Bray Falls' astrophotography gallery

Photographer catches stunning shot of an aurora over an Icelandic waterfall

Photographer Cari Letelier captured a stunning shot of the aurora borealis over the Godafoss waterfall in Iceland, a composite image pulled from nearly three dozen exposures. The aurora phenomenon is typically visible in Earth's northern latitudes...

Astrophotographer Vincent Bouchama's stellar photo archive

Astrophotographers specialize in collecting as much light from celestial objects as possible while minimizing the movement of the object they're capturing. It's a unique skillset—requiring unique tools—but the results are often universally...

Explore a gallery of lightning photography taken from the Grand Canyon

In this series, award-winning photographer Adam Schallau accompanies each image with expert advice on how to capture the phenomenon successfully. Initially requiring the shutter to remain open for extended periods, today's technology includes a device called a lightning trigger, which senses incoming lightning and automatically manages the shutter.

View a gallery of stunning images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope

While the James Webb telescope collects an astounding amount of scientific data, a major part of its allure is its ability to return stunning, high-resolution images. These images include nearby stars, distant galaxies, and some of the oldest structures in the universe.

Explore a gallery of space-based images and animations of Earth

This collection compiles shots of well-known locations, such as US national parks, and natural features, including aurora borealis and fall foliage, to provide a high-level view of Earth's surface.

View a gallery of Einstein rings

As light from a distant galaxy spreads in all directions, rays that pass around a massive object, such as another galaxy, may be bent around it. If the massive object is positioned between the distant galaxy and our telescopes, we may observe this deflected light forming a ring around it.

This Milky Way photo took 12 years to shoot

Finnish astrophotographer J-P Metsavainio has released a Milky Way photo that took him nearly 12 years to create. The 1.7-gigapixel image has a cumulative

Stephen Wilkes' day-to-night panoramas

Renowned US photographer Stephen Wilkes creates distilled time-lapses of cityscapes and landscapes using a novel form: He takes roughly 1,500 images over 30 hours of the same shot, later layering them together to reveal the scene's shift from day to...

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

A photo gallery of underwater shipwrecks

Tobias Friedrich is a German scuba diver specializing in underwater photography. Check out this stunning gallery of shipwrecks as well as other galleries on conservation, sharks, and more.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

Photographing abandoned structures in the southeastern US

Leland Kent is a photographer and historian who has captured hundreds of buildings across the southeast United States over the last 10 years in order to preserve the past before it's too late. His subjects include decommissioned power plants, closed youth jails, vacant plantation homes, and more, and he has published several city-focused books. Get lost in Kent's dramatic portrayals of once-lively structures in this extensive and gripping gallery.

View the winners of the 2025 Global Physics Photowalk contest

Participants were asked to submit entries showcasing particle physics labs from around the world, including particle accelerators, neutrino detectors, and superconducting experiments. The winning photograph was taken at the CryOgenic Laboratory for Detectors, where scientists hunt for dark matter after cooling materials to a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero.

Creating 'Interstellar's' black hole blended visual effects with real physics models

Theoretical cosmologist Kip Thorne was consulted and collaborated with the film's visual effects team to develop new rendering software, integrate general relativity, and generate ultra-high-resolution visuals. The results were so accurate, they were published in scientific journals.

See an anamorphic illusion of a massive crashing wave in South Korea

An enormous aquarium with perpetually crashing waves has popped up amidst an urban landscape in South Korea, but don’t expect to hear the water sloshing around if you walk by. Designed by District, the elevated tank is actually a massive anamorphic illusion. The digital media company created the pub

One man in Arizona works to defend Earth from catastrophic space rocks

David Rankin, an observer and operations engineer at the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey, spends his days scanning for solar system objects that could collide with our planet. The job requires employees to work long shifts to help prevent asteroids from destroying our planet.

Take a tour of The Planetary Society headquarters with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Led by Bill Nye, the Hayden Planetarium director examines the LightSail aircraft, observes historical artifacts, such as a Mars meteorite, and explores props from the "Cosmos" TV series, which was hosted by Planetary Society cofounder Carl Sagan.

Niagara Falls consists of three different waterfalls

The famous landmark is made up of the American, Canadian, and Bridal Veil falls. Of the three, Bridal Veil is the smallest and forms the other boundary of a small slice of area known as Luna Island, where tourists can view the scene.

A firsthand account from the AP photographer who captured 'The Falling Man'

On 9/11, AP photographer Richard Drew made one of the most indelible — and harrowing — images of the 21st century. Here's his account of the photo he captured.

Fallingwater is one of the world’s most famous houses

Fallingwater, a country house set atop a waterfall, is arguably Frank Lloyd Wright’s most celebrated work. Legend has it that the initial drawings of the house were hurriedly sketched in just three hours after Wright’s client surprised him with a phone call and announced he wanted to see the plan’s progress.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Blake's 'illuminated manuscripts' blended poetry and painting

Blake's poetry was often accompanied by the author's complementary illustrations. They’re masterful works of art, pieces that were unlike anything else in Blake’s time—or in ours. Thankfully, The William Blake Archive has scanned all of the original manuscripts, allowing you to see the majestic books in their entirety.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Read about the dangerous comet behind the Perseids meteor shower

Every summer, Earth passes through the debris trail of the Swift-Tuttle comet, producing the spectacle of the Perseids meteor shower. The phenomenon is a glorious opportunity for amateur stargazers, but astronomers have long noted the comet's orbit...

A gallery of New York cats alongside their feline reflections

Comedian Jim Tews began capturing photos of cats from the Big Apple in 2014 as a joke mimicking the highly popular site "Humans of New York," which captured random New Yorkers accompanied by their quotes. The site grew in popularity and Tews...

See February 2026's best science images, including raining iguanas.

Cloud chambers use alcohol vapor to create trails behind passing cosmic rays

As cosmic rays travel through the air, they collide with molecules to form charged fragments called ions. Vapors in the chamber condense around these ions, creating streaks of tiny droplets that mark the paths where cosmic rays or their secondary particles traveled.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

Fly through the Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the solar system

Stretching farther than the width of the continental US and with depths as much as four times those of the Grand Canyon, the Valles Marineris is believed to have formed when Mars’s crust tore open during intense volcanism in the planet’s past.

'Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog' is an iconic romantic artwork

Caspar David Friedrich’s painting portrays man’s fascination with the natural world and emphasizes his smallness in the midst of its grandeur, epitomizing Edmund Burke's concept of "the sublime."

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.