The following new images taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft are now available:

• Flying by Dione (Released 12 July 2010)
  Wispy terrain stretches across the trailing hemisphere of Saturn's moon Dione on the right of this Cassini image taken during the spacecraft's flyby on April 7, 2010.
• Prometheus Amid Rings (Released 13 July 2010)
  Saturn's small, potato-shaped moon Prometheus orbits between the main rings and the thin F ring in this Cassini view.
• Melanthius on Tethys (Released 14 July 2010)
  Cassini looks toward an area between the trailing hemisphere and anti-Saturn side of Tethys and spies the large crater Melanthius near the moon's south pole.
• Quarter Saturn (Released 15 July 2010)
  Roughly a quarter of majestic Saturn is illuminated in this view captured while Cassini was orbiting near the planet's equatorial plane.
• Study in Contrasts (Released 16 July 2010)
  Crisp details on Dione contrast with the haziness of Titan in this Cassini image of a pair of Saturn's moons.

The following new images taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are now available:

• Utopia Planitia (Released 12 July 2010)
  This VIS image of Utopia Planitia is covered with the tracks of dust devils.
• Dunes (Released 13 July 2010)
  The dunes in this VIS image are located in an unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria.
• Juventae Chasma (Released 14 July 2010)
  Layering is visible in these deposits on the floor of Juventae Chasma.
• Ganges Chasma (Released 15 July 2010)
  This VIS image shows part of the floor of Ganges Chasma.
• Daedalia Planum (Released 16 July 2010)
  This VIS image of Daedalia Planum shows various lava flows from Arsia Mons.

On Earth, lake levels rise and fall with the seasons and with longer-term climate changes, as precipitation, evaporation, and runoff add and remove liquid.

Now, for the first time, scientists have found compelling evidence for similar lake-level changes on Saturn's largest moon, Titan -- the only other place in the solar system seen to have a hydrological cycle with standing liquid on the surface.

The following new captioned images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• Future Mars Landing Site in Antoniadi Crater
  Candidate landing site in Antoniadi Crater for future Mars missions.
• White Rock Landform in Pollack Crater
  This image shows a portion of a relatively bright landform named "White Rock" on the floor of Pollack crater in the Sinus Sabaeus region of Mars.
• Meanders in Nanedi Valles
  This observation shows a portion of Nanedi Valles, an equatorial Martian valley network.
• Dissected Mantled Terrain
  A northern mid-latitude scene consisting of craters, intercrater plains, and mantled material is visible in this HiRISE image.
• Glacier-Like Flow on Arsia Mons Flank
  This observation shows glacier-like flow in a depression in the flanks of Arsia Mons.
• Interior Layered Deposits in Juventae Chasma
  This observation shows a portion of interior layered deposits (ILD) in Juventae Chasma.

Astronomers caught their first glimpse of a dusty disk closely encircling a massive baby star, providing direct evidence that massive stars form in the same way as their smaller counterparts.

The discovery was made thanks to a combination of data from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

A blast of the brightest X-rays ever detected from beyond our Milky Way galaxy's neighborhood temporarily blinded the X-ray eye on NASA's Swift space observatory earlier this summer, astronomers now report.

The X-rays traveled through space for 5-billion years before slamming into and overwhelming Swift's X-ray Telescope on 21 June. The blindingly bright blast came from a gamma-ray burst, a violent eruption of energy from the explosion of a massive star morphing into a new black hole.

The wheels that will touch down on Mars in 2012 are several rotations closer to spinning on the rocky trails of Mars.

A video clip shows engineers in the JPL clean room where the rover is being assembled as they put all six wheels into motion for the first time.

A colourful star-forming region is featured in this stunning new Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 2467. Looking like a roiling cauldron of some exotic cosmic brew, huge clouds of gas and dust are sprinkled with bright blue hot young stars.

Strangely shaped dust clouds, resembling spilled liquids, are silhouetted against a colourful background of glowing gas in this newly released Hubble image. The star-forming region NGC 2467 is a vast cloud of gas -- mostly hydrogen -- that serves as an incubator for new stars. Some of these youthful stars have emerged from the dense clouds where they were born and now shine brightly, hot and blue in this picture, but many others remain hidden.

This image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) takes in several interesting objects in the constellation Cassiopeia, none of which are easily seen in visible light.

NASA's Juno spacecraft will be forging ahead into a treacherous environment at Jupiter with more radiation than any other place NASA has ever sent a spacecraft, except the sun.

In a specially filtered cleanroom in Denver, where Juno is being assembled, engineers recently added a unique protective shield around its sensitive electronics.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that we have confirmed the successful acceleration of the Small Solar Power Sail Demonstrator "IKAROS" by photon in the course of determining its precise orbit after its sail deployment.

The IKAROS was launched by JAXA on May 21, 2010 and has been under operation since then.

This Hubble Space Telescope picture captures a brief but beautiful phase late in the life of a star.

The curious cloud around this bright star is called IRAS 19475+3119. It lies in the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan) about 15 000 light-years from Earth in the plane of our Milky Way galaxy.

Asteroid Lutetia has been revealed as a battered world of many craters. ESA's Rosetta mission has returned the first close-up images of the asteroid showing it is most probably a primitive survivor from the violent birth of the Solar System.

The flyby has been a spectacular success with Rosetta performing faultlessly. Closest approach took place yesterday at 16:10 UTC, at a distance of 3162 km.

The following featured images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) are now available:

• Linné Crater (Released 6 July 2010)
  Linné crater (2.2 km diameter) is a beautifully preserved young mare crater.
• Apollo 16, Footsteps Under High Sun (Released 8 July 2010)
  High-sun image of the Apollo 16 landing site showing the lunar module descent stage, various pieces of equipment, and disturbed lunar soil which marks where John Young and Charles Duke traversed in the spring of 1972.

Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) Image of the Week:

• Jackson Crater (Released 9 July 2010)
  Bright rays streak for hundreds of kilometers across the lunar surface, originating from a large impact crater in the far side's northern hemisphere.

The following new images taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on the Cassini spacecraft are now available:

• Staring Into Space (Released 5 July 2010)
  Herschel Crater features prominently on the moon Mimas in this Cassini spacecraft image, which gives the impression of an eye staring out into space.
• Epimetheus Before Janus (Released 6 July 2010)
  Saturn's moon Epimetheus moves in front of the larger moon Janus as seen by the Cassini spacecraft.
• A Look at Belet (Released 7 July 2010)
  The Cassini spacecraft looks toward Saturn's largest moon and maps the dark Belet region on Titan.
• Sizeable Swirls (Released 8 July 2010)
  Huge clouds swirl through the southern latitudes of Saturn where the rings cast dramatic shadows.
• Differently Aged Terrain (Released 9 July 2010)
  The Cassini spacecraft examines old and new terrain on Saturn's fascinating Enceladus, a moon where jets of water ice particles and vapor spew from the south pole.