Best Space Photos of the Week - March 23, 2013 | Space Images

More Albums

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope produced this stunning image of the well-known Horsehead Nebula. It is part of an enormous cloud of molecular gas and dust obscuring background light from nearby emission nebula IC 434, producing the silhouette

Gallery: Strange Nebula Shapes, What Do You See?

Gallery: The Smallest Alien Planets

Look Up! Stargazing Events for June 2013 (Sky Maps)

Exoplanet Art: The Illustrations of Lynette Cook

Comet Pan-STARRS and the Moon: Spectacular Stargazer Photos

Shenzhou 10 Spacecraft Lands on June 25, 2013

Photos: China's Shenzhou 10 Space Mission in Pictures

1 of 14

Northern Lights: Amazing Aurora Photos of 2013

Credit: Auroramax

Canada's automated aurora camera tweeted this photo on March 17, 2013. The tweet read: "AURORAMAX GALLERY • Latest #photo of #aurora borealis above Yellowknife, NWT taken at 03:13 MDT on March 17, 2013. pic.twitter.com/E9q7pQJ1l7." [See the full photo gallery]

2 of 14

Curiosity Rover Eyes Huge Mars Mountain in Amazing Photos

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has captured a stunningly detailed panorama of the giant Red Planet mountain that is the robot's ultimate science destination. [Full Story]

3 of 14

NASA Apollo Moon Rocket Engines Recovered by Jeff Bezos (Photos)

Credit: Bezos Expeditions

The thrust chamber of one of five first stage F-1 rocket engines used to launch one of NASA's mighty Saturn V rocket on a historic Apollo moon mission is seen on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean in this Bezos Expeditions image. [See the full photo gallery]

4 of 14

Aftermath of Volcano Eruption Seen from Space

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory.

Ash, lava and debris cloak the snowy slopes of Kizimen volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula after a series of eruptions early this month. [Full Story]

5 of 14

Jupiter's Atmosphere Has Weird Hot Flashes

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/GSFC

Though Jupiter is shrouded in swirling clouds, its atmosphere has some mysterious clear patches that scientists call "hot spots." A new study of 13-year-old Cassini probe photos of Jupiter sheds new light on the planet’s hotspot. [Full Story]

6 of 14

Gamers Wanted: Teach Space Robots with Drone App

Credit: ESA-Anneke Le Floc'h

The ESA has launched a free augmented reality app for iPhone and iPad called AstroDrone that lets players "see" virtual objects, such as a replica of the International Space Station, and practice docking their drones to the station. [Full Story]

7 of 14

US Military Launches Missile Defense Satellite (Photos)

Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the second Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-2 satellite for the U.S. Air Force at 5:21 p.m. EDT on March 19, 2013. [See the full photo gallery]

8 of 14

Gallery: Universe's Cosmic Microwave Background Revealed by Planck Observatory

Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration

This image unveiled March 21, 2013, shows the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as observed by the European Space Agency's Planck space observatory. [See the full photo gallery]

9 of 14

Heart Nebula Wows in Beautiful Night Sky Photo

Credit: Terry Hancock

Located about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia, the heart nebula is a mix of gas and dark dust. [Full Story]

10 of 14

On the Moon, NASA Probe Sees Where Sun Never Shines

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SVS

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is mapping moon craters that have never seen the light of day. See how the powerful probe can peek inside the moon's permanent lunar shadows. [Full Story]

11 of 14

NASA Video Captures Comet, Sun Storm and Earth Together

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/STEREO

A new NASA video has captured an amazing view of the Comet Pan-STARRS weathering a solar eruption, with the Earth in the background. See how NASA's Stereo spacecraft captured the cosmic sight. [Full Story]

12 of 14

Money for Moon Images: Lunar Photos Project Seeks Public Support

Credit: LOIRP/NASA

The nonprofit Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project needs public funding help to continue its moon photo project. Find out how to help and why. [Full Story]

13 of 14

When You're in the Milky Way

Credit: ESO/H. Dahle

The 3.58-meter New Technology Telescope (NTT), located at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, stands against the southern sky. The Milky Way appears as a hazy stripe across the sky. Also, the Large Magellanic Cloud appears to the right of the telescope. [See More Images]

14 of 14

Bright Lights, Big Comet

Credit: Douglas S. Brown

Astrophotographer Douglas S. Brown sent in a photo of Comet Pan-STARRS taken on March 13, 2013, from Mt. Woodson, just east of San Diego, shooting over the Pacific Ocean. [See More Images]

Best Space Photos of the Week - March 23, 2013