To commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA/ESA has released this gorgeous new image of the iconic Horsehead Nebula.

Our sun isn't the only object in the sky that can produce spectacular optical effects. Take this photograph taken by Sebastian Saarloos on a cold, starlit Alaskan night. This is what's called a "moondog" — a rainbow-like ring around the moon that's caused by the reflection of moonlight (which is reflected sunlight)…

Betelgeuse is one of my favorite objects to look at, partly because of its pure red color, and mostly because my imagination fills in the rest. That bright red star — this shoulder of Orion — is a supergiant that's dozens of times more massive than our Sun, and ready to detonate as a supernova any day now (any day…

Check out this horrifying yet strangely compelling futuristic vision put together by artist Miles Johnston. Called "Substitution," it's the portrayal of a man who's brain-jacked himself into a fully immersive virtual reality — one so compelling that he has completely detached himself from the outside world.

We asked, you delivered. Here are your best photos of your awesome audio gear.

Instead of being saddled with eyeballs, robots will be able to see lots more of the electro-magnetic spectrum via their robo-sensors. Chances are, they'll see something like this HDR photograph of Manhattan. [Flickr via Gawker]

An AK-47 crafted out of bacon and genius using a blowtorch: The bacon movement has truly reached its apex. [this is freaking ridiculous via Geekologie]

U.S. Marshals could've been made tolerable if they just tossed Tommy Lee Jones one of these Atomic Disrupter Rayguns. Actually, think of how much better every crappy shoot 'em up movie would be.

What have we here? Why, a fresh shipment of what is, after Pioneer's exit from the TV business, now among the most valuable retail inventory around—the sole remaining Pioneer Kuro plasma TVs.

If you think it's tough to decide on the make and model of your next laptop, imagine the internal debates to come when we can upgrade eyeballs as casually as RAM. [Bogen Freund/Flickr via bbGadgets]

Subway maps make a great framework for organizing things other than subway stations: the unique colored lines, the distinct neighborhoods, the interesting intersections. Design firm Information Architects have just released their latest Web 2.0 map.

Twenty-seven years later, these girls are wearing EL wire and conductive thread in order to bring the spirit of Blade Runner into the 21st century. Or, they were hocking a book. Not sure. [BBGadgets]

A T-600 Terminator poses in this fantastic buddy shot, alongside T4 director McG and Professor/HAL exoskeleton creator Yoshiyuki Sankai. No remains were found. [Impress]

Yep, that's a disguised Vlad Putin in his carefree KGB days, ready to pop the Gipper if necessary with what is surely a camera gun of some kind. [Hot Joints - Thanks, Trina!]

Judging by the smiles all around on both the MV Faina's Ukrainian crew and the pirates themselves, maybe getting your container ship hijacked in the Gulf of Aden isn't so horrible after all!

OK, this one caught me completely by surprise, because when I saw the thumbnail I thought it was an A/C duct. My head spins at the thought of replacing one of these. [Reddit—Thanks Jackie]

Like a Terminator edging toward you with half its face blown off, the Sony A900 dSLR only looks meaner without the candy plastic shell. [CNET photo by Stephen Shankland via Core77]

Deviantart user petercui comes up with this solution to the absolute blankness of the new iPod shuffle: lasering. [DeviantArt]

Who woulda thunk that an apple company might actually use an apple in their logo...especially one that's about a bite away from trademark infringement? [Flickr via TUAW]

Well, I suppose there are worse body parts to graft a USB port onto... [Yanko Design]