NASA’s Images of the Year 2024 Shine a Light on the Cosmos

Matt Growcoot
A person floats inside a space station, interacting with a robotic device in a microgravity environment. Next to it, a satellite view shows a massive hurricane swirling over the Earth's surface.
NASA astronaut Suni Williams, who is currently stranded in space, onboard the ISS, left, and Hurricane Milton over the Gulf of Mexico, right.

NASA has shared some of its top images of 2024 featuring faraway galaxies, leaf peeping from onboard the International Space Station (ISS), and the space agency’s ongoing mission to make interplanetary travel a reality.

The gallery also features images of Hurricane Milton as seen by the astronauts onboard the ISS, as well as satellite imagery of lava flowing out of a volcano in Iceland near to the country’s Blue Lagoon spa.

Aerial view of a city divided by a river. The left side shows dense red-orange autumn foliage, while the right side features urban development with roads and buildings. The river and bridges connect the contrasting landscapes.
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station shot this photo of peak fall colors around Ottawa, the capital of Canada. West of downtown Ottawa lies Gatineau Park, where sugar maple leaves turn orange-red and hickories turn golden-bronze during the season, known regionally as “the Fall Rhapsody.”
A stunning view of the sun rising over Earth's horizon, with a thin blue line of atmosphere visible against the blackness of space. The sun emits bright rays, creating a starburst effect.
The International Space Station was orbiting on a northeast track 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean when this photograph captured the first rays of an orbital sunrise illuminating Earth’s atmosphere. | NASA/Matthew Dominick
A rocket launches into the night sky, emitting bright flames and smoke. The dark surroundings highlight the luminous ascent, with a reflective body of water in the foreground.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies. | NASA/Kim Shiflett
A large rocket booster stands vertically inside an industrial building. It's surrounded by blue support scaffolding, with platforms at various levels. The scene is dimly lit, emphasizing the booster and its size. A banner reads "Futurami.
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems transport lower the agency’s 212-foot-tall SLS (Space Launch System) core stage into High Bay 2 at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. The one-of-a-kind lifting beam is designed to lift the core stage from the transfer aisle to High Bay 2 where it will remain while teams stack the two solid rocket boosters on top of mobile launcher 1 for the SLS core stage. | NASA/Kim Shiflett
Four people in blue astronaut suits stand on a rooftop, wearing solar viewing glasses and looking up. The U.S. Capitol building is visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, left, Frank Rubio, Warren Hoburg, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, right, pose for a photo wearing solar glasses, Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Bowen, Hoburg, and Alneyadi spent 186 days aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 69; while Rubio set a new record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, spending 371 days in orbit on an extended mission spanning Expeditions 68 and 69. | NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
View from space of Earth's curved horizon, showing a bright atmospheric glow in orange and red layers against a star-speckled black sky. Part of a space station is visible in the foreground with Earth’s surface partially covered by clouds.
This high exposure photograph from the International Space Station shows Earth’s atmospheric glow and a starry sky as the orbital complex soared above the Pacific Ocean.
A collection of large radio telescopes is seen at night, illuminated by surrounding lights. The telescopes stand against a dark, starry sky with silhouetted hills in the background.
In a historic first, all six radio frequency antennas at the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex – part of NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) – carried out a test to receive data from the agency’s Voyager 1 spacecraft at the same time on April 20, 2024. Known as “arraying,” combining the receiving power of several antennas allows the DSN to collect very faint signals from faraway spacecraft. A five-antenna array is currently needed to downlink science data from the spacecraft’s Plasma Wave System instrument. As Voyager gets further away, six antennas will be needed. | MDSCC/INTA, Francisco “Paco” Moreno
Aerial view of a volcanic landscape with a bright, glowing lava flow cutting across dark terrain. Smoke rises from the lava, and nearby clouds hover above. The coastline is visible at the bottom of the image.
Landsat 9 captured this image of lava coming from an eruptive fissure near Stóra Skógfell peak on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula. Lava from the eruption flowed across major roads and closed in on the Blue Lagoon, a popular tourist destination. This natural color scene is overlaid with an infrared signal to help distinguish the lava’s heat signature. | NASA/Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and VIIRS day-night band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership
A vivid image of two interacting galaxies creating a swirling pattern. Bright teal cores are surrounded by pink and red spiral arms, set against a dark space filled with scattered stars.
These shape-shifting galaxies have taken on the form of a giant mask. The icy blue eyes are actually the cores of two merging galaxies, called NGC 2207 and IC 2163, and the mask is their spiral arms. The false-color image consists of infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (red) and visible data from NASA’s Hubble (blue/green).
A breathtaking view of the night sky with vibrant purple and green auroras illuminating the horizon. A silhouette of a tree stands in the foreground, and stars twinkle above in the vast, dark sky.
The aurora turns the sky near Malad City, Idaho, red, purple, and green in this 8-second exposure taken on May 11, 2024. | NASA/Bill Dunford
View from a spacecraft window showing Earth below, with a swirling cloud system visible over the ocean. The spacecraft's exterior is partially visible in the foreground against the backdrop of space.
Hurricane Milton is pictured as a category 4 storm in the Gulf of Mexico nearing the coast of Florida in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 257 miles above. The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft is also pictured from a window on the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. | NASA/Matthew Dominick
A person with long hair floating in a space station, wearing a black shirt and khaki shorts. They are interacting with a robotic device with blue appendages. The background is filled with equipment, wiring, and monitors in a high-tech environment.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams checks out the Astrobee robotic free-flyer in the Kibo laboratory module outfitted with tentacle-like arms containing gecko-like adhesive pads to demonstrate satellite capture techniques. Development of this robotic technology may increase the life span of satellites and enable the removal of space debris.
A tranquil sunset over a still lake reflects the vibrant hues of the sky. Silhouettes of trees frame the scene, and a large building with a NASA logo stands on the right, mirrored in the water.
Photographers at NASA capture the sunset on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, near Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The iconic Vehicle Assembly Building, completed in 1966 and currently used for assembly of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis missions, remains the only building in which rockets were assembled that carried humans to the surface of another world. | NASA/Ben Smegelsky
A spacecraft covered in metallic foil is in a clean room. It is reflected on a large, glossy surface. Several people in lab coats and hair nets work around it. The room is spacious and has industrial equipment and safety barriers.
Technicians move NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility to accommodate installation of its five-panel solar array at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. After moving the spacecraft, the team had to precisely align the spacecraft in preparation for the installation. The huge arrays – spanning more than 100 feet when fully deployed, or about the length of a basketball court – will collect sunlight to power the spacecraft as it flies multiple times around Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, conducting science investigations to determine its potential to support life. | NASA/Frank Michaux
A vivid image of a nebula in space, showcasing swirling clouds of red, blue, and purple gases. Bright stars are scattered throughout, set against a dark background, creating a stunning cosmic scene.
The “Tarantula Nebula” (officially known as 30 Doradus) is available in a composite image of Chandra and JWST data for the first time.
View of a massive hurricane from space, showing a swirling white cloud formation over the Earth. Part of a spacecraft is visible in the upper part of the image. The landscape below is partly obscured by clouds.
Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm at the time of this photograph, is pictured in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Yucatan Peninsula from the International Space Station as it orbited 257 miles above.

The full gallery can be seen here.

Image credits: Courtesy of NASA.

, ,
, , , , , , , , , ,
PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; if you buy something through such a link, PetaPixel may earn a commission.
Related Articles
Split image: Left shows a spacecraft window view of Earth with swirling cloud patterns over the ocean indicating a storm. Right shows a spacecraft tethered to a space station, with Earth’s surface and cloud formations visible in the background. Hurricane Milton’s Insane Scale As Seen From Space
View of a starry sky from space, showcasing two prominent fuzzy galaxies against a dark backdrop. A warm orange glow and part of a spacecraft frame the lower portion of the scene. Astronaut Takes Epic Photo of Two Satellite Galaxies From Onboard the ISS
On the left, a spacecraft is docked to the International Space Station with Earth visible in the background. On the right, an astronaut inside the space station is smiling and holding a camera on a selfie stick, with the station's intricate equipment surrounding him. A NASA Astronaut is Taking Beautiful and Creative Photos Onboard the ISS
On the left, a time-lapse image shows a spacecraft docked at a space station with streaks of light from Earth below. On the right, a person in a spacesuit is smiling in a formal portrait, with an American flag and NASA logo in the background. Don Pettit, The Best Photographer to Ever Visit Space, Will Return to the ISS
Discussion