1 of 9
Space ChickenOutfitted in a homemade spacesuit, "Camilla" the rubber chicken rides into the stratosphere on March 3 as part of an experiment to measure solar radiation at point-blank range.Students with Bishop Union High School in California launched the chicken—the mascot of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory—before and during a solar storm. For both flights Camilla wore a pair of radiation badges of the same kind used by medical technicians and nuclear workers to assess dosages.The results will help the students design a future astrobiology project to test whether certain species of microbes can survive the harsh conditions at the edge of space.
Image courtesy Earth to Sky, Bishop, California

Space Pictures This Week: Solar Chicken, Aurora Angel, More

A rubber chicken flies high, a "split" galaxy is unmasked, heavenly lights spread over Sweden, and more in the week's best space pictures.

April 28, 2012