21 Awe-Inspiring Space and Nature Pics for Your Ocular Enjoyment

Carly Tennes Published 08/28/2024 in wow

A bright red hole in our upper atmosphere. Rainbow clouds. A giant spiral illuminating the Alaskan night. No, these aren't proposed additions to the next Elden Ring installment, but rather real phenomena spotted in our own sky ... and caught on camera.

From an electric "dirty thunderstorm" creeping up on a volcano to the planets quite literally aligning, here are 21 awe-inspiring space and nature pics for your ocular enjoyment.

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1.
A Lenticular cloud floats over Dublin.
2.
A glory appears in Tulum, Mexico.
3.
“Took this bad boy right outside of Texas Roadhouse after eating 6 baskets of fresh baked rolls..”
4.
“This crazy rare alignment of Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.”
5.
“Rare phenomenon - Floating Rainbow over the skies of Southern China.”
6.
“Rare Cloud Phenomenon Over Eastern Victoria, Australia.”
7.
“Rare ‘sky-punch’ cloud in Poland.”
8.
Japan’s Sakurajima Volcano erupts in a “dirty thunderstorm.”
9.
“Catatumbo Lightning in Venezuela.”
10.
“Rare iridescent cloud, also known as a "fire rainbow." Shot with an iPhone 6s+ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.”
11.
“I woke at 2am to photograph 5 planets perfectly aligned above the Sydney Opera House.”
12.
“Tonight in the Texas Panhandle. The fires in the Northwest are filtering our sunsets so much you can literally see sunspots with the naked eye.”
13.
“This was NASA's astronomy picture of the day yesterday. Taken from Chile, it's absolutely stunning.”
14.
“Naked-eye Sprite Storm over Kansas.”
15.
“Polar stratospheric clouds over Iceland.”
16.
“This is STEVE or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.”
17.
A mysterious spiral as it appeared over Fairbanks, Alaska in April 2023.
18.
“Rainbow at night caused by a full moon, it’s a moonbow.”
19.
A red streak illuminates the sky over Arizona after a SpaceX rocket booster broke a short-term hole in Earth’s upper atmosphere.
20.
“A long trail of hail that was left after a storm in Alberta, Canada.”
21.
A stable auroral red arc illuminates Denmark’s sky with a pink glow.

1.
A Lenticular cloud floats over Dublin.
2.
A glory appears in Tulum, Mexico.
3.
“Took this bad boy right outside of Texas Roadhouse after eating 6 baskets of fresh baked rolls..”
4.
“This crazy rare alignment of Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.”
5.
“Rare phenomenon - Floating Rainbow over the skies of Southern China.”
6.
“Rare Cloud Phenomenon Over Eastern Victoria, Australia.”
7.
“Rare ‘sky-punch’ cloud in Poland.”
8.
Japan’s Sakurajima Volcano erupts in a “dirty thunderstorm.”
9.
“Catatumbo Lightning in Venezuela.”
10.
“Rare iridescent cloud, also known as a "fire rainbow." Shot with an iPhone 6s+ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.”
11.
“I woke at 2am to photograph 5 planets perfectly aligned above the Sydney Opera House.”
12.
“Tonight in the Texas Panhandle. The fires in the Northwest are filtering our sunsets so much you can literally see sunspots with the naked eye.”
13.
“This was NASA's astronomy picture of the day yesterday. Taken from Chile, it's absolutely stunning.”
14.
“Naked-eye Sprite Storm over Kansas.”
15.
“Polar stratospheric clouds over Iceland.”
16.
“This is STEVE or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.”
17.
A mysterious spiral as it appeared over Fairbanks, Alaska in April 2023.
18.
“Rainbow at night caused by a full moon, it’s a moonbow.”
19.
A red streak illuminates the sky over Arizona after a SpaceX rocket booster broke a short-term hole in Earth’s upper atmosphere.
20.
“A long trail of hail that was left after a storm in Alberta, Canada.”
21.
A stable auroral red arc illuminates Denmark’s sky with a pink glow.