Christmas calendar

December 25, 2025

Huge dark pillars of dust and gas, seen against a backdrop of stars.

Photography

A Gravitational Lens

Alan Taylor

December 24, 2025

Many galaxies in a cluster, with most appearing stretched or warped in varying ways

Photography

Distance and Perspective

Alan Taylor

December 23, 2025

Three spiral galaxies of varying sizes appear close together in the night sky.

Photography

The Heart of a Tarantula

Alan Taylor

December 22, 2025

A cluster of blue stars appear in a cavity within a larger billowing cloud of gas and dust.

Photography

Warped Space

Alan Taylor

December 21, 2025

About a hundred galaxies of varying shapes and sizes, some of them appearing stretched and warped

Photography

The Cosmic Cliffs

Alan Taylor

December 20, 2025

A vast cloud of gas and dust in space, with a sharply-defined edge, and stars in the distance

Photography

The Sombrero Galaxy

Alan Taylor

December 19, 2025

A bright, elliptical galaxy, seen edge-on, with a distinct dark lane of dust across its center

Photography

A Spider Among the Stars

Alan Taylor

December 18, 2025

A bright-red cloud appears at the center of a roughly spider-shaped trail of gas and dust, backdropped by many other stars.

Photography

Distant Starbursts

Alan Taylor

December 17, 2025

Two small clumps of bright stars appear in the center of a small irregular galaxy, surrounded by a faint cloud of dust and backdropped by many other distant galaxies.

Photography

The Bullseye

Alan Taylor

December 16, 2025

A spiral galaxy displaying by at least nine concentric rings around its core, backdropped by many other smaller, more-distant galaxies

Photography

A Turbulent Lagoon

Alan Taylor

December 15, 2025

A colorful, dense cloud of dust and gas, backlit in part by hidden stars

Photography

Ripples of a Galactic Merger

Alan Taylor

December 14, 2025

A bright white core of a galaxy sits inside broad halo of light (stars), ringed by darker-colored undulating lanes of dust.

Photography

A Sea of Galaxies

Alan Taylor

December 13, 2025

An image of many glowing galaxies in deep space, in various shapes and colours, on a black background

Photography

A Barred Spiral

Alan Taylor

December 12, 2025

A face-on view of a spiral galaxy, showing a well-defined bar-like structure spanning its center

Photography

Looking for Signs of a Black Hole

Alan Taylor

December 11, 2025

A tight view of the swirling center of a distant spiral galaxy, dominated by billowing yellowish-orange streams of gas and dust

Photography

A Cosmic Tornado

Alan Taylor

December 10, 2025

A long, billowing, and glowing cloud of material, seen in deep space, backdropped by stars and more-distant galaxies.

Photography

A Cosmic Cat’s Paw

Alan Taylor

December 9, 2025

A chaotic cloud of swirling dust in space, punctuated by many colorful stars, centered on a cavernous-looking structure within the cloud

Photography

Sculpted by Stellar Winds

Alan Taylor

December 8, 2025

Dozens of bright-blue stars are seen among a cloud-like ribbon of gas and dust in a distant nebula.

Photography

A Warped View Through an Einstein Ring

Alan Taylor

December 7, 2025

The center of a distant spiral galaxy appears warped, bulging out as if seen through a thick magnifying lens.

Photography

The Shell of a Dying Star

Alan Taylor

December 6, 2025

A giant shell of gas and dust surrounds a distant star. The shell is rounded and resembles red bell pepper that's been sliced in half.

Photography

Colorful Stars of All Ages

Alan Taylor

December 5, 2025

A telescopic view of a distant spiral galaxy with a yellowish center and more blue-colored star-forming regions toward the outer regions.

Photography

Hot Stars in the Lobster Nebula

Alan Taylor

December 4, 2025

A dark and dense cloud of dust takes up the left half of the image, with a cluster of glittering white stars at right, all backdropped by many more-distant stars.

Photography

A Galactic Cluster

Alan Taylor

December 3, 2025

A deep-space image of many dozens of different-colored galaxies, some with a typical spiral shape, most appearing as small blobs of light.

Photography

A Stellar Nursery

Alan Taylor

December 2, 2025

Several bright stars appear surrounded by a large swirling cloud of dust, illuminated by the light of the stars.

Photography

2025 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Alan Taylor

December 1, 2025

Distant galaxies appear in the background of this image from deep space, with a dark disk of dust seen edge-on at center, surrounded by clouds of dust and gas.

Culture

Advent Calendars Are Totally Out of Control

Ellen Cushing

November 18, 2025

Sections

The Print Edition

Dusty Pillars

A Gravitational Lens

Distance and Perspective

The Heart of a Tarantula

Warped Space

The Cosmic Cliffs

The Sombrero Galaxy

A Spider Among the Stars

Distant Starbursts

The Bullseye

A Turbulent Lagoon

Ripples of a Galactic Merger

A Sea of Galaxies

A Barred Spiral

Looking for Signs of a Black Hole

A Cosmic Tornado

A Cosmic Cat’s Paw

Sculpted by Stellar Winds

A Warped View Through an Einstein Ring

The Shell of a Dying Star

Colorful Stars of All Ages

Hot Stars in the Lobster Nebula

A Galactic Cluster

A Stellar Nursery

2025 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Advent Calendars Are Totally Out of Control