Best Space Photos of the Week - Feb. 4, 2012

 Marbled Earth, Rolling Dunes on Mars and a Nebula With a Mouth
Credit: NASA/NOAAFrom a stunning image of our marbled earth to city lights from space, it's been a remarkable week for space photography.

 City Lights at Night: Astronaut's Amazing View from Space
Credit: NASAA remarkable nighttime panorama taken from the International Space Station captured a dazzling cobweb of city lights as the orbiting complex flew roughly 240 miles (386 kilometers) overhead.

 Winds of Mars Transform Sand Dunes Into Art
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona Mars may be a harsh and dusty world, but the Red Planet also doubles as a vast canvas for artful Martian winds, a newly released NASA photo reveals

 Venus Looks Down: Skywatcher Photo Captures Planet and Earthshine
Credit: P.M. Heden (TWAN)One of the brightest objects in the sky, Venus is visible from Earth because it is close to the orbit of the sun. Due to this proximity, Venus is difficult to see against the backdrop of sunlight.

 Glowing Nebula Looks Like Giant Human Face in New Photo
Credit: ESOA new view of NGC 3324 shows the intense ultraviolet radiation from several of the nursery’s hot young stars causing the gas clouds to glow with rich colors.

 NASA Probe Captures 1st Video of Moon's Far Side
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech A gravity-mapping spacecraft orbiting the moon has beamed home its first video of the lunar far side — a view people on Earth never see.

 Newfound Alien Planet is Best Candidate Yet to Support Life, Scientists Say
Credit: Carnegie Institution for ScienceA potentially habitable alien planet — one that scientists say is the best candidate yet to harbor water, and possibly even life, on its surface — has been found around a nearby star.  

 On the Edge: Skywatchers Snap Photo of Slender 'Little Sombrero' Galaxy
Credit: Bob and Janice Fera The slender beam of light in this photo is the galaxy NGC 7814, which is also known as the "Little Sombrero." This image was taken by astrophotographers Bob and Janice Fera from their observatory in Eagle Ridge, Calif., in October 2011

 Hubble Telescope Spies Milky Way Galaxy's Twin
Credit: NASA & ESAAn uncanny twin of our own Milky Way galaxy takes center stage in a new cosmic portrait by the Hubble Space Telescope unveiled today (Feb. 3).

 Earth From Space: The Secret of NASA's Amazing 'Blue Marble' Photos
Credit: NASA/NOAANASA's newest Earth-watching satellite is beaming back spectacular views of our home planet – huge mosaics of many images stitched together at the highest-resolution yet obtained. But there's a bit of science mojo at work to create the stunning photos.

Vesta and Mercury Are All Right Tonight Vesta and Mercury Are All Right Tonight
Credit: Vesta: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA; Mercury: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of WashingtonTwo images displayed together show the fruits of NASA’s labors. In 2011, MESSENGER spacecraft went into orbit around Mercury (left), and Dawn spacecraft orbited main-belt asteroid Vesta (right), sending back the images seen here. Both spacecraft were the first to orbit their respective subjects. MESSENGER and Dawn are missions in NASA's lowest-cost Discovery program. Vesta has a much more irregular shape than Mercury, as a result of Mercury's far larger gravity, which squeezed the planet into a sphere. Mercury possesses a mass about 1300 times greater than that of Vesta.

SPACE.com Staff
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