Best Space Photos of the Week Dec. 3, 2011

A Mission to Mars, Tour of the Spaceport and the Birth of a Solar System

Rolf Olsen

From the photo of the birth of a solar system to the Curiosity mission launch, there were some stunning views from space this week.

Don't miss these stunning photos and images from the last week in space.

Skywatcher Captures Heavenly View From Paradise

Tunc Tezel

An astrophotographer took this picture of the Milky Way galaxy from the island paradise of Mangaia in the South Pacific. [Read More]

Photos: Watching the Mars Rover Curiosity Blast Off

collectSPACE/Robert Z. Pearlman

An up-close look at the launch of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, and the events leading up to it. [View More Stunning Photos]

Solar Eclipse Wows Lucky Skywatchers in New Zealand

James Tse

A solar eclipse on Nov. 25 was not visible to most of the world, but a few lucky skywatchers in the southern hemisphere caught the stunning show.[View More Stunning Photos]

Skywatcher Captures Dazzling Green Flash Over Setting Sun

Amir H. Abolfath, The World At Night (TWAN)

Atop a frigid mountain peak in Iran, skywatcher Amir Hossein Abolfath captured a phenomenal sun setting with a brilliant flash of green. [Read More]

Stunning Photo of New Solar System Captured by Amateur Astronomer

Rolf Olsen

A New Zealand man has become the first amateur astronomer to take a direct photograph of a solar system in the first stages of development. [Read More]

Photos: Atop NASA's Huge Mobile Launch Tower

Mike Wall/SPACE.com

A look at NASA's 355-foot-tall, $500 million mobile launch tower--and the view from its top. [View More Stunning Photos]

Gamma Rays Fill Cosmic Bubbles in New NASA Photo

NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration/I. A. Grenier and L. Tibaldo

A star-forming region in the constellation Cygnus is corraling fast-moving cosmic rays, new research suggests. [Read More]

Skywatcher Snaps Photos of Stranded Russian Mars Probe

Ralf Vandebergh

A skywatcher in the Netherlands has snapped a photo of the stranded Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt. [Read More]

Competing Explanations Proposed for Strange Christmas Space Explosion

Aurore Simonnet, NASA E/PO, Sonoma State University

Scientists are offering two very different explanations for an unusual burst of gamma-rays seen on Christmas Day 2010. [Read More]

Smoky Sun: Skywatcher Captures Partial Solar Eclipse Through Chimney Smoke

Aleksandr Yuferev

This photo of a solar eclipse looks all the more magical when seen through chimney smoke from a home in a Siberian village near Novosibirsk, Russia. [Read More]

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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.