Best Space Photos of the Week - Nov. 2, 2013

Spectacular 3D Mars Video Brings Red Planet to Life

DLR

A newly released video, created from images taken by the Mars Express spacecraft, provides a richly detailed, three-dimensional view of the Martian terrain. [Read the Full Story]

Space Station Astronaut Celebrates Halloween With Special Costume

David Saint-Jacques (@Astro_DavidS)

It's Halloween on Earth, but astronaut Luca Parmitano isn't letting his spot on the International Space Station stop him from celebrating. [Read the Full Story]

'Screaming' Witch Head Nebula Brews Up Baby Stars (Photo)

NASA/JPL-Caltech

It may look wicked but a stunning, if not scary, new view of the Witch Nebula unveiled by NASA for Halloween is actually the home for baby stars. [Read the Full Story]

Happy Halloween! Witch's Broom and Wizard Nebula Shine in Dazzling Cosmic Photos

Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

A pair of spooky and spectacular celestial sights are showcased in two new photos, just in time for Halloween. [Read the Full Story]

Photos: 'Ender's Game' Film Brings Sci-Fi Classic to Life

Summit Entertainment

"Ender's Game" movie starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Asa Butterfield, and Abigail Breslin is due in theaters November 2013. [See More Images]

Active Sun Fires Off 3rd Huge Solar Flare in 3 Days (Video)

NASA/SDO

The sun has just unleashed another major solar flare, the third of its kind in three days, scientists say. The huge solar storm occurred late Sunday at 10:03 p.m. EDT (0203 Oct. 28 GMT). It registered as an X-class solar flare — the most powerful type of flare the sun has — and followed two back-to-back X-flares that erupted from the sun on Friday (Oct. 25). [Read the Full Story]

Comet ISON Photo Contest for Amateur Astronomers Launched by National Science Foundation

Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

The much-anticipated Comet ISON is now within sight of amateur astronomers as it plunges toward the sun. And the National Science Foundation (NSF) is appealing to the public for pictures of the icy wander, which could put on one of the brightest comet shows in years. [Read the Full Story]

Tonight When I Chase the Dragon

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/Coelum

The Black Dragon Nebula (IC 4678) occupies space between us and a dense spiral arm of our galaxy. The nebula, a huge complex of gas and dust, creates a distinct silhoutte as dust in the foreground blots out light from background stars. IC 4678 lies about 5,000 light years from Earth in the constellation of Sagittarius, near the well-known Trifid and Lagoon Nebulas. [See More Images]

Red Sky at Night

ESO/Y. Beletsky

An eerie red glow hangs in the night sky over Chile’s Atacama Desert. In the foreground stand three of the four VLT Auxiliary Telescopes of the Paranal Observatory. The four 1.8-meter telescopes work together in concert to form a single giant interferometer, the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer, allowing astronomers to see details up to 25 times more finely than with the individual telescopes. The red light in the sky is known as airglow, caused by light-emitting chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Airglow occurs constantly, but usually remains very faint. On the night this photo was taken, airglow emissions radiated especially brightly. [See More Images]

Standing in the Shadows

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft obtained this image of planet Mercury’s horizon, while looking out from the shadows toward the sunlit side of the planet on Oct. 2, 2013. A 75-mi. (120-km) impact crater stands out near the center. Chains of secondary craters gouge linear tracks radially away from the unnamed crater. This crater does not seem particularly fresh (its rays have faded), it does appear to possess more prominent secondary crater chains than many other nearby. [See More Images]

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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.