Space exploration's most stunning photos in 2024
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This year was historic for space research and exploration, and we have the photos to prove it. In 2024, rare astronomical events captured the attention of sky watchers across the US, including a total solar eclipse, aurora that stretched as far south as Florida and striking meteor showers.
![[Don Pettit, a NASA astronaut aboard the ISS, shared this photo he took in November, which shows Starlink satellites streaking by]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/19/93520789-14230089-Don_Pettit_a_NASA_astronaut_aboard_the_ISS_shared_this_photo_he_-a-9_1735326880089.jpg)
There were stunning accomplishments in the world of spaceflight, too. SpaceX performed the first commercial spacewalk and caught a giant rocket with a pair of 'chopstick' arms, NASA completed the first flight of an aircraft on Mars, and International Space Station astronauts beamed amazing images back to Earth.
![[SpaceX achieved a historic spaceflight maneuver this year when the Mechazilla launch tower's 'chopstick' arms caught the Super Heavy booster in mid-air, executing a bull's eye landing]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/16/93520779-14230089-image-a-6_1735317824841.jpg)
Telescopes in space and on Earth snapped some incredible shots too, capturing stars, other planets and even entire galaxies in unprecedented detail. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and European Southern Observatory (ESO) are just a few of the highly-sophisticated imaging instruments that changed our understanding of the universe this year.
![[In 2024, astronomers captured the first image of the polarized light and magnetic fields that surround Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/16/93520767-14230089-image-a-7_1735318604037.jpg)
Below, DailyMail.com highlights some of 2024's most jaw-dropping space photos. JWST captured this near-infrared view of the star-forming region NGC 604, which sits in the Triangulum galaxy 2.7 million light-years from Earth. JWST's NIRcam instrument is a powerful near-infrared camera that can capture images of distant nebulae in astonishing detail.
![[The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the infant star HP Tau this year, located 550 light-years from Earth]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/27/19/93520761-14230089-The_Hubble_Space_Telescope_captured_this_image_of_the_infant_sta-a-7_1735326879949.jpg)
