• Tagged Earth's Bulls-Eye, Eye of Africa, geology, nature, pics, pictures, Richat Structure, Sahara, space

Since the beginning of space missions, the Earth’s bulls-eye caught the interest of astronauts in the otherwise featureless Sahara Desert. Over the years, it has become a landmark for astronauts. At first, the circular pattern was thought to have been a meteorite impact, but now the 31 mile wide bulls-eye, called the Richat Structure, is believed to be uplifted rock, a circular anticline, laid bare by erosion. Some people call this bulls-eye in the Sahara the “Eye of Africa.” [14 pics]

• Tagged ALMA, ESO, La Silla, Milky Way, nature, Paranal, photos, pics, pictures, space, stargazing, stars, VLT

When you were a kid, did you ever wish upon a star? Stargazing always seems to help put problems into perspective. Americans usually know more about and love NASA, but the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is cool too. The ESO operates the Paranal Observatory, located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile at an altitude of 8,645 feet. The largest telescope on Paranal is called the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and it shoots a super cool laser into outer space. These incredible pictures were all taken at the ESO, featuring gazillions of stars in the majestic Milky Way, the VLT, Cerro Armazones, La Silla Observatory, or ALMA antennas. We love these pics! [35 Photos]

• Tagged Aurora, Aurora Australis, Aurora Borealis, environment, ISS, NASA, nature, Northern lights, photos, pics, pictures, polar auroras, Southern lights, space, stars, winter

We’ve collected 24 stunning auroras; either Auroras Borealis – the northern lights – or Aurora Australis – the southern lights. We love these pics!
[24 Photos]