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Colorful swirls and cloudlike structures captured by telescope — NASA, ESA, The Hubble Heritage Team

A Mysterious Nebula

Day 8 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 8, 2024

In two frames butterflies are seen, up close and farther away, flying around — Video by Allison Zaucha / The Atlantic. Sources: John Downer Productions / Getty; AmericanWildlife / Getty

The Clue That Tracked a Butterfly Across the Atlantic Ocean

The pollen that gloms onto the insects can help reveal their secret journeys.

December 7, 2024

A view of many galaxies in deep space, with several of them smeared, distorted, and magnified in the center — NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

A Supernova Seen Thrice

Day 7 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 7, 2024

A telescopic view of two colliding spiral galaxies, with one tilted and slightly warped — ESA / Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton

A Galactic Collision

Day 6 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 6, 2024

a close-up photo of Jared Isaacman, in black and white — Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post / Getty

Elon Musk Gets His Mini-Me at NASA

Another billionaire space enthusiast could make his way into the Trump administration.

December 5, 2024

A telescope view showing a cloud-like structure of gas and dust at the bottom of the image, with distant stars and galaxies visible above. — ESA / Webb; NASA; CSA; K. Misselt, and A. Abergel

Day 5 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Beyond the mane

December 5, 2024

A snow globe with a little house and snowman in it filled with rain — Illustration by Paul Spella / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

Winter Is Cooked

It’s getting not only warmer but wetter.

December 5, 2024

A view of the planet Jupiter, showing many broad and multi-colored bands of swirling storms in its atmosphere, and one small moon that casts a shadow — NASA, ESA, STScI, A. Simon, M. H. Wong, J. DePasquale

Day 4 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Stormy weather

December 4, 2024

A telescopic view of a hazy galaxy lined with lanes of dust that form a rough wavy pattern — ESA / Hubble & NASA, L. Kelsey

Day 3 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Ripples from a galactic merger

December 3, 2024

The interior of a nebula filled with many stars and clumpy clouds of gas illuminated in shades of blue, orange, and red — NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Pontoppidan, J. Green

Day 2 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Inside a stellar nursery

December 2, 2024