I think maybe I need to reset my expectations for the news. I mean, we just had big gaming news to start the week, a big reset in foreign affairs because of it, and we got word to have more steak with your butter. Maybe that should just be my baseline for news in one week. But I'm telling you, it's been quite a year, and it's only January 9.
So let's have a lively soundtrack for the week.
This is a neighborhood we've seen before, the eastern end of Orion's Belt. You can see the Horsehead nebula hiding in there.
IC 434 NGC2023 ALNITAK FLAME Takahashi
— ISRAEL RAMIREZ (@DON_PROCO) January 9, 2026
Epsilon180ed 🔭
From my backyard 😄
Bortle 4
150/180s 7h 30mins
📷 Camera ZWO asi 2600mcpro
⛰️ Mount Zwo AM5
💻 Pixinsigth
#astronomia #telescopio #nebulosa #astrofotografia #space #astronomy #telescope #astrophotography pic.twitter.com/bDC6JwMRtE
The Garlic Nebula. With marinara, I guess.
The Garlic Nebula (CTB 1) & The Little Rosette (Sh2-170), from my remote observatory.
— Jaume Zapata (@jaume_zapata) January 4, 2026
75h 📷#Astrophotography #cielosESA pic.twitter.com/0EM3NcUdd1
Great question. My vote is that there is one.
In your opinion, what is the strangest thing about the universe? ✍️ pic.twitter.com/gqZL1H4UZN
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) January 4, 2026
Do you remember the movie The Day of the Trifids?
Rick's #Astrophotography Picture of the Day - M20, the Trifid Nebula - 06/25/2024
— Eyes to the Stars (@Eyes2TheStars) January 5, 2026
The Trifid is an emission, reflection, and dark nebulae in a single field. Its H II region, blue reflection component, and dark dust lanes that give the nebula its “trifurcated” appearance. pic.twitter.com/zU0U0wIjOh
The preparation for the next Artemis mission continues. A new contributor, Robert Zimmerman, made an argument to President Trump and NASA Administrator Isaacman: Please Take the Crew Off of Artemis II.
ARTEMIS II: The Crawler-transporter is stretching its legs at the Kennedy Space Center! This looks to be in preparation for the rollout of SLS in the coming days.
— Ryan Caton (@dpoddolphinpro) January 9, 2026
📷 @NASASpaceflight / Space Coast Live pic.twitter.com/Xtp1ohYbTv
You know, I don't think I'll ever get tired of these launch pictures.
Pretty sweet view of tonight’s SpaceX launch pic.twitter.com/octNKxlmCz
— Travis Okamoto (@TravisOkamoto) January 3, 2026
And more.
View of the rocket launch through the clouds #rocketlaunch pic.twitter.com/1DX1mLK88w
— scriptality tv junkie (@Angel_Quinn13) January 3, 2026
Another part of the new astrophotography is that now we do it digitally instead of on film, and so we can process many hours of data. Here's a nice example.
Sh2-91: The other Veil Nebula in Cygnus. This supernova remnant is much dimmer than Veil, but still beautiful. I captured this 5-panel #astrophotography mosaic over 11 nights through HA and OIII filters totaling 30 hours of data. #Photography #Astronomy pic.twitter.com/41wqvx9lRU
— ChaoticNebula (@ChaoticNebula1) January 9, 2026
I've seen a lot of images of the Tarantula Nebula. Mostly, it's hard to see the tarantula, but then there's this one.
🕷️ A Tarantula in Dorado 🐟
— Vaonis (@Vaonis_fr) January 9, 2026
Captured by Dom H. (Australia) with #Vespera II.#Astrophotography #Vaonis pic.twitter.com/p0AHzujMqT
A nice collection from Ireland.
Deep space captures from the last few weeks. There’s something grounding about looking at light that’s traveled thousands of years to reach the sensor.
— Sky watcher Ireland (@skywatcher_irl) January 9, 2026
Veil Nebula
Crescent Nebula
Christmas Tree Cluster & Cone Nebula
Orion Nebula #Astrophotography #Space #DeepSky #Astronomy pic.twitter.com/CoYyGaP6O1
Orion really is the showpiece of news space.
Rick's #Astrophotography Picture of the Day - Wide‑Field Mosaic of M42 & Sh2‑279 – 12/21/2025
— Eyes to the Stars (@Eyes2TheStars) January 9, 2026
M42 is ~1,300 light‑years away in the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, showcasing intense H II emission & Sh2‑279, the Running Man Nebula, is a mix of reflection and emission structures. pic.twitter.com/0kgGn0RqUf
I think it's fun to see how many of these are now coming from people's backyards.
The Cocoon Nebula! 📷
— 🔭AstroBackyard (@AstroBackyard) January 5, 2026
My latest photo from the backyard is the dynamic Cocoon Nebula in the constellation Cygnus.
This was taken back in the fall, when the skies were clear - but I finally processed the data today!
The Cocoon is primarily an emission nebula, with a surrounding… pic.twitter.com/eO0wCzNGaS
And that's about it for this week. As always, comment and let me know you're seeing these, and come back next week for more Sky Candy.
