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A reservoir near Bogotá, Colombia — Luis Acosta / AFP / Getty

Bogotá’s Water Rationing Is a Preview

More places should practice going without crucial resources.

December 17, 2024

A tight view of a face-on spiral galaxy anchored by a central region that has a light-blue haze, surrounded by complex orange-colored spiral arms — NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee, T. Williams, PHANGS Team

A New View of a Distant Spiral

Day 16 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 16, 2024

A nebula made up of cloudy gas and dust in the form of soft and wispy clouds, dotted with stars — ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld, R. Jayawardhana

Glowing From Within

Day 15 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 15, 2024

Hundreds of bright and differently colored stars, seen in a cluster, with most stars displaying six long diffraction spikes, artifacts of the telescope's structure — ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Zamani, M. G. Guarcello

A Sky Full of Stars

Day 14 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 14, 2024

a match whose tip looks like the Earth — Illustration by Paul Spella / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

Environmental Internationalism Is in Its Flop Era

Every major international negotiation—over biodiversity, plastics, and climate—failed to meet its goals.

December 13, 2024

A large dark cloud is contained within the frame. Its top half is textured like smoke and has wispy gaps; at the bottom and at the sides, it fades gradually out of view. On the left are several orange stars. — NASA, ESA, CSA, and M. Zamani

A Cloud in the Deep Sky

Day 13 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 13, 2024

Two spiral galaxies take up almost the entire view and appear to be overlapping. The background of space is black, dotted with tiny foreground stars and extremely distant galaxies. — NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

A Clash of Titans

Day 12 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 12, 2024

A field of galaxies on the black background of space. In the middle is a collection of dozens of yellowish galaxies that form a foreground galaxy cluster. — ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA, L. Bradley, A. Adamo, and the Cosmic Spring collaboration

Gazing Deeply Through Time

Day 11 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 11, 2024

Many small galaxies are scattered on a black background. The image is dominated by an irregular galaxy with a bright central region of white and blue stars appear as two distinct lobes, surrounded by brown dusty filaments. — ESA / Webb, NASA, CSA, A. Hirschauer, M. Meixner

The Glow of Hot, Young Stars

Day 10 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

December 10, 2024

A telescopic view of a distant spiral galaxy dominated by thick lanes of dark dust — NASA, ESA, STScI, David Thilker

A Dark and Dusty Galaxy

Day 9 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar:

December 9, 2024