This image provided by NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows a new sunspot, upper right, which after many weeks of a blank sun with no sunspots and very few sunspots this entire year, emerged Sept. 23, 2008. This new spot has both the magnetic orientation and the high-latitude position of a sunspot belonging to the new solar cycle, Cycle 24.
Monitoring The Market
A worker for Otkritie Financial Corporation, one of the leading investment banks in Russia, is seen during a trading session in Moscow, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. Russian markets rose Wednesday, buoyed by reports that gas giant Gazprom will be able to service some of its massive debt from its own funds amid distressed market conditions.
Bird's-Eye View
An ISAF soldier with the German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) looks out on the stark mountains from the back door of a CH-53 helicopter from flying from Kunduz to the German base in Fayzabad, northern Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008.
Night Move
A Chimera target launch vehicle, which is a modified Minuteman booster vehicle with a simplified target payload, successfully launches late Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, from the Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif. The launch was part of an exercise involving the tracking of a long-range target missile by the Near Field Infrared Experiment, or NFIRE, research satellite.
Sealed With A Kiss
Spain's Queen Sofia receives a kiss from a donkey after she baptized it during a visit to the headquarters of a donkey foundation in Rute, Spain, Wednesday Sept. 24, 2008.
Figures Head
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008, before the Joint Economic Committee. The Fed chief repeated his warning of dire economic consequences if a bailout isn't enacted and if credit woes persist. Neither businesses nor consumers would be able to borrow money, he said, and such a scenario could result in the world's largest economy grinding to a halt.
Smithsonian Sphere
The Science on a Sphere globe created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seen in the new Sant Ocean Hall in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. The $49 million project -- the biggest renovation since the museum opened in 1910 -- combines several elements to tell the tale of the sea.
Together Again
Former President George H.W. Bush, right, looks on as former President Bill Clinton speaks during the opening plenary of the Clinton Global Initiative meeting Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008, in New York. They are joining forces again to help the victims of Hurricane Ike. The former presidents first teamed up to raise $11 million for tsunami victims, then worked to raise money to help victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Hung Out To Dry
Amanda Cavazos hangs her sister's wedding dress after it was found in the debris at her mother's badly damaged home Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008, in Galveston, Texas. Cavazos saw her home for the first time since Hurricane Ike struck nearly two weeks ago.