ℹ️Carlin

ALT The left two-thirds of the image is blanketed in thick clouds of green and yellow gas and dust that form swirling patterns. Some of the gas is spread into thin, thready wisps. The right third of the image is the black background speckled with stars and multi-colored dots that represent distant galaxies. Bright stars are scattered throughout the clouds, with the densest cluster situated in the center of the scene. Each is crowned with six long spikes and two shorter spikes created by the optics of the telescope’s mirrors.

ALT A crisp photo of Mars against black space. The Red Planet appears rust-colored with dark texturing along its middle and a light patch on its lower right side. Credit: USGS Astrogeology Science Center

ALT A newly-released photo of our Moon taken by the crew of Artemis II. The top portion is shadowed by black space. This angle captures a mostly uniform, light gray portion of the lunar surface, with darker patches in the lower third. Craters of various sizes are visible all over the Moon’s surface—most easily visible at the edge of the upper shadow. Credit: NASA

ALT A newly-released photo of Earth's horizon taken during the Artemis II mission from the window of the Orion spacecraft. This view shows the hazy, blue atmosphere on top of faded, textured clouds. The Moon appears as a tiny, white dot in the distance. Credit: NASA