Celestial Phenomena

Called the eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, the photo was assembled by combining 10 years of NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken of a patch of sky at the center of the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field.

False-color image of a rare early Quadrantid, captured by a NASA meteor camera in 2010. (NASA/MEO/B. Cooke)

A Lyrid meteor crosses the night skies over Nantucket, Mass. (Copyright Greg Hinson. All rights reserved, used with permission.)

This composite, false-color view shows the skies over Huntsville, Ala., on the evening of May 5, 2012. The streaks are meteor trails -- some are Eta Aquarids, some are not. The arcs are stars, and there's also an airplane in there in the upper left corner. All in all, a busy night of sky-watching -- all in addition to the "supermoon" that brightened the skies over the weekend. (NASA/MSFC/MEO/Danielle Moser)

A colorized composite image shows bright meteor streaks from the 2009 Lyrid meteor shower over Huntsville, Ala. (NASA/MSFC/Danielle Moser)

Composite image of Lyrid and non-Lyrid meteors, seen over New Mexico from April 21-23, 2012. (NASA/MSFC/Danielle Moser)

Composite image of Lyrid meteors, seen over El Paso, Texas. (ELP ALLSKY/Jim Gamble. Copyright, used with permission.)

The supermoon of 2012 rises over Entiat, Wash., in this photo by skywatcher Tim McCord snapped on May 5, 2012.

Aurora borealis, seen from the International Space Station. Solar winds help power these atmospheric displays. (NASA)

Multiple solar flares on the sun. Credit: JAXA

On Jan. 4, 2011, the Hinode satellite viewed an annular solar eclipse. (NASA/Hinode/XRT)

Artist concept of a coronal mass ejection. (NASA)

In this Jan.15,2010 file photo showing a combination of three separate photographs, the various stages of an annular solar eclipse seen over Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon blots out all but a ring around the sun. This year's solar show can be viewed from eastern Asia to parts of North America. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena,File)

The planet Venus, black spot, crossing the sun is photographed through a telescope at Planetarium Urania in Hove, Belgium, Tuesday, June 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Perseid meteor shower. All images credit/copyright to Michael Menefee. Used with permission, all rights reserved by Michael Menefee.

Perseid meteor shower. All images credit/copyright to Michael Menefee. Used with permission, all rights reserved by Michael Menefee.

Perseid meteor shower. All images credit/copyright to Michael Menefee. Used with permission, all rights reserved by Michael Menefee.

Huntsville all sky camera's meteor view on Aug. 12-13, with a bright full moon "smear" at the bottom. (NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environment Office)

Perseids composite, seen Aug. 12-13. Concentric circles are star trails. (NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environment Office)

Collage of Perseids taken throughout the evening and early morning of Aug. 10-15. (NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environment Office)

Blue Moon, NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, 12/20/10. (NASA/MSFC)

False-color composite view of 2008 Geminid meteor shower. (NASA/MSFC/B. Cooke, NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office)

Over 100 meteors are recorded in this composite image taken during the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, Dec 13 -14, using an all-sky camera operated by the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. A fish-eye view of the surrounding nighttime landscape at the Automated Lunar and Meteor Observatory can also be seen. (NASA/MSFC/Danielle Moser, NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office)