These are the best science images of the week

As per usual, a lot happened in science news this week.

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President Obama finally killed the Keystone XL pipeline, and we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the International Space Station.

We also found out what it takes to become an astronaut, and looked at what life is like in the Amazon rainforest — before mankind destroys it entirely.

And many of the stories also had beautiful images to show us the beauty in the science that's happening all around us.

Temple of Quechula, underwater church chiapas mexico
Photographer Jack Nelson and his family visited the Temple of Quechula in Mexico as it emerged from the water for the first time in half a century. Jack Nelson

Here are some of our favorites:

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NASA announced this week that frequent blasts of particles from the sun turned Mars from a warm, breezy world covered in vast oceans into a cold, desert wasteland.

mars solar wind
NASA

And they found that the red planet has auroras, just like Earth >

See the full story here >

As the drought in Mexico caused the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir to drop over 80 feet, a mid-16th century church emerged. The Temple of Quechula has been submerged for nearly 50 years, and will disappear again soon as the waters rise.

Temple of Quechula, underwater church chiapas mexico
acade, stairwell (round tower-like shape), side chapel with dome Jack Nelson

See original photos from in and around the church on Tech Insider here >

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This fallstreak hole formed over eastern Victoria, Australia. Airplanes passing through the cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds freeze the water droplets inside, punching a hole that can look like this.

rare cloud phenomenon over eastern Victoria, Australia.   Imgur
big_mac_heart_attack/reddit/imgur

See the original image here >

Check out this explanation from boingboing >

More on fallstreak holes in Wired >

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Scientists discovered a new raptor species in North Dakota. The 17-foot-long creature is the largest specimen unearthed with feathers on its wings.

raptor kansas
Emily Willoughby

Read more about the raptor on Discover here >

See the full published study here >

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This map shows carbon emissions levels across the US. Red bars show where they come from electricity, green bars show non-electricity sources, and yellow/orange are a mix of the two.

See the full story from Los Alamos National Laboratory here >

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The extremely rare Omura's whale has been recorded on film for the first time by marine biologists off the coast of Madagascar.

Omura whale vid screenshot
New England Aquarium

See the story here >

Watch the full video here > 

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A massive gash across the southern foothills of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains was likely caused by a landslide, geologists concluded.

Wyoming crack 2
SNS Outfitter & Guides

See the full story on the giant crack here >

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A study from NASA concluded that Antarctica has been gaining 82 billion tons of ice per year over the last decade. But these results contradict the overwhelming evidence that the continent has been melting due to climate change, and the results have been mired in controversy.

antarctic peninsula
NASA/Maria-Jose Vinas

See more on the new study here >

Read about the controversy surrounding the findings from The Washington Post > 

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Had the White House approved Keystone XL, 54,000 square miles of pristine Alberta wilderness may have been razed to feed it with oil from tar sands. Instead, President Obama announced today, they've killed the project.

canada oil tar sands alberta reuters RTR46ZSC
Giant dump trucks haul raw oil sands at the Suncor mining operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, September 17, 2014. Todd Korol/Reuters

See more photos of the Alberta tar sands here >  

And find out more about Obama's decision here > 

A giant 'tsunami cloud' swept over Sydney, Australia following heavy rain and strong winds.

shelf cloud sydney harbor
YouTube/RuptlyTV

Watch the cloud in motion here >

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Though they look pretty different, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, kale, and cabbage all come from the wild mustard plant.

These 6 vegetables are all actually the same plant
Skye Gould/Tech Insider

See the full story here >

A Colombian man's tapeworm got cancer, and gave it to him, marking the first time contagious cancer was reported in humans.

tapeworm cancer x ray nejm
NEJM

Read more about the man who got cancer from a parasite >

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Scientists discovered that unusual weather conditions caused by climate change turned a normal bacteria that lives in the stomach of the saiga antelope deadly, killing about half the species this spring.

saiga antelope mother calf 1
Hermann J. Knippertz/Associated Press

Learn more about the endangered antelope, and what's killing it >

The US has the most airplane accidents and fatalities, which is partly because it's the busiest commercial air travel market on the planet. Plane accidents have been decreasing since the 2000s, though.

russia airline airplane crash egypt sinai november 2015 AP_854180756329
Egyptian Military on cars approach a plane's tail at the wreckage of a passenger jet bound for St. Petersburg in Russia that crashed in Hassana, Egypt, on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. Maxim Grigoriev/Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations via AP

See the 25 countries with the most airline accidents and fatalities >

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It turns out that mountain goats aren't even goats — they're in the antelope family. Check out more strange facts about these unique mountain-climbers.

mountain goat
yellowstonenps/Flickr

Learn 16 other fun facts about mountain goats here >

Nearly 20% of the Amazon has been cut down in the last 40 years, which is more than what was lost in the previous four centuries. Explore the Amazon with these incredible photos.

"Postcards from the Amazon"
The Amazon forest burns next to the city of Mandaquiri, during a seasonal drought on November 28, 2009. Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

See what other atrocities mankind is conducting in the "lungs of the planet" >

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American and Russian astronauts have completed over 180 spacewalks in the 15 years that the International Space Station has been in operation. November 2 was the station's official anniversary date.

international space station
NASA

Learn 14 more surprising statistics about the ISS in honor of its 15th anniversary here >

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