Best Space Pictures of the Week - Oct. 20, 2012

Keck Observatory: Cosmic Photos from Hawaii's Mauna Kea

W. M. Keck Observatory

Photo of the Keck I and II domes at sunset, used as cover art for the award-winning DVD "The Kecks of Mauna Kea." [Full Photo Gallery]

Satellite Sees Hurricane Merge With Cold Front

NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team

Hurricane Rafael ended its run as a tropical cyclone yesterday (Oct. 18), when it merged with a cold front off the coast of Nova Scotia, an event caught by NASA's Terra satellite. [Full Story]

Shuttle Endeavour's L.A. Journey Stars in Stunning Time-Lapse Movie

Matthew Givot

Space shuttle Endeavour, you're a star. A captivating new time-lapse movie has condensed Endeavour's recent three-day road trip to a Los Angeles museum into mere minutes, offering a spectacular tribute to the spaceship and the City of Angels. [Full Story]

Space Station Crew Gives Spacesuits a Piggyback Ride (Photo)

NASA/Victor Zelentsov

A giant wave of super-hot solar plasma larger than the Earth erupted from the sun on Friday (Oct. 19) in a spectacular display captured by a NASA spacecraft. [Full Story]

Spiral Galaxy Shakes Off Cosmic Dust in Photo

Bill Snyder Astrophotography

Surrounded by dust from the Integrated Flux Nebula, Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6952 shines brightly in this stunning night sky photo. [Full Story]

Spectacular Meteor Sparks Fireball Over California

Rachel Fritz & Rick Nolthenius/Cabrillo College

A spectacular meteor lit up the sky over California Wednesday night (Oct. 17) just days before a highly anticipated meteor shower hits its peak this weekend. [Full Story]

Window to the Stars: Canyon and Cosmos Dazzle in Photo

Tunc Tezel / The World At Night

The elusive False Kiva in Utah's Canyonlands National Park offered a perfect vantage point for one night sky photographer to capture the stars. [Full Story]

Jump They Say

Red Bull Stratos/Red Bull Content Pool

After flying to an altitude of 128,100 feet (39,045 meters) in a helium-filled balloon over Roswell, New Mexico, Felix Baumgartner begins his record-breaking jump from the edge of space, Oct. 14, 2012. [Full Photo Gallery]

Living Out in L.A., Such a Beautiful Day

California Science Center (via Twitter as @casciencecenter)

The California Science Center tweeted this picture of retired shuttle Endeavour rolling east through the streets of Los Angeles early on the morning of October 14, 2012. They wrote: “Thru Arlington, into the sunrise http://ow.ly/i/11pGt“. [Full Photo Gallery]

Brother, Can You Spare a Planetary Nebula?

ESO

Planetary nebula IC 5148 lies about 3000 light-years away in the constellation of Grus (The Crane). The nebula, with a diameter of a couple of light-years, expands at over TK miles (50 kilometers) per second, making it one of the fastest expanding planetary nebulas. (The term “planetary nebula” is a misnomer created by early astronomers’ mistaking the objects for giant planets.) The ring-like appearance of IC 5148 led astronomers to nickname it the Spare Tyre Nebula. [See More Images]

Epic Supersonic 'Space Jump' Recreated with LEGO Man

Stratos Jump/Model Maker Faire

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner amazed the world when he went supersonic during a record-smashing 24-mile skydive on Sunday (Oct. 14). If it left you wanting more, have no fear: You can see it again in … LEGO form. [Full Story]

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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.