Best Space Photos of the Week – August 22, 2015

Enormous Red Sprites Seen From Space

NASA

In TWO stunning orbital photos, a thunderstorm over Mexico generated two huge, red sprites reaching into space. [Read the full story.]

Curiosity Rover Snaps Awesome Selfies on Mars During Mountain Trek

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA's Curiosity rover captured a glorious selfie on Mars this month, shortly before resuming its trek up a huge Red Planet mountain. [Read the full story.]

European Rocket Launches 2 Communications Satellites Into Orbit

Arianespace

A European rocket launched into space from a South American spaceport Thursday (Aug. 20) on a mission to deliver two new communications satellites into orbit for a pair of telecommunications giants. [Read the full story.]

Viking Aurora: Northern Lights Wow Photographer in Newfoundland

Adam Woodworth | Adam Woodworth Photography

This stunning image of an aurora was taken was taken in Norstead, a Viking village replica. The Norstead Viking Village in L'anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland is the only confirmed Viking site in North America. Astrophotographer Adam Woodworth took the image on June 22 while visiting the area. [Read the full story.]

Japan Launches Vital Supplies (and Mice) Toward International Space Station

NASA TV via JAXA

A Japanese H-2B rocket launched the HTV-5 cargo ship to the International Space Station to deliver 6 tons of new equipment and supplies. [Read the full story.]

'The Martian' Lands at NASA's Mars Mission Control (Photos)

NASA/Bill Ingalls

The people behind the upcoming film “The Martian,” including star Matt Damon, visited NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tuesday (Aug. 18) to talk about the movie and real-life Red Planet exploration. [Read the full story.]

Breathtaking Purple and Green Auroras Leave Photographer Awestruck

Jason Matias | www.JasonMatias.com

A wild horse statue stands on a field as a glowing purple aurora lights up this stunning skywatching image. The image was taken by Jason Matias at the Wild Horses Monument on the Columbia River Gorge in Washington. [Read the full story.]

It's Full of Stars! Brilliant Cluster Captured in New Images, Video

European Southern Observatory

A middle-aged clutch of stars shines in many colors in a new view of deep space by a telescope in Chile. The stars in the image are from an open star cluster called IC 4651, which lies in the Milky Way about 3,000 light-years from Earth. Astronomers used the La Silla Observatory in Chile, part of the European Southern Observatory, to capture the sparkly view. [Read the full story.]

Smoke from Wildfires in California, Washington Seen from Space (Photos)

NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team, Jeff Schmaltz. Text: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Rob Gutro

A NASA satellite spotted smoke created by over 100 wildfires in the American west. [Read the full story.]

Tianjin Explosions Seen from Space (Photo)

Joshua Stevens/NASA

NASA satellite photos show smoke over the Bohai Sea, near the site of the recent chemical warehouse explosion in Tianjin, China. [Read the full story.]

'Star Wars' Lands Coming to Disneyland, Disney World

Disney/LucasFilm

"Star Wars"-themed lands will be added to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts — located in Anaheim, California and Orlando, Florida, respectively — Walt Disney Company representatives announced at the D23 EXPO 2015 over the weekend. [Read the full story.]

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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.