{"id":258124,"date":"2025-12-30T14:04:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T14:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/258124\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T14:04:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T14:04:27","slug":"our-10-favorite-space-com-reader-photos-of-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/258124\/","title":{"rendered":"Our 10 favorite Space.com reader photos of 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sky served up no shortage of spectacle in 2025 \u2014from lunar liaisons, solar prominences and fleeting meteor showers, to aurora and nebula scenes that unfold on a scale almost too massive for the human mind to comprehend.<\/p>\n

And while we experience the cosmos first through the human eye, our vision has limits. We can’t zoom in on distant nebulas, see the faintest glows, or safely take in the brightest targets \u2014 and much of the electromagnetic spectrum is invisible to us entirely.<\/p>\n

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Thankfully, the Space.com<\/a> community is packed with talented photographers and observers armed with sophisticated cameras, clever techniques and powerful telescopes capable of revealing the hidden majesty of the cosmos. Read on for a selection of breathtaking images captured by astrophotographers around the world and featured on Space.com<\/a> throughout 2025.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

10 Incredible astrophotography highlights of 20251. Plasma twists above the solar surface<\/p>\n

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A solar prominence extends out from the sun (Image credit: Mark Johnston)<\/p>\n

Astrophotographer Mark Johnston captured a jaw-droppingly detailed view<\/a> of hydrogen plasma suspended in the powerful magnetic field<\/a> above the sun<\/a> on Oct. 20 from Willow Springs, Arizona, using a TEC160FL refractor telescope fitted with specialized filters.<\/p>\n

2. A nebula shark is spied hunting through the depths of space<\/p>\n

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A cosmic shark hunts through deep space. (Image credit: Ronald Brecher)<\/p>\n

Ronald Brecher, meanwhile, set his sights further afield, targeting a spectacular deep-space<\/a> nebula<\/a> vista in the constellation Cepheus, some 650 light-years<\/a> from Earth<\/a>, which happens to resemble a vast cosmic shark<\/a> swimming through deep space.<\/p>\n

3. The moon and sun meet over Stonehenge<\/p>\n

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Partial solar eclipse sequence over Stonehenge, U.K.\u00a0 (Image credit: Josh Dury)<\/p>\n

This gorgeous composite shot<\/a> detailing the phases of a partial solar eclipse<\/a> unfolding above the ancient monument of Stonehenge was captured by award-winning photographer Josh Dury<\/a> as the moon<\/a> slid between the sun and Earth on March 29.<\/p>\n

4. Comet Lemmon twists in the solar wind<\/p>\n

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Astrophotographer Dan Bartlett captured this view of comet Lemmon (Image credit: Dan Bartlett)<\/p>\n

In a year packed full of phenomenal cometary capers, astrophotographer Dan Bartlett captured a staggering image of comet C\/2025 A6 (LEMMON)<\/a> looking its best as it shone in the skies over June Lake, California, on Sept. 26, as its tail twisted in the relentless stream of the solar wind<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!<\/p>\n

5. The northern lights from 36,000 feet<\/p>\n

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When a severe G4 geomagnetic storm hit, this Dreamliner pilot had the perfect front-row seat. (Image credit: Matt Melnyk)<\/p>\n

Of course, not all of the best astrophotography subjects exist beyond Earth’s atmosphere<\/a>. Airline pilot Matt Melnyk snapped an impressive view of the northern lights shining in the upper atmosphere<\/a> from a height of 36,000 feet (11 kilometers), while shepherding a Boeing 787 from London to Calgary during a geomagnetic storm on Nov. 12.<\/p>\n

6. A cosmic baboon rages light-years from Earth<\/p>\n

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The Raging Baboon Nebula, as captured by astrophotographer Greg Meyer in 2025. (Image credit: Greg Meyer)<\/p>\n

Astrophotographer Greg Meyer captured light of a more ancient variety while imaging a nebula 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Corona Australis, which takes on the shape of a mandrill with glowing blue eyes<\/a> in long-exposure photography.<\/p>\n

7. Perseid meteors race the Milky Way<\/p>\n

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Perseid meteors streak towards Durdle Door in this 2025 image from photographer Josh Dury. (Image credit: Josh Dury)<\/p>\n

This stunning composite from Josh Dury shows shooting stars<\/a> belonging to the annual Perseid meteor shower<\/a> streaking towards the horizon alongside the glowing band of the Milky Way<\/a> above the iconic Durdle Door rock formation in Dorset, United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

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8. An ‘Elve’ red halo flashes to life over the Italian Alps<\/p>\n

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An “elve” lasts for less than a thousandth of a second.\u00a0 (Image credit: Valter Binotto<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Valter Binotto, meanwhile, was able to capture a split-second view of a red ring manifesting over the Italian Alps<\/a> on Nov. 17. This strange phenomenon, known as an “elve”, is a super-rare form of lightning that occurs in the upper atmosphere, which lasts less than a thousandth of a second and can span up to 300 miles (480 km) in diameter, according to NOAA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

9. Comet C\/2025 R2 (SWAN) crosses the Eagle Nebula<\/p>\n

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Comet C\/2025 R2 (SWAN) glows alongside the Eagle Nebula. (Image credit: Daniele Gasparri)<\/p>\n

Astronomer Daniele Gasparri seized the opportunity to image the glowing green coma and diffuse tail of comet<\/a> C\/2025 R2 (SWAN) as it passed in front of the Eagle Nebula<\/a> in the constellation Serpens, the serpent on the night of Oct. 17. Look to the left of the comet to find the iconic Pillars of Creation<\/a> \u2014 vast collections of dust and gas made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> \u2014 nestled beneath a population of stars<\/a> close to the nebula’s glowing core.<\/p>\n

10. A blood moon over Egypt<\/p>\n

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The phases of the Sept. 7 blood moon arrayed over the White Desert in Egypt.\u00a0 (Image credit: \u00a9 Osama Fathi \/ Night Sky Watcher.)<\/p>\n

Finally, photographer Osama Fathi captured a beautiful composite scene chronicling the rise of the Sept. 7 “Blood Moon”<\/a> as it soared into the skies over the chalk formations in Egypt’s White Desert, while contending with the shifting light conditions and destabilizing gusts of wind.<\/p>\n

Feeling inspired to take the first steps on your own astrophotography journey? Then why not check out our picks of the best cameras<\/a> and lenses for imaging the night sky<\/a> to ensure that you’re ready for 2026.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: <\/strong>If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The sky served up no shortage of spectacle in 2025 \u2014from lunar liaisons, solar prominences and fleeting meteor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[18,19,17,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-258124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115808899305243993","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}