Space

Photography and astronomy offer humanity a fascinating view into the universe.
A man wearing glasses and a headlamp looks upward while holding a camera mounted on a tripod against a cloudy sky background.

I Tried a Starlapse (and Learned a Lot)

Ever since capturing my solar eclipse timelapse, I’ve wanted to explore and refine the technique. There were quite a few takeaways from that previous project in terms of settings and best practices, so I’m carrying those lessons into this next one.

A vibrant, glowing nebula features a bright, textured central core surrounded by wispy, orange-red filaments and blue gas.

Eerie Photo Shows How Our Sun Will Die

January is widely considered the bleakest month of the year, and astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy, who is putting together his cosmic calendars for 2027, chose the first month to feature an unnerving glimpse into the future.

Two side-by-side images show distant, irregularly shaped galaxies with bright, glowing blue cores against a dark space background.

Astronomers Capture ‘Exceptionally Rare’ Star Explosion for Only the Second Time in 20 Years

In March, the Einstein Probe, a satellite made by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in partnership with the European Space Agency, detected a very brief flash of "soft X-rays" emitted by a galaxy about 500 million light-years away. Within an hour, ground-based telescopes, including several at National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab facilities, began investigating the region, getting a front-row seat to bombastic and very special star death.

Two white, modern, robotic telescopes on tripods stand against a twilight sky with mountains in the background.

Vaonis’ Newest Smart Telescopes Look Stellar

While the news flew under my radar a bit, Vaonis recently unveiled its next generation of smart telescopes for astrophotographers: the Vespera 3 and the Vespera Pro 2. Each smart telescope promises exciting upgrades for astronomy enthusiasts and improved imaging capabilities.

A rocky, dusty surface with scattered stones of various sizes. Part of a circular, metallic object appears in the lower right corner. The scene looks barren and textured.

50 Years Later: The First Photo Ever Taken on Mars

This week marked the 50th anniversary of the NASA Viking 1 spacecraft landing safely on Mars, spearheading a new era of space exploration. Just minutes after Viking 1 landed on the Red Planet, it captured a photo, the first ever taken on the surface of Mars and the first time any human had ever seen a photo from another planet.