Dwarf galaxy NGC 5949 sits at a distance of around 44 million light-years from us, placing it within the Milky Way’s cosmic neighborhood. via NASA http://ift.tt/2vVzjFb

More than a hundred years after Swift’s discovery of the “starburst” galaxy IC 10, astronomers are studying IC 10 with the most powerful telescopes of the 21st century. via NASA http://ift.tt/2wxOwt0

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of solar evaporation ponds outside the city of Moab, Utah. There are 23 colorful ponds spread across 400 acres. They are part of a large operation to mine potassium chloride—more commonly referred to as muriate of potash (MOP)—from ore buried underground. via NASA http://ift.tt/2uGPbGk

From his vantage point aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik pointed his camera toward the rising Moon and captured this beautiful image on August 3, 2017. Bresnik wrote, “Gorgeous moon rise! Such great detail when seen from space. Next full moon marks #Eclipse2017. We’ll be watching from @Space_Station.” via NASA http://ift.tt/2wELWk9

The thin sliver of Saturn’s moon Prometheus lurks near ghostly structures in Saturn’s narrow F ring in this view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. via NASA http://ift.tt/2wAP7cL

On July 5, 2017, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watched an active region — an area of intense and complex magnetic fields — rotate into view on the Sun. This image shows a blended view of the sunspot in visible and extreme ultraviolet light, revealing bright coils arcing over the active region — particles spiraling along magnetic field lines. via NASA http://ift.tt/2v43I2x

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik looks through the hatch of the International Space Station’s Bigelow Expandable Aerospace Module (BEAM) on July 31, 2017. The BEAM is an experimental expandable module just over halfway into its planned two-year demonstration on the space station. via NASA http://ift.tt/2hrHlPL

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik photographed Super Typhoon Noru on August 1, 2017, as the International Space Station passed overhead. He shared images of the massive storm on social media, writing, “Super Typhoon #Noru, amazing the size of this weather phenomenon, you can almost sense its power from 250 miles above.” via NASA http://ift.tt/2tZW5Hq

This mini-panorama combines two photographs taken by Apollo 15 lunar module pilot Jim Irwin, from the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) site, at the end of the second Apollo 15 moonwalk on August 1, 1971. Apollo 15 was the fourth crewed mission to land on the Moon. via NASA http://ift.tt/2ugfLpO

On July 26, 2017, a member of the Expedition 52 crew aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of one of the 16 sunrises they experience every day, as the orbiting laboratory travels around Earth. One of the solar panels that provides power to the station is seen in the upper left. via NASA http://ift.tt/2vYsCPc