassini, and Hubble show the appearance of Saturn’s spokes varies with the planet’s seasons. Like Earth, Saturn’s spin axis is tilted compared… https://deepfield.news/gallery/the-paradox-of-len-is-maranhenses-national-park-5beadf/ 2026-08-05 /img/a9a5fffda374b858.jpg The Paradox of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park The coastal dune field in Brazil looks like a desert but fills with freshwater lagoons every year. The post The Paradox of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park appeared first on NASA Science . https://deepfield.news/gallery/roman-space-telescope-plaque-install-291cf2/ 2026-08-04 /img/a4e82091efa91c41.jpg Roman Space Telescope Plaque Install Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center complete installation of a commemorative plaque on the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, as photographed on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. https://deepfield.news/gallery/curious-cometary-knots-in-the-helix-nebula-c8338c/ 2026-08-04 /img/30faeb49c23aa291.jpg Curious Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula What causes unusual knots of gas and dust in planetary nebulas? Seen also in the Ring Nebula, the Dumbbell Nebula and NGC 2392, the knots' existence was not initially predicted, and their origins are still not well understood. Pictured here is a fascinating image of part of the Helix Nebula by the James Webb Space Telescope showing tremendous detail in infrared light. The cometary knots have masses similar to the… https://deepfield.news/gallery/smoke-streams-across-eastern-washington-996ce6/ 2026-08-04 /img/c8f9a72bea1e44f4.jpg Smoke Streams Across Eastern Washington Wildland fires in early August 2026 pushed air quality to unhealthy levels, destroyed hundreds of structures, and triggered mandatory evacuations in Spokane. The post Smoke Streams Across Eastern Washington appeared first on NASA Science . https://deepfield.news/gallery/guinea-bissau-tidal-waters-5cbeab/ 2026-08-03 /img/f561144e573f6086.jpg Guinea-Bissau Tidal Waters Relatively low tidal waters expose sandflats and mudflats in the Bijagós Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau in this image acquired on November 28, 2025, with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8. These coastal landforms support an array of invertebrates, making the archipelago a popular stopover for migratory shorebirds. https://deepfield.news/gallery/vaporizing-meteor-photobombs-the-lacerta-nebula-8249bb/ 2026-08-03 /img/60d552ddd3dfd103.jpg Vaporizing Meteor Photobombs the Lacerta Nebula What's happening to this meteor? This bright meteor streak appeared and disappeared quickly during a long exposure of the Great Lacerta Nebula, seen faintly in red toward the center of the image. The meteoroid, likely a small pebble, creates its glow partly by heating and exciting surrounding air in Earth's atmosphere, but itself vaporizes and leaves wind-blown gas and dust with colors that give clues to its… https://deepfield.news/gallery/unmasking-an-unusual-asteroid-39c2c1/ 2026-08-03 /img/7353c9da7c62f2ad.jpg Unmasking an unusual asteroid Today's Picture of the Week depicts different angles of a very peculiar asteroid named (44) Nysa. Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of planets in the Solar System, with the majority found in a circular belt between Mars and Jupiter . These rocky bodies come in various shapes and sizes , but new images of (44) Nysa, located at the inner edge of the asteroid belt, reveal an unusual structure unlike anything… https://deepfield.news/gallery/a-fire-rainbow-over-west-virginia-8af04b/ 2026-08-02 /img/9aa1094d4735cfda.jpg A Fire Rainbow over West Virginia What's happening to this cloud? Ice crystals in a distant cirrus cloud are acting like little floating prisms. Known informally as a fire rainbow for its flame-like appearance, a circumhorizon arc appears parallel to the horizon. For a circumhorizontal arc to be visible, the Sun must be at least 58 degrees high in a sky where cirrus clouds present below -- in this case cirrus fibratus. The numerous, flat, hexagonal… https://deepfield.news/gallery/buck-moon-and-belt-of-venus-0a873b/ 2026-08-01 /img/448b1ebbba3c53c9.jpg Buck Moon and Belt of Venus The Buck Moon is a traditional name for the full moon of July. In this colorful Adriatic sea and skyscape captured on July 28 from Krk Island along the coast of Croatia, a full Buck Moon is just rising over distant mountains. Since a full moon rises as the Sun sets, Earth's shadow also rises in the twilight scene, a diffuse gray band extending above the mountainous southeastern horizon. Above Earth's shadow band is… https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasas-newest-wind-tunnel-opens-at-nasa-langley-41f4a6/ 2026-07-31 /img/215da6f318fa8edf.jpg NASA's Newest Wind Tunnel Opens at NASA Langley NASA opened its newest wind tunnel, the Flight Dynamics Research Facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on Friday, providing a critical resource for the agency and its partners to test the safety and performance of future generations of aircraft, rockets, and space exploration vehicles. https://deepfield.news/gallery/ngc-4372-and-the-dark-doodad-171b5d/ 2026-07-31 /img/f220a159e371f402.jpg NGC 4372 and the Dark Doodad The Dark Doodad Nebula drifts through southern skies, a tantalizing target for binoculars toward the small constellation Musca, The Fly. A dusty interstellar cloud, it's seen against rich starfields just south of the Coalsack Nebula and the Southern Cross. Stretching for about 3 degrees across this telescopic field of view, the Dark Doodad is punctuated near its southern tip (upper right) by yellowish globular star… https://deepfield.news/gallery/starburst-galaxy-centaurus-a-0b5c67/ 2026-07-30 /img/13b012f84ab4bea4.png Starburst Galaxy Centaurus A NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system. https://deepfield.news/gallery/red-sun-through-wildfire-smoke-83a7ac/ 2026-07-30 /img/4e201b9e3d3a2677.jpg Red Sun through Wildfire Smoke This could be the view from an exoplanet orbiting around a red dwarf star, but it is our own Sun. This image was taken on July 22, 2026, in the Okanagan region in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Wildfire smoke from the Pacific Northwest acted as a solar filter, allowing the photographer to take this photo of the Sun directly. Several sunspots are also visible in this eerie image; just below and right of… https://deepfield.news/gallery/sunset-in-the-sonoran-desert-339b54/ 2026-07-29 /img/eb83f22e5d893ce2.jpg Sunset in the Sonoran Desert The setting Arizona Sun drenches the telescopes of the U.S. National Science Foundation Kitt Peak National Observatory ( KPNO ), a Program of NSF NOIRLab, in soft sunlight before the night’s observations begin. The beautiful landscape of the Tohono O'odham Nation seems to blend into the horizon from this viewpoint, one of the highest points in the Quinlan Mountains. KPNO is home to nearly two dozen telescopes, one… https://deepfield.news/gallery/understanding-how-martian-auroras-are-made-343c24/ 2026-07-29 /img/c7b78b7cf936210e.jpg Understanding How Martian Auroras Are Made This illustration depicts charged particles from a solar storm stripping away charged particles of Mars' atmosphere, one of the processes of Martian atmosphere loss studied by NASA's MAVEN mission. https://deepfield.news/gallery/psyche-receives-gravity-assist-from-mars-1d448c/ 2026-07-29 https://www.youtube.com/embed/6_cH5-daLjg?si=i9geSInQj3VMZwx3 Psyche Receives Gravity Assist from Mars Solar System bodies make deep space exploration more fuel efficient! Today’s video shows the Psyche spacecraft gaining speed and changing its trajectory with minimal fuel spent due to a gravity assist from Mars in May 2026. Mars has an average orbital speed of almost 87,000 km/h (54,000 mph) around the Sun. Its orbital motion and its gravity allowed Mars to pull Psyche along with it, increasing the spacecraft’s… https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasas-curiosity-views-a-sand-capped-butte-dff64b/ 2026-07-29 /img/7d5b0e531b2d4ccd.png NASA’s Curiosity Views a Sand-Capped Butte Description NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this sand-capped butte, nicknamed “Miraflores,” estimated to be about 20 feet (6 meters) tall, with its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on June 11, 2026, the 4,923rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The butte was left behind as surrounding rock eroded away over time, deepening the broad valley […] https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasas-curiosity-discovers-a-field-of-martian-polygons-d553f6/ 2026-07-29 /img/a2883808f40a19cb.png NASA’s Curiosity Discovers a Field of Martian Polygons Description NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree view of an expanse of terrain covered in surface features called polygons on June 19 and 20, 2026, the 4,930th and 4,931st Martian days, or sols, of the mission. The rover has found polygons several times in the past, but never so many in one place. Across […] https://deepfield.news/gallery/barnards-loop-over-twin-volcanoes-67645a/ 2026-07-28 /img/8412ae36cbac9868.jpg Barnards Loop over Twin Volcanoes What's connecting these two volcanoes? In ancient folklore, the two volcanoes, Parinacota (left) and Pomerape (right), are connected by representing a mythical prince and princess who engaged in a forbidden romance. Beneath the ground, the two peaks are not known to be connected by a common pool of hot magma, and neither volcano has erupted in the past 1000 years. Above the ground, there is usually nothing in the… https://deepfield.news/gallery/vlt-image-of-betelgeuses-companion-f6b89e/ 2026-07-28 /img/7d09bd9ce1485280.jpg VLT image of Betelgeuse’s companion This image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope ( VLT ), shows the clearest image ever of what likely is Betelgeuse B, a star orbiting Betelgeuse. The image was taken with the SPHERE instrument in December 2024, when the companion was predicted to be furthest apart from Betelgeuse as seen from Earth. The circle indicates the size of Betelgeuse, which has been removed. The bright source to the left, marked with a… https://deepfield.news/gallery/vlt-images-of-betelgeuse-and-its-companion-80dc2f/ 2026-07-28 /img/73a61174b1a046eb.jpg VLT images of Betelgeuse and its companion Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope ( VLT ), astronomers have obtained the clearest image ever of what likely is Betelgeuse B, a star orbiting Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the Orion constellation. Its brightness changes periodically, and for decades astronomers had suspected that some of these variations could be due to a companion star orbiting around it. The image in the middle inset in this… https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasa-astronaut-chris-williams-returns-to-earth-cfb858/ 2026-07-27 /img/896f75f6d7165cae.jpg NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Returns to Earth NASA astronaut Chris Williams is seen outside the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft after he landed with Expedition 74 Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, July 26, 2026. The trio returned to Earth after logging 241 days in space as a members of Expeditions 73 and 74 aboard the International Space Station. https://deepfield.news/gallery/ngc-7635-the-bubble-nebula-499efc/ 2026-07-27 /img/79fc9fd35c938483.jpg NGC 7635: The Bubble Nebula What created this huge space bubble? Blown by the wind from a star, this tantalizing, head-like apparition is cataloged as NGC 7635, but known simply as the Bubble Nebula. Taken from Krakow, Poland, the featured view utilizes a long exposure to reveal the intricate details of this cosmic bubble and its environment. Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at… https://deepfield.news/gallery/watching-our-cosmic-neighbourhood-915fa0/ 2026-07-27 /img/d9782a785fd5d6c9.jpg Watching our cosmic neighbourhood Today’s Picture of the Week shows the stunning night sky above three of the Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Conditions at the site make it one of the best places on Earth for astronomical observations, with the band of the Milky Way, as well as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, visible to the naked eye. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are satellite… https://deepfield.news/gallery/tranquility-and-serenity-fa624f/ 2026-07-25 /img/3db1a807386bea89.jpg Tranquility and Serenity The Seas of Tranquility and Serenity are calm today. They're calm most every day though, since they are actually lunar maria, ancient lava flows filling in large impact basins on the Moon. Also known by Latin names Mare Tranquillitatis (right) and Mare Serenitatis, the smooth dark lunar "seas" are in stark contrast to the bright cratered lunar highlands surrounding them in this telescopic view. Of course their names… https://deepfield.news/gallery/rcw-86-historical-supernova-remnant-33ba6f/ 2026-07-24 /img/624bb9c5dc7b435e.jpg RCW 86: Historical Supernova Remnant In 185 AD, Chinese astronomers recorded the appearance of a new star in the Nanmen asterism. That part of the sky is identified with part of the southern constellation Centaurus on modern star charts. In fact, the new star was reported to be visible to the naked eye for months before it faded from view, and is now thought to be the earliest recorded supernova. In this 21st century telescopic image, the wispy… https://deepfield.news/gallery/one-sided-spiral-2186e0/ 2026-07-24 /img/39b4ca7440daf517.jpg One-sided spiral potm2607 - One-sided spiral https://deepfield.news/gallery/one-sided-spiral-18ccec/ 2026-07-24 /img/39b4ca7440daf517.jpg One-sided spiral The subject of this ESA/Hubble Picture of the Month is a spiral galaxy struggling against some of the titanic forces that appear on galactic scales in space. This is NGC 4654, an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo (the Maiden). “Intermediate” means that it lies between the spiral galaxies that have a bar across the centre and those that don’t, with a weak bar structure in its centre. It is… https://deepfield.news/gallery/crews-move-artemis-iv-liquid-hydrogen-tank-4377b0/ 2026-07-23 /img/8e9953e55c921a1b.jpg Crews Move Artemis IV Liquid Hydrogen Tank Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans transport the 130-foot-tall liquid hydrogen tank out of a production cell inside the main factory building into a detached test building on a separate portion of the 829-acre site. https://deepfield.news/gallery/the-large-magellanic-cloud-2dd1b2/ 2026-07-23 /img/ccd10c8addd605d8.jpg The Large Magellanic Cloud Have you ever seen another galaxy with your own eyes? The featured image shows the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the closest neighbors of our Milky Way. If you are anywhere south of latitude 20° N (but the further south, the better), you can see it with the unaided eye if you go to a dark sky location, away from big cities and light polution. It is a dwarf irregular galaxy about 163,000 light-years away, and… https://deepfield.news/gallery/rare-planetary-parade-over-kitt-peak-0e3656/ 2026-07-22 /img/deae5a768a2a7be2.jpg Rare Planetary Parade over Kitt Peak Toward late February 2026, excitement spread online about an upcoming planetary parade , an alignment in the Solar System where multiple planets are visible in the sky all at once. On 2 March 2026, this photo captured the planetary parade of Saturn , Neptune , Venus , and Mercury . Even in the pristine skies of Arizona above U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF ) Kitt Peak National Observatory ( KPNO ), a Program… https://deepfield.news/gallery/a-new-look-and-sound-for-messier-94-e77f12/ 2026-07-22 /img/eeeec1ee4987ce25.jpg A New Look – and Sound – for Messier 94 Messier 94 is a spiral galaxy with a bright inner ring around it, called a starburst ring, where new stars are forming. https://deepfield.news/gallery/the-corona-australis-molecular-cloud-and-the-chandelier-e2c4cb/ 2026-07-22 /img/92ddcb6b8e6f8887.jpg The Corona Australis Molecular Cloud and the Chandelier Cluster The Southern Crown (Corona Australis) dazzles with young and ancient celestial jewels. The Corona Australis Cloud is a collage of reflection and emission nebulae on the left of today’s image. At 430 light years away, this cloud is one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth. It contains gas cool enough (-260 Celsius or -440 Fahrenheit) to collapse into protostars. Recently formed stars paint blue hues across… https://deepfield.news/gallery/mapping-ios-hidden-heat-with-nasas-juno-76f49e/ 2026-07-22 /img/e9f8de26ddb77537.png Mapping Io’s Hidden Heat With NASA’s Juno Description This graphic illustrates the areas of Jupiter’s moon Io sampled by the Microwave Radiometer (MWR) instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during two close flybys. The black overlapping lines show the instrument’s footprints during Perijove 57 on Dec. 30, 2023, when the spacecraft primarily mapped the northern hemisphere. The blue lines represent Perijove 58 on […] https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasas-juno-peers-beneath-ios-surface-958bab/ 2026-07-22 /img/9a77392261ac61fe.png NASA’s Juno Peers Beneath Io’s Surface Description This map represents data captured by the Microwave Radiometer (MWR) aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, indicating heat rising from just beneath the surface of Jupiter’s moon Io. While infrared instruments measure the temperature of the moon’s surface, the lowest frequency microwave channels (0.6 and 1.25 gigahertz) on the MWR can penetrate between about 6 and […] https://deepfield.news/gallery/psyche-approaches-mars-db91df/ 2026-07-21 /img/3783c65105084fde.png Psyche Approaches Mars This composite of images taken by NASA’s Psyche mission shows the crescent of Mars grow as the spacecraft approached the planet for a gravity assist from May 2 to May 15, 2026. Because Psyche approached Mars from a high phase angle, the planet appeared as a thin crescent in the days running up to the close approach, lit by sunlight reflecting off its surface. https://deepfield.news/gallery/turtle-rock-on-mars-f63cb9/ 2026-07-21 /img/aac4b128f0cfcf8e.jpg Turtle Rock on Mars Is this a fossilized turtle on Mars? No. Although resembling a large Earth tortoise, this is a layered rock outcrop on Mars that is estimated to span about 15 meters, making it much larger than turtles on Earth. NASA’s robotic Curiosity rover came across this unusual mound, dubbed Miraflores, last month during its 4922nd Martian day exploring Mars. The small butte may survive because it was somehow more resistant to… https://deepfield.news/gallery/nisars-l-band-radar-reveals-hummingbird-in-antarctica-ec0cc1/ 2026-07-21 /img/3ef1ef234edcecf8.png NISAR’s L-Band Radar Reveals ‘Hummingbird’ in Antarctica Description Data from the Earth-orbiting U.S.-India NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite’s L-band radar was used to produce an image of Nunatak Zaterjavshijsja — a mountaintop in East Antarctica — poking out amid a stream of ice flowing northeast to the ocean. The obstruction causes stresses in the ice, heavily fracturing the surrounding surfaces with […] https://deepfield.news/gallery/our-first-view-of-the-surface-of-mars-a0406a/ 2026-07-20 /img/1ba0577c136ade59.jpg Our First View of the Surface of Mars On the morning of July 20, 1976, roughly 40 minutes after mission controllers received word that the Viking 1 lander had successfully touched down on the surface of Mars, this photo gave us our first view from the surface of the Red Planet. https://deepfield.news/gallery/ngc-3576-the-statue-of-liberty-nebula-c516b0/ 2026-07-20 /img/5e11225512c3fec3.jpg NGC 3576: The Statue of Liberty Nebula What's happening in the Statue of Liberty nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming and being liberated. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57, and besides the iconic monument, to some looks like a flying superhero or a weeping angel. This re-assigned color image showcases dense knots of dark interstellar dust, fields of glowing hydrogen gas ionized by these stars, and… https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasas-chandra-and-ixpe-study-pulsar-in-lighthouse-a1286b/ 2026-07-17 /img/2328ab3191964fe9.jpg NASA's Chandra and IXPE Study Pulsar in Lighthouse Nebula Scientists using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) directly measured the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the “Lighthouse” Nebula, for the first time. https://deepfield.news/gallery/the-growing-crescent-of-mars-as-nasas-psyche-bb5fd5/ 2026-07-17 /img/c20f368880e2c4dc.png The Growing Crescent of Mars as NASA’s Psyche Mission Approaches Description This composite of images taken by NASA’s Psyche mission shows the crescent of Mars grow as the spacecraft approached the planet for a gravity assist from May 2 to May 15, 2026. The series begins with the smallest crescent at the center of the of the image as Mars is farthest from the spacecraft, and progressively […] https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasas-psyche-mission-images-details-of-martian-surface-4d779f/ 2026-07-17 /img/23ca271cb5699b06.png NASA’s Psyche Mission Images Details of Martian Surface During Flyby Description Captured by the multispectral imager instrument on NASA’s Psyche mission, this is an enhanced-color mosaic created from four individual images acquired on May 15, 2026, during the spacecraft’s flyby of Mars. Psyche was traveling from right to left (northeast to southwest on Mars) during the six minutes that it took to acquire the images for […] https://deepfield.news/gallery/nsf-doe-rubin-observatory-december-2025-image-of-2a2c0b/ 2026-07-15 /img/a77cd16c23751f96.jpg NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory December 2025 Image of Interstellar Traveler The faint coma and tail glow of comet 3I/ATLAS were captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory , jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF ) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science ( DOE/SC ), on 19 December 2025. Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third known visitor from another star system to pass through our Solar System. The comet reappeared from behind the Sun in November 2025 after… https://deepfield.news/gallery/anil-menon-launches-to-space-station-594e87/ 2026-07-15 /img/dc554f58091a5c89.jpg Anil Menon Launches to Space Station NASA astronaut candidate Anna Menon and her children watch as a Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 75 crewmembers NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. https://deepfield.news/gallery/the-beta-pictoris-d-exoplanet-observed-over-the-e32841/ 2026-07-15 /img/164b666744eec4dd.jpg The Beta Pictoris d exoplanet observed over the years This series of images shows observations of the exoplanet Beta Pictoris d over more than a decade. This planet was first discovered using the ERIS instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope ( VLT ). Astronomers were then able to find it in archival data taken with the SPHERE instrument, also at the VLT, and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The new planet, marked with an arrow, is the third planet… https://deepfield.news/gallery/vlt-image-of-the-beta-pictoris-d-exoplanet-6ca62e/ 2026-07-15 /img/fcb3757672814bcb.jpg VLT image of the Beta Pictoris d exoplanet This image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope ( VLT ) shows Beta Pictoris d, a new planet found orbiting the star Beta Pictoris. The star is at the centre of the frame, and was subtracted when processing the data, revealing the environment around it. The new planet, indicated with an arrow, is the third one found around this star. The other two are Beta Pictoris b –– the bright source to the left, and Beta… https://deepfield.news/gallery/hubble-sees-crimson-cloud-and-stars-fda8c7/ 2026-07-14 /img/6fa40e13a5b36750.jpg Hubble Sees Crimson Cloud and Stars A glowing landscape of gas and dust is heated and illuminated by a thriving population of young stars in the LH 95 region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. https://deepfield.news/gallery/digitized-sky-survey-image-of-betelgeuse-8ca851/ 2026-07-14 /img/91cc31df1cb80042.jpg Digitized Sky Survey image of Betelgeuse This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximatelly 2.0 x 1.5 degrees. https://deepfield.news/gallery/omega-centauri-context-image-1eabc4/ 2026-07-13 /img/55aa7fab78c093e5.jpg Omega Centauri context image Although models suggest globular star cluster Omega Centauri should contain approximately 10,000 stellar-mass black holes, observational evidence of their existence has remained scarce. A team of astronomers recently tracked the position of stars on the sky over more than 20 years using a robust multi-mission dataset of archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope as well as recent data from the… https://deepfield.news/gallery/small-but-mighty-081ab6/ 2026-07-13 /img/38acaaba5adfb584.jpg Small but mighty As the Sun sets, a telescope opens its eye, preparing to peer beyond its shiny dome into the sky above. Today’s Picture of the Week was taken at La Silla , ESO’s first observatory, located near the outskirts of Chile’s Atacama Desert at 2400 metres above sea level. It features the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope — originally constructed by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and installed by ESO at La Silla… https://deepfield.news/gallery/waxing-gibbous-moon-b95647/ 2026-07-10 /img/63f3a3902f5c0884.jpg Waxing Gibbous Moon The waxing gibbous Moon is pictured above Earth from the International Space Station as it orbited 264 miles above a partly cloudy Indian Ocean southeast of Madagascar. https://deepfield.news/gallery/curiosity-sees-martian-sulfur-up-close-e396dc/ 2026-07-09 /img/c5852daf63576234.jpg Curiosity Sees Martian Sulfur Up Close These sulfur crystals were found inside a rock after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over it and crush it on May 30, 2024, the 4,200th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. https://deepfield.news/gallery/sunset-before-rubins-first-look-ec48b8/ 2026-07-08 /img/83dbee28d61beec1.jpg Sunset Before Rubin’s First Look The view from up high on Cerro Pachón is like nowhere else on Earth. In this bird’s-eye view of NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory , golden sunlight glides across the rolling foothills of the Andes in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Rubin Observatory is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF ) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science ( DOE/SC ). Rubin is a joint program of NSF NOIRLab… https://deepfield.news/gallery/hubble-captures-star-studded-cluster-6fd4a5/ 2026-07-08 /img/11c8d1f949b2ee44.jpg Hubble Captures Star-Studded Cluster This image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows Messier 3, a densely packed cluster of stars whose origins may be a merger between globular clusters in the early universe. https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasa-takes-flight-for-americas-250th-4e49c6/ 2026-07-06 /img/69b005701766d1d4.jpg NASA Takes Flight For America's 250th NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman leads a flyover featuring his personally owned F-5 Tiger during the Great American State Fair on July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. https://deepfield.news/gallery/centaurus-a-nircam-image-094595/ 2026-07-06 /img/a581fa2b02664dcf.jpg Centaurus A (NIRCam image) This view of Centaurus A from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope if from the Near-Infrared Camera ( NIRCam ) Webb’s infrared vision exposes a warped disk of gas and dust left behind by a collision with another galaxy billions of years ago. https://deepfield.news/gallery/and-yet-it-moves-fa01f1/ 2026-07-06 /img/bb743b6d55ce2398.jpg And yet it moves! Looking almost like an optical illusion, today’s Picture of the Week highlights why ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope ( ELT ) is called that. This image was taken inside the telescope’s dome, with some of the ELT’s team standing above the massive structure that will hold its main mirror . This 39-metre-diameter reflective surface will comprise 798 mirror segments that will work together as a single mirror, in what… https://deepfield.news/gallery/good-morning-earth-2928b8/ 2026-07-02 /img/7eae1823b627e7b2.jpg Good Morning, Earth! A bright orange sunburst illuminates Earth's atmosphere during an orbital sunrise in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 264 miles above the Caucasus Mountains. https://deepfield.news/gallery/fs-tau-webb-nircam-image-32fdff/ 2026-07-02 /img/f0fad1aa54866d96.jpg FS Tau (Webb NIRCam image) The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope captures the infrared light from bright protostars in the young star system FS Tau. In addition to myriad background galaxies that burst into view, this image flickers with a number of protostars, or baby stars that are formed from dense pockets of gas and dust. These hot, clumpy, and low-mass objects eventually will become full-fledged stars capable of burning hydrogen in… https://deepfield.news/gallery/not-your-typical-stargazing-32f99c/ 2026-07-01 /img/b96305951f64d483.jpg Not Your Typical Stargazing In this NOIRLab Image of the Week, NSF NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador Tomáš Slovinský admires the night sky outside of the Southern Astrophysical Research ( SOAR ) Telescope, located on Cerro Pachón in Chile and operated by Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory ( CTIO ), a Program of NSF NOIRLab. On Cerro Pachón, the night is embellished by colors and features that make stargazing here unforgettable. From high up… https://deepfield.news/gallery/link-spacecraft-set-for-mission-to-boost-nasas-bd967e/ 2026-07-01 /img/bb6212983be459fd.jpg LINK Spacecraft Set for Mission to Boost NASA's Swift Observatory A Katalyst engineer runs tests on LINK while the satellite is inside the Pegasus XL rocket attached to the Stargazer aircraft at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the evening of Tuesday, June 16, 2026. https://deepfield.news/gallery/starry-chandelier-cluster-ae841d/ 2026-06-30 /img/ca0aec8cd168b837.jpg Starry Chandelier Cluster This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the globular cluster NGC 6723, sometimes called the Chandelier Cluster. https://deepfield.news/gallery/nasa-astronaut-chris-williams-preps-for-spacewalk-f61b28/ 2026-06-29 /img/96d08c2a76d56b6a.jpg NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Preps for Spacewalk Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) assists flight engineer Chris Williams of NASA as he tries on his spacesuit, testing its comfort and mobility as well as its communications and life support systems inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. https://deepfield.news/gallery/gateway-to-the-milky-way-153da5/ 2026-06-29 /img/e07422dd204cb678.jpg Gateway to the Milky Way At first glance, it may look as though we’re about to enter the Milky Way. However, today’s Picture of the Week actually features the road sign indicating the entrance to the ALMA Observatory , in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which is operated by ESO together with international partners, studies the light from the coldest corners of the Universe. Water vapour in…