NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscope Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has imaged a swath of the Andromeda galaxy — the nearest large galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. via NASA http://ift.tt/1mySXOQ

What looks like a pair of Saturnian satellites is actually a trio upon close inspection. via NASA http://ift.tt/1PIbO4U

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Expedition 46 Flight Engineer Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) photographed the Alps from orbit on Dec. 27, 2015 and later shared the image with his social media followers, writing, “There may not be much snow in the Alps this winter but they still look stunning from here! #Principia” via NASA http://ift.tt/1miLof5

NASA’s Earth Observatory has tracked down images resembling all 26 letters of the English alphabet using only NASA satellite imagery and astronaut photography. In this image, the letter ‘Y’ is for yardangs, elongated landforms sculpted by erosion and similar to sand dunes, but instead comprised of sandstone or siltstone. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ZzD7Bo

The striking feature in this image, acquired by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 19, 2014, is a boulder-covered landslide along a canyon wall. Landslides occur when steep slopes fail, sending a mass of soil and rock to flow downhill, leaving behind a scarp at the top of the slope. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ZxnSsx

Pluto gets into the holiday spirit, decked out in red and green using a pair of Ralph/LEISA instrument scans. via NASA http://ift.tt/22quRWL

Zinnia flowers are starting to grow in the International Space Station’s Veggie facility as part of the VEG-01 investigation. Veggie provides lighting and nutrient supply for plants in the form of a low-cost growth chamber and planting “pillows” to provide nutrients for the root system. via NASA http://ift.tt/1mApUtZ

Expedition 46 Flight Engineer Tim Kopra on a Dec. 21, 2015 spacewalk, in which Kopra and Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly successfully moved the International Space Station’s mobile transporter rail car ahead of Wednesday’s docking of a Russian cargo supply spacecraft. via NASA http://ift.tt/1S8leHF

An extraordinary ribbon of hot gas trailing behind a galaxy like a tail has been discovered using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. via NASA http://ift.tt/1OGFdI6

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a unique view of Earth from the spacecraft’s vantage point in orbit around the moon. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ZfFEQZ