Starbase

ALT Billowing clouds of illuminated gas and dust are seen in this image of a small region within the nebula M17. Darker, reddish clouds are in the bottom half of the image and stretch diagonally across, while the upper half is colored in blues and greens. Bright lights of distant stars shine through. Colors represent chemical elements present: Red represents sulfur, green indicates hydrogen and blue represents oxygen. Credit: ESA, NASA and J. Hester (Arizona State University)

ALT The official portrait of NASA astronaut Jonny Kim. Kim is wearing his white EMU spacewalk suit; his helmet is off, and sitting on a small black platform to the left. Kim is smiling and looking at the camera; an American flag against a blue background is behind him. Credit: NASA

ALT The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – appearing similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

ALT The International Space Station, as seen outside from a close distance. The station's solar panels frame the left and right sides of this photo, with its modules taking up much of its center. The background is dark and spotted with stars, with a blue glow fading up from the photo's bottom. Credit: NASA