Of the whole of nature photography, space arguably offers the most mind-blowing images. And with the wealth of space telescopes and robotic probes currently orbiting Earth or exploring the planets and moons of the Solar System, it’s little wonder that there is such a huge variety of amazing images revealing the beauty of the cosmos.
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As 2019 draws to a close, we’ve selected our pick of the best images of space released over the past 12 months.
Galaxy D100 Hubble Space Telescope, Subaru Telescope, 28 January 2019. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA/Cramer et al.
Planetary Nebula ESO 577-24 Very Large Telescope, 22 January 2019. Credit: ESO
Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule New Horizons, 1 January 2019. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Galaxy NGC 3079 Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, 28 February 2019. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/University of Michigan/J-T Li et al./Optical: NASA/STScI
The Cave Nebula Spitzer Space Telescope, Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and the Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS), 30 May 2019. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Irregular Galaxy NGC 4485 Hubble Space Telescope, 16 May 2019. Credit: NASA/ESA/T Roberts et al
Sagittarius A* Chandra X-ray Observatory, MeerKAT telescope, 23 July 2019. Credit: NASA/CXC/UMass/D.Wang et al.; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT
The Homunculus Nebula Hubble Space Telescope, 1 July 2019. Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of Arizona), and J. Morse (BoldlyGo Institute)
Jupiter Hubble Space Telescope, 27 June 2019. Credit: NASA/ESA/A Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center) and MH Wong (University of California, Berkeley)
Terra Cimmeria, Mars Mars Express orbiter, 8 August 2019. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
Saturn Hubble Space Telescope, 20 June 2019. Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley)
Heart of the Milky Way Spitzer Space Telescope, 9 October 2019. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Susan Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) et al, X-ray: NASA/CXC/RIKEN & GSFC/T. Sato et al; Optical: DSS
Supernova remnant Tycho Chandra X-ray Observatory and Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 17 October 2019. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Susan Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) et al, X-ray: NASA/CXC/RIKEN & GSFC/T. Sato et al; Optical: DSS
