Best Space Photos of the Week - June 7, 2013

By Space.com Staff
published

Never-Before-Seen Alien Planet Imaged Directly in New Photo

ESO/J. Rameau

ESO’s Very Large Telescope discovered a new planet circling a distant star. [Full Story]

Russian Rocket Launches New Communications Satellite

Roscosmos

A Russian Proton rocket blasted off June 3 from Kazakhstan carrying the new SES 6 communications satellite. [Full Story]

Hubble Telescope Spies Huge Explosion on Faraway Star

NASA, ESA, A. Crotts, J. Sokoloski, and H. Uthas (Columbia University), and S. Lawrence (Hofstra University)

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has provided a rare look at the structure of an exploding star. [Full Story]

'Cat's Paw Nebula' Bursting with New Star Growth

S. Willis (CfA+ISU); ESA/Herschel; NASA/JPL-Caltech/ Spitzer; CTIO/NOAO/AURA/NSF.

A region of the Milky Way might deserve the title "starburst" thanks to new research investigating the Cat's Paw Nebula. [Full Story]

New Satellite Image Shows Moore Tornado Scar

NASA Earth Observatory image created by Robert Simmon, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and the U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

A new satellite image shows the full scale destruction of the Moore, Okla. tornado, with the trail of damage the tornado left visible as a scar across the landscape. [Full Story]

'Albert Einstein' in Space: Europe Launches Cargo Spacecraft Named for Scientist

NASA TV

The European Space Agency launched the “Albert Einstein” Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 Cargo Ship to the International we Space Station today at 5:52 p.m. EDT). [Full Story]

Curiosity Rover Leaving 'Mars Rat' Behind

NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity will apparently perform no follow-up studies of a Red Planet rock that resembles a rodent, dealing a blow to the nascent field of Martian mammalogy. [Full Story]

Milky Way's 'Flyover Country' Mapped

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Wisconsin

By pointing a powerful NASA space telescope away from our galaxy's star-studded core, astronomers are mapping the Milky Way's more sparsely populated outer fringes. [Full Story]

Amazing Night Sky Photos by Stargazers (June 2013)

Jason Brownlee

See eye-popping photos of the night sky by submitted by SPACE.com readers in June 2013. [See more photos]

Ouch! Galaxy Cuts Like a Knife in Stunning Image

Terry Hancock

The Knife Edge Galaxy slices through deep space in this spectacular night sky photo. [Full Story]

Orion Shines Over Green Mustard Fields in India

Ajay Talwar / The World at Night

The stars of Orion dazzle over green mustard fields in India in this beautiful night sky photo. [Full Story]

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

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.