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Glare and BlareWith the sun as their backdrop, NASA scientists used special imaging techniques to reveal a T-38C jet’s sonic boom. The splotches on the sun, shown in purple, are sunspots—cooler, more magnetically active patches of its surface.
Photograph by NASA

Week's Best Space Pictures: Star Makes Waves and Apollo Shines

NASA captures a sonic boom with the sun, and a comet gets its close-up.

Published October 9, 2015

Feed your need for heavenly views of the universe. This week, The Martian movie gets a reality check, Pluto’s ghostly atmosphere glows, and unexplained waves ripple from a nearby star.