Best Space Photos of the Week - Jan. 20, 2013 | Space Images

More Albums

Aurora over Yellowknife, NWT, Canada, March 8, 2012

Photos: Auroras Supercharged by March 2012 Solar Storms

Best Space Pictures of the Week - Dec. 7, 2012

This new image of the Orion Nebula was captured using the Wide Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Gallery: The Splendor of the Orion Nebula

The aurora dances high in the sky over Murphy Dome, Alaska, early in the morning on April 11, 2012.

Photo Journal: Northern Lights Expedition, a Reporter's-Eye View

Space shuttle Endeavour stands atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft ahead of its flight to Los Angeles.

Photos: Shuttle Endeavour Set for California Ferry Flight

Photos: Watching the Mars Rover Curiosity Blast Off

1 of 12

Celestial Wonder Looks Uncannily Like a Manatee

Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF, K. Golap, M. Goss; NASA’s Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE)

Scientists have renamed a cosmic nebula after the sea creature it strongly resembles. [Full Story]

2 of 12

How NASA's 2017 Orion Capsule Deep-Space Test Works (Photos)

Credit: NASA

Animation of the Orion spacecraft’s Exploration Mission-1 in 2017 shows the launch vehicle's booster rockets jettisoned. Video released Jan. 16, 2013. [Full Photo Gallery]

3 of 12

Break, Eject, Eject, Eject

Credit: NASA/Hubble

Planetary nebula NGC 5189 consists of a dying star the size of our sun surrounded by material it has ejected from its outer envelope. The radiation of the stellar remnant heats the material, causing it to radiate, forming glowing clouds of gas in complex structures. In this case, NGC 5189 has created two structures expanding from the center in different directions. (The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer. Early astronomers mistook the celestial objects for planets, but no planets are involved.) Image released Dec. 20, 2012. [See More Images]

4 of 12

Amazing NASA Sun Photos Outshine Ultra HDTVs

Credit: NASA / SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has plenty of ultra-HD photos thanks to the advanced camera system aboard the craft. [Full Story]

5 of 12

Astronomy Teacher Finds Hubble Telescope's Hidden Treasure

Credit: ASA, ESA. Acknowledgement: Josh Lake

Connecticut astronomy teacher Josh Lake uncovered a dazzling view of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Ways while exploring the "hidden treasures" of the Hubble Space Telescope. [Full Story]

6 of 12

Space Station and Full Moon Glow in Yosemite Night Sky (Photo)

Credit: Scott McGuire | Photography | www.ScottMcGuirePhotography.com

The International Space Station shoots across the sky as the full moon shines over Half Dome at Yosemite National Park in this beautiful image. Scott McGuire took this photo on Oct. 28, 2012 from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, Calif. [Full Story]

7 of 12

Mars Rover Curiosity's Tracks Seen From Space

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

A new photo from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the Curiosity rover’s Red Planet tracks in sharp detail. [Full Story]

8 of 12

Space Station's Expedition 35 Mission in Photos

Credit: NASA

The International Space Station’s Expedition 35 mission in pictures. [Full Photo Gallery]

9 of 12

Photos: NYC Museum's Space Shuttle Enterprise Exhibit

Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com

Photos of the new shuttle Enterprise exhibit at the Intrepid Museum. [Full Photo Gallery]

10 of 12

NASA Unveils Last Moon Video by Doomed Spacecraft

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/ASU

A NASA probe recorded a spectacular flyover video of the moon's far side shortly before intentionally slamming into a lunar mountain last month. Now, NASA has unveiled the Ebb Grail probe’s video. [Full Story]

11 of 12

'Garden Sprinkler' Star Fires Jet at Near Light Speed

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ of Toronto/M.Durant et al; Optical: DSS/Davide De Martin

NASA's space-based Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured a movie of a collapsed star that's spinning more than 11 times each second and belching charged particles at 70 percent of light-speed. [Full Story]

12 of 12

New Video Recounts Historic Landing on Saturn's Moon Titan

Credit: ESA and ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

A new video highlights the Huygens spacecraft's landing on the huge Saturn moon Titan, which occurred eight years ago this week. [Full Story]

Best Space Photos of the Week - Jan. 20, 2013