9 Of The Most Breathtaking Science Photos From This Week

This is a species of nautilus called Allonautilus scrobiculatus that hasn't been spotted by scientists for 30 years. It was found by University of Washington biologist Peter Ward in the South Pacific in July this year, and can be distinguished from other nautilus species by its slimy coat.

Brazil has built a skyscraper of sorts deep in the Amazon jungle. The 325-metre-high tower, called the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), will be used to monitor climate change and its impact on the region's ecosystem.

This is a 4 mile (6km) tall mountain on dwarf planet Ceres. The photo was taken on August 19 and released this week by NASA, who dubbed it "The Lonely Mountain".

The stars in the Twin Jet Nebula might be far, far away, but they're not alone. It's a bipolar planetary nebulae centered around two stars. The "wings" of the nebula are still growing, and astronomers think the structure is only 1200 years old.

Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador had been dormant for 70 years before it started erupting earlier this month. On August 22 this thermal infrared image was captured by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft, showing ash from the volcano being dispersed.

Ten years later the effects of Hurricane Katrina can still be seen in the wetlands surrounding Delacroix, a fishing town to the southeast of New Orleans. This picture, taken in early August, shows enlarged lakes and new channels that were forged by the huge surge in water in the area.

Meet Nandita, an Asian elephant calf born at Chester Zoo last Friday.

Seriously, just look at that face.

In the depths of winter, remote Norwegian archipelago Svalbard is all ice and snow. But as you can see in the above image taken earlier this month, the summer months see moss, grass and even flowers spring up.