"The week in pictures" highlights the amazing discoveries and cutting-edge research that resulted in magnificent photos and illustrations in the past week's Astronomy.com News section. Scroll through the photos, comment on your favorites, and click links to learn more about the science behind the pictures. We hope "The week in pictures” will not only highlight all our beautiful universe has to offer but also summarize the important stories of t
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NASA's NuSTAR ships to Vandenberg for March 14 launch
- 27 January 2012
NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission is seen here being lowered into its shipping container at Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia. The spacecraft is headed to Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California where it will be mated to its rocket. It is scheduled to launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands March 14. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Orbital
Photo from NASA Mars Orbiter shows wind's handiwork
- 26 January 2012
Patterns of dune erosion and deposition provide insight into the sedimentary history of the area.
 This enhanced-color image shows sand dunes trapped in an impact crater in Noachis Terra, Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona |
The wild early lives of today's most massive galaxies
- 25 January 2012
Distant star-forming galaxies in the early universe. Credit: ESO
The more closely the
...Elusive matter found to be abundant far above Earth
- 24 January 2012
A rendering of the Cluster satellite, designed to measure electric fields, which Andre and Cully used to detect low-energy ions high above the Earth. Credit: European Space Agency
Dawn spacecraft offers first look at giant asteroid's chemistry
- 24 January 2012
This image shows an area within the Rheasilvia Basin in the south polar area of the giant asteroid Vesta. In this image, a younger, darker blanket of material ejected by an impact is in contact with a brighter, hummocky deposit marked by craters. The brighter material, which appears to be older, also shows crisscrossing, linear features. The image covers an area about 12 miles by 12 miles (20 kilometers by 20 kilometers).
Photo by
The Helix in new colors
- 20 January 2012
The nebula is a complex object composed of dust, ionized material, and molecular gas arrayed in a beautiful and intricate flower-like pattern.
 VISTA’s look at the Helix Nebula Credit: ESO |
The week in pictures: January 14–20, 2012
- 20 January 2012
"The week in pictures" highlights the amazing discoveries and cutting-edge research that resulted in magnificent photos and illustrations in the past week's Astronomy.com News section. Scroll through the photos, comment on your favorites, and click links to learn more about the science behind the pictures. We hope "The week in pictures” will not only highlight all our beautiful universe has to offer but also summarize the important stories of t
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