Meteor fireballs, nebulae, Durdle Door skies and more: See NASA's 10 stunning astronomical images

In the Heart of Orion: The Trapezium, four massive stars at Orion’s heart, illuminates the nebula and may host a hidden black hole just 1,500 light-years from Earth. (Image: NASA)

Perseids from Perseus: The Perseids meteor shower originates from debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle, appearing to radiate from Perseus, with bright streaks lighting skies despite competition from the Moon. (Image: NASA)

The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules: M13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, holds hundreds of thousands of stars packed tightly, shining 25,000 light-years away in a stunning stellar sphere. (Image: NASA)

Moonlight, Planets, and Perseids: On August 13, Venus, Jupiter, and Perseid meteors lit up Gansu’s predawn sky, reflecting in a pond despite the waning gibbous Moon’s glare. (Image: NASA)

Asperitas Clouds Over New Zealand: Asperitas clouds, rare and dramatic with wavy undersides, were seen over Hanmer Springs, New Zealand, in 2005, illuminated beautifully by sunlight despite their mysterious origins. (Image: NASA)

A Useful Spiral Galaxy: Spiral galaxy NGC 1309, 100 million light-years away, dazzles with young blue stars and supernovas, helping scientists refine measurements of the universe’s expansion. (Image: NASA)

Giant Galaxies in Pavo: NGC 6872, the Condor Galaxy, spans 500,000 light-years, five times larger than the Milky Way, with distorted arms shaped by past galactic interactions. (Image: NASA)

Perseid Meteors from Durdle Door: Perseid meteors streak across Dorset’s Durdle Door sky, captured in a composite image where curved arcs point to Perseus, with the Milky Way glowing behind. (Image: NASA)

Mostly Perseids: Perseid meteors streak over Austria, converging toward Perseus, captured in 500-exposure composite, with Jupiter and Venus glowing above wind turbines in the early August predawn sky. (Image: NASA)

A Tale of Two Nebulae: This telescopic view shows M57's glowing ring and distant spiral galaxy IC 1296, revealing planetary nebula and faraway galaxies in Lyra's constellation. (Image: NASA)