The 'face' on Mars, a popular landform in Cydonia Region on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Here's a picture you probably won't see in the tabloid racks while waiting in line at the grocery store. This is the famous "Face on Mars," and is the closest image ever of the this landform, taken by the best Mars camera ever, HiRISE on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. And it certainly looks like …. the top of mesa, which is exactly what it is. This feature in the Cydonia region of Mars is most likely a lava dome that has created an isolated mesa or butte-like structure, i.e., a hill. Compare this image to the original image from the Viking orbiter from 1976 image, below, which created such a furor, including a whole new culture of conspiracy theories, books, late-night radio talk show discussion and even a full-length feature film. Alas, its just a hill.

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Klingon vanity license plate, via Charven.com

Since "Star Trek: The Experience" is no longer open, here's the next best thing. A company is getting ready to provide self-guided tours of the Jenolan Caves west of Sydney, Australia, and one of the languages soon available for the tours is Klingon. Yes, it is a fictional, completely fabricated Star Trek language, but I'm guessing there will be some takers on this. Why Klingon?
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It’s time once again for another Where In The Universe Challenge. This image was sent in by UT reader Brian Hinson. Name where in the Universe this image was taken and give yourself extra points if you can name exactly what it is. Post your guesses in the comments section, and check back on later at this same post to find the answer. To make this challenge fun for everyone, please don’t include links or extensive explanations with your answer. Good luck!

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I missed posting the latest "This Week in Space" with Miles O'Brien, but it is a special edition that takes a look at the 35th anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz project with exclusive interviews, and more. There's also a look at Virgin Galactic's latest test flight and a look at the latest of what's going in Congress with NASA's budget.

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The Carina Nebula around the Wolf–Rayet star WR 22. Credit: ESO

Massive stars live fast and die young. But they are also beautiful. This amazingly spectacular new image from ESO shows the brilliant and unusual star Wolf-Rayet 22 nestled within billowing, colorful folds of the Carina Nebula. WR 22 is one of many exceptionally hot and brilliant stars contained by the beautiful Carina Nebula (also known as NGC 3372), a huge region of star formation in the southern Milky Way. The image was captured by ESO’s Wide Field Imager at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.
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Post tags: Carina nebula, eta Carinae, Wolf-Rayet Stars, WR 22

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