Best Space Photos of the Week - Jan. 11, 2014

'Hand of God' Spotted by NASA Space Telescope (Photo)

NASA/JPL-Caltech/McGill

Religion and astronomy may not overlap often, but a new NASA X-ray image captures a celestial object that resembles the "Hand of God." [Read the Full Story]

Wow! Hubble Snaps Super-Deep View of Universe (Photos)

NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz, M. Mountain, A. Koekemoer, and the HFF Team (STScI)

A new set of breathtaking photos reveals a never-before-seen deep view of the universe. Released as the first "Frontier Fields" view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the new images mark the deepest-ever observations of a cluster of galaxies. [Read the Full Story]

Storms on 'Failed Stars' Rain Molten Iron

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Western Ontario/Stony Brook University

Most brown dwarfs may be home to swirling, stormy clouds like Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, NASA’s Spitzer telescope finds. [Read the Full Story]

Biggest Solar Flares of 2014: Sun Storm Photos

Andrew Kwon

Astrophotographer Andrew Kwon sent in a photo of sunspot group 1944 taken on Jan. 8, 2014, from his backyard observatory in Mississauga, Ontario. [See More Photos Here]

New Exoplanet Imager Snaps 1st Photos of Alien Worlds

Processing by Christian Marois, NRC Canada

The Gemini planet imager sees first light. [Read the Full Story]

Cosmic Spider: Amazing Tarantula Nebula Photos

NASA, ESA, E. Sabbi (STScI)

This new Hubble image shows a cosmic creepy-crawly known as the Tarantula Nebula in infrared light. This region is full of star clusters, glowing gas, and thick dark dust. Image released Jan. 9, 2014. [See More Photos Here]

Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF); NASA Hubble; NASA Chandra

The 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) began Sunday (Jan. 5) and runs through Thursday (Jan. 9). [See images released during the conference.]

3D-Printed Hubble Telescope Photos Help Blind Touch the Universe (Video)

NASA, ESA, and M. Estacion (STScI)

Astronomers with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore are 3D printing images produced by the Hubble Space Telescope into textured pictures for people who aren't able to see the cosmic wonders or want to learn about the celestial sights through touch. [See the Video Here]

Mock Mars Mission Photos: Life on a Simulated Red Planet

Elizabeth Howell

See photos from a mock Mars mission in the Utah desert as seen by Crew 133 at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville. [See More Photos Here]

Mars Rover Curiosity Spotted from Space (Photos)

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

A new photo by a sharp-eyed NASA Mars orbiter shows the space agency's Curiosity rover trundling across the Red Planet, on its way to the base of a huge and mysterious mountain. [Read the Full Story]

Launch Photos: Orbital Sciences' 1st Cygnus Cargo Mission Blasts Off

NASA/Bill Ingalls

Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket rises into the Virginia sky on Jan. 9, 2014, carrying the company's robotic Cygnus cargo vessel on its first contracted supply run to the International Space Station for NASA. [See More Photos Here]

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Space.com Staff
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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.