Picture Space

A polar vortex in 3-D at Venus' south pole, as seen by the VIRTIS instrument on board ESA's Venus Express. Credit: ESA / VIRTIS-VenusX / INAF-IASF /Obs. de Paris-LESIA (G. Piccioni, IASF-INAF)

A view of the Puppis A supernova remnant with a close-up image of the fast-moving neutron star RX J0822-4300. X-ray data (pink) and optical data (purple) highlights oxygen emission. Credit: Chandra: NASA/CXC/Middlebury College/F.Winkler et al.; ROSAT: NASA/GSFC/S.Snowden et al.; Optical: NOAO/CTIO/Middlebury College/F.Winkler et al

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its front hazard-indentification camera to capture this wide-angle view of its robotic arm extended to a rock in a bright-toned layer inside Victoria Crater.

The image was taken during the rover's 1,322nd Martian day, or sol (Oct. 13, 2007).

Victoria Crater has a scalloped shape of alternating alcoves and promontories around the crater's circumference. Opportunity descended into the crater two weeks earlier, within an alcove called "Duck Bay." Counterclockwise around the rim, just to the right of the arm in this image, is a promontory called "Cabo Frio."

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech