Aurora, Saturn Near Moon, Comet ATLAS, and Mount Fiji Among TOP Astrophotos Of the Week [5-11 Nov]

In space, no two nights are the same. Over the past week, astrophotographers captured some of the universe’s finest performances: Saturn sidling up next to our Moon, the elusive Comet ATLAS dazzling with its luminous tails, and many more. Moments like these moments bring us closer to the universe’s wonders, where each image tells a story waiting to be explored.

Saturn and Moon

A beautiful conjunction of the Moon and Saturn was a target for many astrophotographers on 11 November.

Here’s a glorious Moon and ringed Saturn in the background captured by Nashville photographer Rami Ammoun.

Crimson Heart Nebula

Koichi Funakubo from Japan shared this stunning image of Heart Nebula, located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia.

“The first target of November, which started with good weather in stark contrast to last month, was the Heart Nebula. I was able to shoot it on two consecutive days, on November 3rd and 4th, next to the entrance of the building. The nights were long, and it was cloudy at dawn, but I was able to take 300s x 129 shots. FSQ85ED+QB0.73x (fl=328mm F3.86), DualBP filter, ASI2600MC DUO.”

Northern Lights Over Anchorage

Ryan Black shared the fresh aurora image seen over Anchorage, Alaska.

The Soul Nebula

The Soul Nebula (Westerhout 5, Sharpless 2-199, LBN 667) is a large emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia.

This Nebula is often included with its nearest neighbour, creating the ‘Heart and Soul Nebula’. It is one of the brightest nebulae in the night sky.

Snow returns to Mount Fuji

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured this image of Mount Fuji’s iconic snowcap on 7 November, a day after snow was first spotted by the Japan Mereological Agency’s Shizuoka branch.

Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest peak, has seen its first snowfall after one of the longest periods without snow since records began 130 years ago.

The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas

This image features in NASA’s Photos of the Day collection.

Some images of the bright comet during mid-October not only caught its impressively long tail and its thin anti-tail, but a rather unexpected feature: a dark streak in the long tail.

The streak is visible in the featured image taken on 14 October by Bray Falls from Texas, USA. Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS has now faded considerably and is returning to the outer Solar System.