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The best space photos of 2021: Sparkling starfields to majestic nebula

The best space photos of 2021: Sparkling starfields to majestic nebula

A favorite subject of astronomy photographers, the Veil nebula is the remains of a massive star that exploded as a supernova roughly 10,000 years ago. This new Hubble image uses new processing techniques to highlight finer details.  ESA/Hubble & NASA, Z. Levay  View 20 Images
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By Michael Irving

2021 Dec 20
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The endless expanse of space is a beautiful and fascinating subject for photography. From the dramatic births and deaths of stars, to galactic glamor shots and planetary close-ups, here are some of the most breathtaking space photos of 2021.
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Stars are born in stellar nurseries – clouds of dust and gas that collapse under their gravitational pull and ignite – and this dynamic process is a favorite subject of telescopes like Hubble, for their contrast of bright young stars and dark clouds. In the prime of their lives, stars can gather in clusters, and these sparkling starfields also make for stunning shots. And finally, millions of years later, star deaths are just as photogenic, producing sublime nebulae that allow us to project our imaginations onto their ambiguous shapes. Zooming out, galaxies cluster together as well, bending the mind with their immense scale.
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This mesmerizing starfield is the globular cluster Palomar 6, located near the center of the Milky WayThe globular cluster Palomar 6.
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A new look at the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy M87, taken by the Event Horizon Telescope. In 2019, the team snapped the first-ever direct image of a black hole, and this new image reveals the polarization of the light of the glowing disc around it. The direction of the lines visible in the disc show the orientation of the magnetic field.
Supermassive black hole at the heart of galaxy M87.
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Other images have more historic impact. This year, astronomers released a new view of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy M87, complete with measurements of its polarization, revealing the twists and turns of its magnetic field.

NASA’s Perseverance rover touches down on Mars on February 18, 2021, in this shot captured by a camera mounted on the landing equipment.Perseverance Rover touches down on Mars.
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In February, NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down on Mars, with a jetpack-mounted camera capturing the moment the wheels hit the red soil.

The Milky Ring by Zhong Wu won the Galaxies category of the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition for 2021. The image was stitched together from 1,000 shots of the Milky Way taken from China and New Zealand.

The Milky Ring by Zhong Wu won the Galaxies category of the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition for 2021. The image was stitched together from 1,000 shots of the Milky Way taken from China and New Zealand.  Zhong Wu
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And of course, some of the best shots come courtesy of the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Chinese photographer Zhong Wu won the Galaxies category with an image called The Milky Ring, stitched together from 1,000 shots of the Milky Way taken from China and New Zealand – meaning it was captured from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

The Small Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. This Hubble image shows a dazzling star cluster called NGC 346 at its center, surrounded by a dark cloud of dust and gas being swept away by outflows of radiation from the energetic new stars.The Small Magellanic Cloud in the Milky Way.
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A new vision of Jupiter, as seen by Juno. Clearly visible is the Great Red Spot, an Earth-sized storm that’s been raging for centuries, as well as beautiful bands of clouds swirling through the south temperate belt.
Jupiter as seen by Juno.
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California Dreamin’ by Terry Hancock was shortlisted in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition for 2021. The image captures NGC 1499, also known as the California Nebula, in a range of broadband and narrowband filters to apply a new sense of color.
NGC 1499 also known as the California Nebula.
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A Hubble image of the galaxy cluster ACO S 295, showcasing galaxies of all shapes and sizes with a stunning sense of scale. Shapely spiral galaxies can be seen in a range of orientations, from almost head-on like the clear one in the center, to those seen side-on as a thin sliver of light. Others appear as fuzzy balls of light, known as elliptical galaxies.
Galaxy cluster ACO S 295.
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A composite image of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, taken by Chandra, NuSTAR and Hubble observatories. Each color represents a different element – orange is iron, purple is oxygen, green is the silicon/magnesium ratio, and blue is titanium.
Cassiopeia A, abbreviated Cas A, is the remnant of a supernova explosion caused by the collapse of a massive star.
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A Hubble image of Arp 86, a pair of interacting galaxies around 220 million light-years from Earth. The larger galaxy, called NGC 7753, will eventually either consume or eject the smaller galaxy, NGC 7752.
A Hubble image of Arp 86.
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The carbon star CW Leonis is in its death throes, shaking off its outer layers to produce an eerie orange-red glow.
The carbon star CW Leonis.
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A stellar nursery called AFGL 5180, located in the constellation of Gemini. This image is a combination of visible and infrared light, allowing normally hidden stars to come to light.
A stellar nursery called AFGL 5180.
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For more details on these photos and others come and explore the cosmos with us in our gallery.

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Tags

Space Astronomy Photography Venus Jupiter Perseverance Nebula Stars Galaxy Dwarf galaxy NASA ESA Best of 2021
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Michael Irving
Michael Irving has always been fascinated by space, technology, dinosaurs, and the weirder mysteries of the universe. With a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and several years experience under his belt, he joined New Atlas as a staff writer in 2016.
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