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The best space images of the month: October 2026

Asa Stahl

Written by Asa Stahl, PhD
Public Outreach Astronomer, The Planetary Society
September 30, 2026

In October, outer space stunned us with views of Martian cliffs, beachside astrophotography, and stellar nurseries. Check them out below, along with our other favorite space images from the past month:

Yardangs from Curiosity
Yardangs from Curiosity Yardangs, a kind of cliff carved by wind, as imaged by NASA's Curiosity rover in a region around Mount Sharp on Mars.Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
MMX launch
MMX launch JAXA's MMX spacecraft takes off on an H3 rocket from Tanegashima, Japan, on Oct. 19.Image: JAXA
Cathedral Cove
Cathedral Cove Cathedral Cove, New Zealand, in a multilayer composition of 24 panels. The sky, which features the Milky Way and green airglow, was photographed first. Then the lower half of the image was photographed as the Moon was rising.Image: Evan McKay
NGC 1827
NGC 1827 The spiral galaxy NGC 1827, as imaged edge-on by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.Image: NASA, ESA, Michael Jones (California Institute of Technology); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Amazonis Mensa
Amazonis Mensa An image taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter of the region around Amazonis Mensa, a flat-topped Martian mountain that takes up much of the right of the picture. Ridges sculpted by winds, called yardangs, are also visible around Amazonis Mensa, as are impact craters and a valley.Image: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin
NGC 7129
NGC 7129 NGC 7129, a nebula roughly 3,300 light-years away, as imaged by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The picture shows bright, young stars actively carving clouds of gas and dust on either side of the image through the radiation and high-energy particles they emit.Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI)
Curiosity reaches one kilometer
Curiosity reaches one kilometer NASA’s Curiosity rover took this panorama, made up of many separate images, several days after reaching one kilometer (0.6 miles) of elevation along the foothills of Mount Sharp on Mars.Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
Perseverance looks back after record drive
Perseverance looks back after record drive NASA's Perseverance rover took this image of its tracks after completing a short drive that made the mission break the record for total distance traveled on another world. The record was previously held by NASA's Opportunity rover, which traveled 45.16 kilometers (28.06 miles).Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech
ISS over Mt. Shuksan

The best space images of the month

All of our favorite space photos from the past month.

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