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Pink Clouds and Hot Blue Stars: Here Are the Coolest Space Photos of 2025, So Far

From the huge smoke plume seen from the LA wildfires to a new sweeping view of Earth, these space images will give you a new perspective on our planet and our universe.

Need a break just to marvel at our small, delicate world? There’s always something happening in space, and humanity is documenting it more quickly and clearly than ever before. Orbiting telescopes, astronauts and spacecraft are sending back a stream of photos that show off the diversity and wonder of the universe. Here are some of the best space photos of the year, so far.

Los Angeles wildfires

It wasn’t just imagery of objects beyond Earth that caught our eye over the first half of the year. The European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 Earth-observing satellite documented the devastating Palisades Fire in California in January. 

The Jan. 7 view showed a large smoke plume stretching out over the Pacific Ocean. That was just the beginning of a series of wildfires that destroyed residences and buildings in Los Angeles County. 

Earth from space

NASA astronaut and astrophotographer extraordinaire Don Pettit shared a knockout view of Earth from the International Space Station in late February. «Cosmic colors at sunrise; never get tired of seeing what the new day brings,» he said.

This photo has it all: our planet, swirling aurora lights and a sweeping vista of stars.

Sunrise from the moon

It’s tough to land successfully on the moon. Firefly Aerospace pulled off the feat in March with its Blue Ghost Mission 1. The Blue Ghost lander captured a historic view of a sunrise from the surface of the moon. The image shows the pockmarked lunar surface with the bright flash of the sun topping the horizon. 

Many moon missions, including Intuitive Machine’s 2025 attempt, go wrong. That makes Blue Ghost’s sunrise image all the more poignant. It marks a hard-earned lunar success story.

Webb spots a ‘cosmic tornado’

The James Webb Space Telescope delivered a wild view of Herbig-Haro 49/50 in March. NASA described the space object as «a frothy-looking outflow from a nearby protostar» and a «cosmic tornado.» Look for the distant spiral galaxy in the upper left. 

Hubble turns 35

The venerable Hubble Space Telescope celebrated 35 years in orbit in April. NASA and ESA partied down by releasing a series of Hubble anniversary images, including views of Mars and a barred spiral galaxy. 

It’s hard to pick just one anniversary image to highlight, but the telescope’s ethereal view of the Rosette Nebula and its smoky clouds of gas and dust stands out. The nebula is a place of active star formation. Hubble’s image focuses on one small, scenic part of the Rosette.

Flower moon from orbit

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers got some full-moon photography in during May’s «flower moon.» Ayers had a front-row seat to the glowing lunar action from her perch on the International Space Station. 

Ayers shared a series of photos with Earth in the frame, emphasizing the relationship between our blue planet and our lunar neighbor. 

Mars rover selfie

NASA’s Perseverance rover has been trucking around Mars since early 2021. The wheeled explorer marked its 1,500th Martian day on May 10 by taking a fresh selfie. Percy took dozens of images of itself using a camera mounted on the end of its robotic arm. NASA stitched the shots together to create the selfie.

Look deeper into the image to spot a swirling dust devil dancing in the background. «Having the dust devil in the background makes it a classic,» said Perseverance imaging scientist Megan Wu. «This is a great shot.»

Pink clouds and hot blue stars

The new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is sure to be contribute amazing additions to space photography. And the people behind it are thinking big: «(The Rubin Observatory is) going to build the greatest time-lapse movie of the cosmos ever made,» the observatory said in a recent post.

The observatory is named for the American scientist widely credited for finding some of the first evidence of dark matter.

Its first released image, shown above, shows the Trifid and Lagoon nebulas as colorful pink clouds of hydrogen alongside hot blue stars.

The year is not even half over. There are full moons, auroras, space launches and meteor showers coming down the line. Satellites are watching over Earth. Space telescopes are staring out into the cosmos and sending back postcards from our universe. 

Stay tuned for more stunning images.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter. 

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.


Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS

5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW

6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE

7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD

8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE

9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS

2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS

3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART

4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES

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Watch SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test 11

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