Best Space Photos Of The Week: Planetary Parade, Comet ATLAS, And Blue Ghost’s Stunning Earth Portrait [21-28 Jan]

28th Jan 2025
Best Space Photos Of The Week: Planetary Parade, Comet ATLAS, And Blue Ghost’s Stunning Earth Portrait [21-28 Jan]

Welcome to the final January roundup of the best space photos! Last week, the universe treated us to a dazzling planetary parade and the beautiful Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS. Mars, shining brightly after opposition, added to the celestial show, while Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lunar Lander captured a stunning Earth portrait. Rounding out this breathtaking collection are glimpses of the most distant globular cluster in the Milky Way and a fantastic shot of NGC 1396, Sh2-129, and Barnard 150. Dive into this week’s best photos to experience these wonders and more!

Planetary Parade Over Stonehenge Opens the Best Space Photos Collection

The first photo captures a breathtaking celestial event — a rare planetary parade featuring six planets visible in the night sky. It highlights the alignment of these cosmic giants above the iconic Stonehenge. “Before the clouds rolled in, there was a brief window where Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus could all be seen in one frame,” Stonehenge U.K wrote on X.

Parade of planets over Stonehenge
Credit: Robert Harvey/Stonehenge U.K
via X

Planetary Parade Over Anantnag, India

“The planetary alignment of 2025 commenced today. A rare astronomical event, the planets bedecked the night sky in a spectacular way,” shared Mohammad Zahid from Anantnag, Kashmir (India). “The six planets are Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. Here is my capture of the event.”

planetary parade over India
Credit: Mohammad Zahid/@xahid77 via X

Planetary Parade Over Vishakhapatnam, India

And here is another perspective by Chitrita Asopa from Vishakhapatnam, India.

“Stars may guide us, but tonight the planets lead the way! Did you see the planetary parade?” she wrote on her X page.

parade of planets in Vishakhapatnam
Credit: Chitrita Asopa/@asopa_chitrita via X

Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS Over Australia

The comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS was still visible and bright last week.

“Jan 27th 9:30 AEDST Australia and we still got an ever dimmer Comet C/2024 G3 Atlas and being photo-bombed by possibly a plane (red light blinking white strobe),” commented David Farley-Brain on this fantastic image.

comet over Australia
Credit: David Farley-Brain/@Coffeedaveoz via X

Mars After Opposition

The next image brings us a stunning view of Mars, captured shortly after its opposition.

“Another image of Mars after the opposition, an opposition not exactly favourable given that it happened in winter and clearly the moments of atmospheric calm are very few,” Pietro De Gregorio shared via Facebook.

Mars after opposition
Credit: Pietro De Gregorio via Facebook

Best Space Photos: Intergalactic Wanderer (NGC 2419)

This breathtaking image features NGC 2419 — the most distant globular cluster in the Milky Way. Located over 300,000 light-years from Earth, it lies farther away than some neighbouring galaxies.

Its remarkable isolation has sparked curiosity among astronomers, as NGC 2419 orbits the Milky Way at such an immense distance that it was once believed to be an intergalactic object.

NGC 2419
Credit: @Astrocoria via X

NGC 1396, Sh2-129, And Barnard 150 In Stunning Detail

This captivating image highlights the beauty of NGC 1396, Sh2-129, and Barnard 150, alongside various gases and structures scattered across the universe.

“When the sky is clear of CL and dark, it allows us to carry out astrophotography work with incomparable depth…” shared Abel Robles on X.

NGC 1396, Sh2-129, and Barnard 150
Credit: Abel Robles/@AbelBorrasca via X

The Lone Wanderer: A Star’s Journey Beyond Home

In this stunning NASA image, we witness a star that broke free from its binary system after a close encounter with another star.

“Sometimes you just need a change of scenery. Stars can leave their homes if they get a kick of energy. This image shows a star that ventured off on its own after its binary star system had a close encounter with another one,” they explained.

Star's Journey Beyond Home
Credit: @NASAUniverse via X

Earth Portrait By Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Closes the Best Space Photos Of This Week

As Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lunar Lander orbits Earth on its way to the Moon, it’s offering us a unique perspective of our planet. This shot provides a fresh view of the iconic “Blue Marble,” reminding us of the beauty and fragility of our home planet.

Earth by Blue Lander
Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Thank you to all the photographers who shared their amazing images for our collection of the best space photos! We greatly appreciate your dedication and passion for astrophotography and wish you clear skies for your future captures! If you want to share your striking captures of the night sky, please send them via our social media: Facebook or X page. Also, you can use our contact form on the website.

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