NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S SPACE PICTURES THIS WEEK LXXXIII

Best New Space Pictures: Milky Way Blaze, Saturn Gaze, and Aurora Haze
By Dan Vergano, National Geographic News, 15 November 2013.

A Milky Way medley, the hills of Mars, and a view of the solar system from Saturn round out the week's best space pictures.

1. Ancient Stars at Milky Way's Centre

A cavalcade of ancient stars circling the centre of the Milky Way, the globular cluster Messier 15 was captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in a picture released November 14. (See also "Star Clusters.")

More than 100,000 stars gather in the cluster, which lies some 35,000 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. Astronomers suspect a large black hole hides at the centre of the star cluster.

2. Saturn Sees Earth, Mars, and Venus

Sliding into Saturn's shadow, the international Cassini satellite looked back on Earth, Venus, and Mars from the vantage of the ringed planet on July 19, 2013. (See "NASA Reveals Saturn's View of Earth.")

Shown in natural-light colours, this long look back at the inner solar system, released this week, is a mosaic of 141 pictures.

Mission scientists adjusted the view to show what a human explorer's eye would see from the far side of Saturn, displaying the planet's rings and seven of its moons.

3. Martian Cliffs

Winds have carved channels in the fragile sandstone lining parts of the Valles Marineris region of Mars.

Seen from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the view - released November 13 - reveals iron-rich sandstones. They are thought to have formed in more water-rich times on the red planet, billions of years ago.

4. Northern Lights Beach Party

A night-time stroll on the beach finds the perfect accompaniment in the northern lights, seen above Bleik, Norway, in this lovely photo submitted to National Geographic's Your Shot on November 11.

Auroras result when solar outbursts collide with Earth's magnetic field and upper atmosphere. They blossom more often now, with the sun at the height of its 11-year (or so) solar cycle. (See more pictures of the northern lights.)

5. Young Stars Dance Among Dust

Young stars whirl about one another in an astronomical reel, as seen in this picture of star cluster NGC 3572, released November 13.

Seen from the La Silla Observatory in Chile, the image shows the stellar winds of young stars twisting and turning clouds of dust and gas.

The cluster's brightest stars are also the heaviest and will soon explode, leaving behind wispy supernova remnants to mark their demise.

[Source: National Geographic News. Edited.]