ESAs

The James Webb Space Telescope, operated by NASA, ESA and CSA, has released one of its largest panoramic images to date: the IC 348 star-forming region, filled with hundreds of young stars and brown dwarfs. Astronomy enthusiasts say the observation offers a valuable window into the earliest stages of star and planet formation.

ESA's Juice spacecraft is scheduled to fly past Earth tomorrow as part of another gravity assist manoeuvre on its journey to Jupiter. The flyby has drawn attention among space enthusiasts, with one contributor involved in planning camera shots for the manoeuvre noting that new imaging techniques are being tried during the pass.

The Cartwheel Galaxy is drawing attention after new imagery showcased its striking ring shape, the result of a cosmic collision. The galaxy, located hundreds of millions of light-years away, was observed by space telescopes including NASA and ESA's James Webb, revealing details of its structure and the violent encounter that shaped it. Space enthusiasts are sharing the spectacular images widely.

The European-Chinese Smile mission has released the first images from its ultraviolet camera, capturing an auroral substorm. The footage shows the full ring of northern lights around the Earth's polar region, something no spacecraft has recorded since 2008. Scientists say the observations will help study how solar wind drives sudden, dramatic brightenings of the aurora.

ESA's JUICE spacecraft carried out its second Earth flyby on Monday as part of its eight-year journey to Jupiter. New images from the spacecraft show Earth and the Moon captured during the pass. The milestone is being shared by astronomy commentators, who highlight the mission's successful navigation en route to the Jupiter system.

A striking image of the Milky Way's magnetic field, based on data from the European Space Agency's Planck satellite, is circulating among space enthusiasts. The map shows polarised light from galactic dust tracing the galaxy's magnetic field lines, credited to ESA, Planck, CNRS, IAS and Paris-XI University. It is being shared as an example of the beauty and value of astrophotography and public space science data.

The European Space Agency has announced that the Smile mission has officially begun its science operations. Smile, a joint solar-weather mission, is designed to study how solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetic field. The start of the science phase means the spacecraft has completed commissioning and is now collecting data, a milestone space agencies and researchers have been following closely.

A striking Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 3132, known as the Eight Burst Nebula, is circulating among space enthusiasts and astrophotography communities. The planetary nebula, captured with credits to NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team, STScI and AURA, is being praised for its vivid rings of gas and its place in the ongoing wave of popular space imagery.

A live video feed from the International Space Station, showing Earth from orbit, is circulating online alongside the station's current position roughly over the South Pacific. The stream, associated with space agencies including NASA, ESA, JAXA and CSA, lets viewers watch the planet in real time as the station circles it.