July 23 (release date): NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captured this image of galaxy, NGC-1097, located 50 million light-years from Earth, showing is is spiral-shaped like our own Milky Way, with long, spindly arms of stars. The "eye" at the center of the galaxy is a monstrous black hole surrounded by a ring of stars.The blue dot between the arms to the left is a companion galaxy.
NASA-AP
July 22: Astronaut and mission specialist Dave Wolf gets ready to participate in Endeavour's third space walk.
NASA-AP
June 24: Spain's Andrea Fuentes and Gemma Mengual perform to win the silver medal of the duet free event in synchronized swimming at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Rome.
Mark J. Terrill-AP
July 24 (release date): Amphorae from a Roman shipwreck lie on the seabed near the island of Ventotene, Italy, in this photo made June 19, 2009. A team of archaeologists using sonar discovered a "graveyard" of five pristine ancient Roman shipwrecks off the island. The trading vessels, dating from the first century BC to the fifth century AD, lie more than 300 feet underwater and are among the deepest wrecks discovered in the Mediterranean in recent years.
Timmy Gambin / Aurora Trust-REUTERS
July 23: A children holds hailstones the size of chicken eggs in Les Esserts, Switzerland.
Fabrice Coffrini-AFP/Getty Images
July 23: Water pools on the 16th green and fairway as heavy rain suspended first round play at the Canadian Open golf tournament in Oakville, Ontario.
Mike Cassese-Reuters
July 23: Seattle Mariners center fielder Ryan Langerhans dives to make a catch on a hit by Detroit Tigers Magglio Ordonez for the final out of the game in Detroit.
Rebecca Cook-Reuters
July 24: A stuntman performs prior to the start of the 19th stage of the Tour de France in Bourgoin-Jallieu, France.
Christophe Ena-AP
July 23: Astana rider Lance Armstrong of the U.S. answers questions from the media as he goes to the anti-doping medical testing facility after the 18th stage of the 96th Tour de France in Annecy, France.
Eric Gaillard-Reuters
July 24: A model rides Yamaha Motor's new motor-assisted bicycle in Tokyo. Riding the vogue in eco-conscious products, companies ranging from battery to tire to motorcycle makers in Japan are looking to cultivate a market that beats even hybrid cars in green credentials: electric bicycles.
Toru Hanai-Reuters
July 23: A farmer transports sacks of freshly harvested rice on a donkey cart in Kirinyaga, Kenya. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says food security prospects across the country for the coming months are dismal.
Noor Khamis-Reuters
July 23: Air National Guard Lt. Col. Chris Hardgrave talks with 10-year old Kayla Kiley about the fuel tank of the F-16 during "Pilot for a Day " at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
The Pilot for a Day program focuses on children who have serious or chronic conditions that have robbed them of some of the joy of their childhood.
Mark Gail-The Washington Post
July 23: Inmates are escorted by policemen after their recapture in Tijuana, Mexico. Seventeen teenagers, many accused of working as hitmen for drug gangs, escaped from a juvenile detention center near the U.S. border on Thursday after digging through an outer wall, police said.
Jorge Duenes-Reuters
July 23: A man identified as Daniel Van Pelt, a New Jersey Assemblyman, tries to shield his face as he exits federal court after being one of the more than 40 people arrested in a federal investigation of public corruption and international money laundering in Newark, N.J.
Chip East-Reuters
July 23: Peter Cammarano, center, the mayor of Hoboken, is escorted from federal court in Newark, N.J. The mayors of Hoboken, Ridgefield and Secaucus, as well as five rabbis, were among 44 people charged by federal agents with public corruption and money laundering.
Craig Ruttle-Bloomberg News
July 23: FBI agents lead arrested suspects from their headquarters as part of a corruption investigation in Newark, N.J. The mayors of three New Jersey cities, two state legislators and several rabbis were among more than 40 people arrested in a sweeping corruption investigation that began as a probe into an international money laundering ring that trafficked in goods as diverse as human organs and fake designer handbags.
Louis Lanzano-AP
July 23: Pennsylvania residents Robert Sheaffer, Dennis Baylor and Gene Stilp (l-r) display vacuums at the State Capitol in Harrisburg to protest Senior U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter's sentencing of Vincent Fumo, perhaps the most powerful Pa. lawmaker in a generation, to a term well below the guideline range for corruption.
Carolyn Kaster-AP
July 23: A police officer wears a mask at a police station in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. National Police officers in Honduras began a strike to demand higher wages.
Rodrigo Abd-AP
July 23: Supporters of Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya participate in a road block protest in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya was headed toward Honduras to prepare a risky return, an attempt to reverse an ouster that is testing the vitality of democracy in Latin America.
Rodrigo Abd-AP
July 23: Police officers carry the coffin containing the body of fellow officer Jimmy Tellez in Bogota. Tellez, who was part of a caravan commemorating the route traveled by Simon Bolivar's troops almost 200 years ago, was killed Wednesday in a bomb attack in northern Colombia.
William Fernando Martinez-AP
July 23: A model wears headgear designed by Abhi and Rahul at Fashion Week in Bangalore, India.
Aijaz Rahi-AP
July 23: Visitors wear masks at the 40th annual Comic Con Convention in San Diego, Calif.
Mario Anzuoni-Reuters
July 24: Prince William walks with homeless youth on a fell walk in Cumbria, U.K.
Wpa Pool-Getty Images
July 23: Madonna performs during her Sticky and Sweet tour in Madrid.
Susana Vera-Reuters
July 23: U.S. clown Banjo from Caring Clowns International performs for children during a visit by the group to a shantytown in Lima , Peru.
Pilar Olivares-Reuters
July 23: A man bathes a cow ahead of a livestock and agriculture exhibition in Buenos Aires.
Enrique Marcarian-Reuters
July 23: A metal worker hits the doors of the UOM metal union offices during a protest for wage hikes in Cordoba, Argentina.
Federico Pandolfi -Reuters
July 23: A helicopter drops water on a wildfire near Aliaga, Teruel, Spain. Temperatures were forecast to reach 105-degrees in many parts of Spain, raising the risk that more wildfires might break out.
Pedro Armestre-AFP/Getty Images
July 24: Tear gas canisters fired by Israeli soldiers land near journalists and protesters during a protest against the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin.
Fadi Arouri-Reuters
July 23: A medical worker weighs herbs at a traditional Chinese hospital in Beijing. According to the World Bank, China's $124 billion overhaul of its ailing health care system needs to address the prescription of unnecessary drugs and treatments used to finance the medical sector.
Andy Wong-AP
July 24 (release date): Tiny, a mouse created from stem cells made from mouse skin, looks around on a sofa in this Jan., 2009 photo. Chinese researchers say they have created stem cells from mouse skin and then used the cells to generate fertile live mouse pups.
Qi Zhou / Chinese Academy of Sciences-Reuters
July 23: A rescue worker searches for victims in the mud at a landslide site in Kangding, China. Four people were killed and 53 remained missing after heavy rains triggered the landslide in the remote and mountainous area of Sichuan province.
AFP-AFP/Getty Images
July 23: Residents protest shoddy public services in Balfour, South Africa.
Paballo Thekiso-AFP/Getty Images
July 24: Pirates captured in the Gulf of Aden hold their hands on their heads after being detained by the Turkish military off the coast of Somalia.
Turkish Military Handout photo-AP
July 23: A Marabou stork eats a fish at Troja Zoo in Prague.
Michal Cizek-AFP/Getty Images
July 23: A long-eared owl opens its beak during opening day of the International Falconry fair in Guillena, Spain.
Marcelo Del Pozo-Reuters
Gallery Credits:
Producer, Photo Editor Dan Murano
Text Editor Dan Murano