Best Space Photos of the Week - Feb. 17, 2013

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An artist's illustration of DARPA's Hypersonic Test Vehicle-2 flying at speeds of Mach 20.at

Gallery: DARPA's Falcon Hypersonic Glider's Mach 20 Launch Test

Gallery: The Infrared Universe Seen by Spitzer Telescope

Gallery: A World of Kepler Planets

Photos: DARPA's Futuristic Phoenix Satellite Recycling Project

Photos: Orion Space Capsule's Parachute Test

New Star Explosion: Photos of Nova Delphinus 2013 (Gallery)

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Meteor Streaks Over Russia, Explodes (Photos)

Credit: Russian Emergency Ministry

What appears to be a meteor trail over eastern Russia is seen in this image released Feb. 15, 2013, by the Russian Emergency Ministry. The meteor fall included a massive blast, according to Russian reports. [Full Photo Gallery]

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Asteroid 2012 DA14's Record-Setting Flyby (Images)

Credit: GLORIA project/FRAM

Asteroid 2012 DA14, appearing as the white dot in the middle of the picture, was seen by the FRAM Telescope in Argentina, part of the GLObal Robotic-telescopes Intelligent Array (GLORIA) project, in advance of its close approach to Earth. It was obtained at 7:53 p.m. EST, or 4:53 p.m. PST, on Feb. 14, 2013. [Full Photo Gallery]

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Stunning Star Trails Over Jordan Captured by Skywatcher

Credit: Bashar Alaeddin

Stars appear to fall like rain over Jordan in this night sky photo. [Full Story]

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'Gecko' Space Cloud Floats Among Millions of Stars (Video)

Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin

A new photo taken by the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the Milky Way’s most star-rich area in unprecedented detail. Two notable features of the photo are the bright star cluster on the left, and the gecko-shaped cosmic cloud on the right. [Full Story]

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Photos: New Space Toys at Toy Fair 2013

Credit: Clara Moskowitz/SPACE.com

See photos of the hottest new space and science toys at Toy Fair 2013. [Full Photo Gallery]

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100-Year Cosmic Ray Mystery Solved with Supernovas (Photos)

Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration, NRAO/AUI, JPL-Caltech, ROSAT

The origin of cosmic rays has been a 100-year astronomy mystery. See images of how scientists found evidence that supernova shockwaves were to blame. [Full Photo Gallery]

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Stargazer Captures Amazing Photo of Comet Lemmon

Credit: John Drummond

The dazzling Comet Lemmon has recently been taking center stage for those gazing up at the night sky south of the equator. [Full Story]

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Huge Russian Meteor Blast is Biggest Since 1908 (Infographic)

Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com contributor

A rock from space about 55 feet across (17 meters) entered Earth's atmosphere early on the morning of Feb. 15, 2013. [Full Story]

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Valentine's Day in Space: Cosmic Love Photos

Credit: NOAO/AURA/NSF

The odd planetary nebula, Sh2-174 is shaped like a rose floating in space. [Full Photo Gallery]

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Liftoff! Launch Photos For Nasa's Advanced Landsat 8 Mission

Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket successfully launched NASA’s Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) payload on Feb. 11. 2013, from Space Launch Complex-3, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. [Full Photo Gallery]

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Progress 50 Supply Ship Launches to the Space Station (Photos)

Credit: NASA TV

The unmanned Progress 50 supply ship blasts off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on Feb. 11, 2013. [Full Photo Gallery]

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Orion Nebula

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team

NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) provides this image of The Great Nebula in Orion. The Orion Nebula (Messier 42) lies located in the sword of Orion, hanging from his easily recognized belt of three stars. Astronomers now realize that the Orion Nebula makes up part of the larger Orion molecular cloud complex, also including the Flame Nebula. This complex in our Milky Way Galaxy actively makes new stars. Light from these new stars warms the dust filling the nebula, making the dust glow in infrared light. [See More Images]

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You’re Tearing Me Apart, Galaxy!

Credit: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/Coelum

Galaxy NGC 772 shows signs of being pulled apart after interacting gravitationally with another galaxy. The other galaxy has pulled apart the spiral arms of NGC 772, while the external spiral arms vanish in the intergalactic medium. Image released January 2013. [See More Images]