Martian "Footprint"Sadly, this isn't the gigantic footprint of a long-lost Martian dinosaur, despite all appearances.

Instead, this overhead view from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals an oblique impact from a meteorite that struck the surface of the red planet while flying on a nearly horizontal path.

Released August 27, the photograph of this crater shows ejecta, or debris, thrown out in two directions (top right) rather than in all directions. (Read about turning Mars into the new Earth in National Geographic magazine.)—Jane J. Lee, Photo Editing by Nicole Werbeck

Photograph by NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Week's Best Space Pictures: A Martian "Footprint," a Fledgling Star, and an Erupting Island

Mars sports a weird crater, a young star gleams in its own reflection, and a new island continues a fiery growth spurt.

Published August 30, 2014