​This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows IC 2051, a galaxy in the southern constellation of Mensa (the Table Mountain) lying about 85 million light-years away. It is a spiral galaxy, as evidenced by its characteristic whirling, pinwheeling arms, and it has a bar of stars slicing through its center. via NASA https://ift.tt/2PI3F6T

This week in 1999, space shuttle Discovery, mission STS-103, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. via NASA https://ift.tt/38QQgRl

As the holiday season approaches, people in the northern hemisphere will gather indoors to stay warm. In keeping with the season, astronomers have studied two groups of galaxies that are rushing together and producing their own warmth. via NASA https://ift.tt/35vY0WF

​NGC 3175 is located around 50 million light-years away in the constellation of Antlia (the Air Pump). The galaxy can be seen slicing across the frame in this Hubble image, with its mix of bright patches of glowing gas, dark lanes of dust, bright core, and whirling, pinwheeling arms coming together to paint a beautiful celestial scene. via NASA https://ift.tt/38upyOl

In this image from December 2000, the Expedition One crew–the first to permanently inhabit the International Space Station–are about to eat a treat of fresh oranges. via NASA https://ift.tt/2EbVPMg

This image of North and South America at night is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012. via NASA https://ift.tt/2t0s3rd

Meltwater lakes form on the surface of Greenland’s Petermann Glacier. via NASA https://ift.tt/35jfLJ3

To make room for the latest cargo craft on Nov. 29, Progress 73 departed the station after undocking from the Pirs docking compartment. via NASA https://ift.tt/36cII9k

Some of the most dramatic events in the universe occur when certain stars die — and explode catastrophically in the process. When these star deaths, or supernovae, occur, their brightness can rival the light of a whole galaxy. The galaxy NGC 5468, shown in this Hubble image, has hosted a number of these supernovae the past 20 years. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Lrf1JW

European Space Agency astronaut and current International Space Station Commander Luca Parmitano and ​crewmate Andrew Morgan (out of frame) performed the third spacewalk to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. via NASA https://ift.tt/2DQfO2M