Last Week In Space: Astrophotography Views of Herbig-Haro 49/50, NASA’s Cosmic Cherry On Top, And More [18-25 Mar]

From amazing nebulae to rare celestial alignments, this week’s astrophotography views capture the beauty of the space in stunning diversity. The highlights include NASA Webb’s breathtaking image of Herbig-Haro 49/50, a cosmic swirl topped with a spiral galaxy, an epic moonrise behind the construction site of the Extremely Large Telescope, and more! Let’s dive into the most spectacular space photos from 18-25 March.

Starless Beauty: IC 1318, Sadr Region

The first one from our collection of the best astrophotos of the week presents a breathtaking image of IC 1318, also known as the Sadr Region. The shot captures the delicate, glowing nebula often called the “Starless Butterfly.” Astrophotographer Jānis Ābols took it in Latvia in October 2024, using a 132mm refractor, a modified Sony full-frame camera, and a dual narrowband filter.

Lunar Eclipse Mosaic By Rowan Carter

The beauty of the lunar eclipse that occurred last week continues to amaze us! Rowan Carter, for instance, presented a stunning mosaic of the lunar eclipse. He captured the Moon’s shifting hues in incredible detail with a Canon EOS M50 and a Celestron Edge 8.

An Epic Moonrise Over The ELT

ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) construction site in Chile was treated to a breathtaking moonrise during the last week.

‘A dramatic full Moon rises behind what will be the World’s Biggest Eye on the Sky,’ a description on ELT’s Facebook page says.

Moonrise On Eastern Plains

Evan Lobeto captured a delicate, beautiful moonrise on the Eastern Plains, featuring a delicate young Moon glowing above a vast, open road.

Double Rainbow

Jamie (@chickebabe3) shared a stunning double rainbow appearing within just a few days! This breathtaking phenomenon occurs when sunlight is reflected twice inside raindrops, creating a second, fainter arc above the primary rainbow. The colours in the second rainbow appear reversed — with red on the inner edge and violet on the outer. An outstanding nature photography shot!

A Cosmic Cherry On Top

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered another stunning view — Herbig-Haro 49/50, a towering swirl of gas and dust surrounding a newborn protostar. And as if the universe had a sense of humor, a colorful spiral galaxy appears perfectly placed above it, like a cherry on top!

Thank you to all the photographers who shared their amazing images for this week’s top astrophotography views collection! We greatly appreciate your dedication and passion for astrophotography and wish you clear skies for your future captures!