The best space photos of 2025 reveal the most stunning views of the universe

See the 10 most stunning space images of 2025

By Meghan Bartels Edited by Andrea Thompson

With 2025 almost in the books, let’s revisit some of the highlights of the year in space, from astronomy to space flight.

an unprecedented observatory

On supporting science journalism

If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism Subscribing By purchasing a subscription, you are helping ensure a future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Astronomers entered a wonderful new era this year with the first light of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. The observatory was designed to scan the sky in incredible detail. The first major task of its scientific career will be to conduct the 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) project – creating an amazingly detailed movie of the universe around us, which researchers hope can help them understand the solar system, galaxies and the mysterious dark matter and dark energy of the universe.

During the first light event in June, scientists revealed the result of just 10 hours of observations – images that seem to zoom forever, showing a wealth of galaxies and colorful clouds of gas and dust scattered across the sky.

stellar conch

This stunning image comes from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and shows a delicately nested spiral of material thrown up over about 700 years by a celestial system called Apep. Apheap consists of two so-called Wolf-Rayet stars, which are bright, massive stars that emit massive amounts of material for a few million years before collapsing into a black hole or neutron star, depending on their size. Apep also includes a third star, a giant supergiant.

A new rocket takes off

In January Blue Origin’s brand-new, reusable heavy-lift vehicle New Glenn made its inaugural flight, marking the company’s first trip into orbit against a backdrop of shorter, regular suborbital jaunts. During that first flight, the rocket’s booster missed its prime target of landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean for future reuse. But New Glenn ended that maneuver in November, too.

Auroras Paint the Skies

The Sun is officially out of its period of maximum solar activity, but that doesn’t mean it’s quiet. A flurry of solar eruptions in November stunned sky watchers as far south as Mexico and Florida with stunning auroras.

There’s still a chance the sun will produce more fireworks as its magnetic activity cools as it approaches so-called solar minimum in 2030 or 2031. But November’s astronomical spectacle may be the last good display until the sun’s next period of high activity.

a cosmic chameleon

The deep molecular cloud Chamaeleon I is the star-forming region closest to Earth and is part of the larger Chamaeleon complex. The image of the dark cloud comes from the Dark Energy Camera – a powerful survey instrument installed at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.

baby solar system

While we Earthlings are enjoying our annual detour through the solar system, scientists have shared tiny photos of a whole host of other star systems thanks to the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. The results look surprisingly familiar: Researchers have imaged structures in many debris disks that mimic our own Solar System, such as a belt of giant planets surrounded by asteroids on the inside and comets on the outside.

Hello, Earth!

Images of Earth from space offer a dramatic source of perspective on daily life. Take, for example, this video of Earth captured by NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Apophis Explorer (OSIRIS-APEX) spacecraft.

The spacecraft took the photo using its StoveCam imager on Sept. 23 when it was 2,136 miles from Earth, which played a key role in the mission’s original task of collecting space rock samples from near-Earth asteroid Bennu. Now the spacecraft faces its dramatic second task: in 2029 it will fly past another near-Earth asteroid, Apophis, two months later the asteroid will come so close to Earth that it will be visible to about two billion people. Needless to say, when that moment comes we’ll want all of the spacecraft’s instruments to be in top form.

waves in the divine pond

The iconic Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its 35th birthday this year, and the beloved observatory is still going strong. Consider this image of the galaxy LEDA 1313424, which researchers have nicknamed “the bullseye” and which is about two and a half times the size of the Milky Way, the galaxy in which we live.

The stunning image shows the eight nested rings that inspired the Bullseye nickname. (Additional observations made by a telescope in Hawaii also detected a ninth ring.) These rings are ripples created when a small blue dwarf galaxy – visible to the left of LEDA 1313424 in the Hubble image – shined through the heart of the bullseye about 50 million years ago.

interstellar visitor

One of the highlights of 2025 was the long-awaited discovery of the third known interstellar object, now known as Comet 3I/ATLAS. Astronomers quickly determined that the comet in early July was hurtling through our solar system at such high speed that it must have originated on a different star. Within a few weeks, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted the otherworldly object and photographed a glowing coma of gas surrounding the comet’s body.

Countless other spacecraft have since joined the cause. Perhaps most striking are the observations collected by missions deployed to Mars, where the comet passed in early October. Now comet 3I/ATLAS is moving out of our celestial neighborhood. But astronomers are still working to get more glimpses of this elusive object – hopefully this year’s visit in 2026 will yield more science.

circling the earth

Astronauts living and working aboard the International Space Station captured this image of the moon earlier this year from its companion Earth orbiter, the lab, as it flew over Bolivia and Brazil, taking in one of the 16 sunsets the outpost enjoys each day. The Moon’s apparently crushed appearance is an illusion caused by Earth’s atmosphere refracting light from our natural satellite.

It’s time to stand up for science

If you enjoyed this article, I would like to ask for your support. scientific American He has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most important moment in that two-century history.

i have been one scientific American I’ve been a member since I was 12, and it’s helped shape the way I see the world. Science Always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does the same for you.

if you agree scientific AmericanYou help ensure that our coverage focuses on meaningful research and discovery; We have the resources to report on decisions that put laboratories across America at risk; And that we support both emerging and working scientists at a time when the value of science is too often recognised.

In return, you get the news you need, Captivating podcasts, great infographics, Don’t miss the newsletter, be sure to watch the video, Challenging games, and the best writing and reporting from the world of science. you can even Gift a membership to someone.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you will support us in that mission.