Technologies

Coolest Space Photos of 2025 Will Fill You With Cosmic Wonder

From a Mars rover selfie to an astronaut’s view of the flower moon, these space images will give you a new perspective on our planet and our universe.

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.»

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

Samsung’s iPhone Fold Killer Is Leaked

Technologies

How to Tell if Someone Else’s Apple AirTag Is Tracking You

These settings can help make sure your iPhone alerts you to unwanted location trackers.

The biggest benefit of Apple’s AirTags is that they help you find your belongings, whether you’re looking for lost keys or keeping track of your luggage while traveling. But AirTags can also be used to track you without your knowledge.

AirTags work by combining built-in sensors, wireless signals and Apple’s wide Find My network to let you keep tabs on your valuables. If you ever lose your wallet with an AirTag inside, for example, you can use the Find My app to locate it on a map, have it play a sound to help you find it nearby, or mark it as «lost,» which allows other Find My users to help you find it.

One of the biggest complaints about AirTags, however, is that someone with malicious intent could easily slip one of the tiny tags into your bag and then track your movements without your consent. Multiple people have reported AirTag-related stalking incidents where the victims didn’t know the trackers were placed on them until much later.

Apple and Google (Android users have their own choice of Bluetooth trackers, such as the Moto Tag, which works with Google’s Find Hub) have since collaborated on an industry standard that alerts the user if a device is being used to track them without their knowledge. Thanks to this collaboration, Android users will be able to know if an AirTag is being used to track them, too.

Apple, for its part, has also made some changes in the past few years that improve the ability to detect an unwanted AirTag. In the initial rollout, an AirTag would make a sound three days after it’s separated from its paired device. Now, that duration is 8 to 24 hours. If you have unwanted tracking notifications enabled (which we’ll get to below), you’ll receive an audible alert.

We should note here that the new AirTag is 50% louder than the first-generation model, and would therefore be theoretically better at alerting you to the unwanted AirTag. Apple has also said that the speaker on the second-gen AirTag is harder to remove than on the first-gen model, in case bad actors try to remove it.

Detecting unwanted trackers

To be able to detect unwanted trackers, first enable unwanted-tracking notifications. For AirTags or other Find My accessories, these pop-up notifications (e.g., «AirTag found moving with you») are available on devices with iOS 14.5 or later. For other Bluetooth tracking devices, these notifications are enabled on iOS 17.5 or later.

You should enable Location Services, Find My iPhone, Bluetooth and Allow Notifications. Here’s how:

Head to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services and toggle it on.
After that, head to Settings, then Apple Account, select Find My and turn Find My iPhone on.
To enable Bluetooth, go to Settings, then Bluetooth and turn that on.
Then go to Settings, then Notifications, scroll down to Tracking Notifications and toggle on Allow Notifications. Make sure airplane mode is off, or you won’t receive tracking notifications.

What to do when you get the tracking notification

If you do get a notification like «Unknown tracker alert» or «Item detected near you,» you can try to find the unwanted AirTag by tapping it. Tap continue and then tap Play Sound or tap Find Nearby to locate the AirTag in question.

If it doesn’t play a sound or you’re unable to find it, the item may no longer be on your person. Apple suggests checking your other belongings or the area around you, just in case. If you want to review the notification at a later time, you can open the Find My app, tap Items and then tap Items Detected With You.

Be aware that there are often «false positives,» when notifications are triggered when someone nearby has a tracker on them. If you’re traveling on a train, plane or bus, waiting in line or seated in a public space, a mistaken tracking alert could stem from glitches or high-density Bluetooth environments.

If you get an alert, though, it’s always a good idea to take it seriously and investigate what might be causing it.

If you do find an AirTag that doesn’t belong to you, hold the top of your iPhone near the tracker until you see a notification. Tap it, and this will launch a website that provides information like its serial number, the last four digits of the phone number or a blurred-out email address of its owner. If the AirTag is marked as «lost,» you may see a message with instructions on how to contact them.

If you’re concerned that the tracker is being used to monitor your movements and location, Apple advises taking a screenshot of the information above for your records. You can then disable the AirTag by pressing down on the back of the AirTag, turning it counterclockwise to remove the cover and removing the battery.

Of course, before making any of these changes, it’s important to come up with a safety plan, especially if you’re afraid you’re being tracked by a current or former abusive partner. Contact your local law enforcement if you feel like your safety is at risk, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline 800-799-SAFE (7233).