Though better known for its high-profile manned missions, Nasa has been chronicling space through the use of high-powered telescopes and cameras for years.
Since launching on 16 June 1995, the agency's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) series has published a selection of these eye-catching images online.
The series' first picture was viewed by just 14 people, but today they reach hundreds of millions more.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The images are either visible spectrum photographs, images taken at non-visible wavelengths and colourised, artist’s conceptions or micrographs that relate to space or cosmology.
Thanks to the Hubble Telescope, this year has seen some of the most impressive astronomical events yet, captured in stunning quality.
In March, those in south-east Asia were able to catch a rare glimpse of a total solar eclipse.
Nasa's Juno spacecraft also successfully entered Jupiter's orbit this month and sent back astonishing pictures of the giant planet and its moons.
Above is a selection of the most extraordinary images from the series this year.
-
Conservative megadonors build a new bank thanks to Trump administration approvalIN THE SPOTLIGHT With a Lord Of The Rings-inspired name, and the backing of some of the biggest GOP financiers around, Erebor Bank is set to make major waves in the crypto world
-
Political cartoons for October 20Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include a $40 billion bailout for Argentina, Prince Andrew's titles, chaos at the CDC, and more
-
From Da Vinci to a golden toilet: a history of museum heistsIn the Spotlight Following the ‘spectacular’ events at the Louvre, museums are ‘increasingly being targeted by criminal gangs’
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
