The chaos of Hurricane Sandy has produced a number of fantastic images sent in by people marveling over the storm and its effects. Some, unfortunately, have been mis-attributed, such as this blatant Photoshop job, and this photo which was revealed was actually taken in September.

That's a shame.

What isn't a shame, however, is the below photo. It was taken today and posted to Facebook by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment—those who have been assigned to watch over the Tomb of the Unknowns.

• U.S. Army Sgt. Jose A. Torres Jr.

• Claire Felicie

Slate has the word on this series of photos by Dutch photographer Clair Felicie entitled "Here Are The Young Men." The series depicts the face of 20 Dutch Marines before, during and after their tours in Afghanistan. Slate's Heather Murphy captured the feeling in the photos perfectly here:

What's interesting about this project is that you can convince yourself that someone changed dramatically from middle to right, only to compare right to left and talk yourself out of it. It must just be angle or lighting, you say. But even after you’ve concluded that wrinkle isn't really any bigger, it's undeniable that there is a difference. No this was not a perfectly controlled scientific experiment, but there is no science to walking into a room, looking into a friend's face, and immediately knowing that something has happened. It's not about the obvious clues like a frown or matted hair, but something far more nuanced.

For more, head over to Slate, or to Claire Felicie's site.

• P.K. Weis/Southwest Photo Bank

At around 11:15 today, space shuttle Endeavour took its last flight on its way to its new resting grounds at Edwards Air Force Base; on hand to see it off were Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly, the commander for Endeavour's final mission.

• Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau

Check out this excellent photo from the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau's Facebook page. This is of final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, piggy-backing atop a 747 on its way to Edwards Air Force Base, taken today as it cruised overhead.

Awesome.

UPDATE: Tucson Weekly reader Scott MacDonald kindly shared the below photo with us, and it's pretty damn great as well. Thanks, Scott!

• Scott MacDonald

• Jim Nintzel

It's been a long summer for Congress Street regulars, but it appears as though the end of the streetcar construction—and those chain-link fences—may be near. The new tracks are starting to be laid down.

• Mark Pilkington

The tech, science and awesome things blog BoingBoing has been running a series of "postcards" from British writer and photographer Mark Pilkington as he leads the Unknown Fields design studio through the American Southwest. The beautiful image above is from the group's trip to the Boneyard, the airplane graveyard next to the Pima Air and Space Museum.

Head over to BoingBoing to see the rest of this "postcard" as well as the other posts in this series.

• NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's Curiosity rover has done a test drive around its landing site in Gale Crater, which has been named Bradbury Landing in honor of the late Ray Bradbury, author of The Martian Chronicles.

Here's an update from the Mars Science Laboratory website:

This 360-degree panorama shows evidence of a successful first test drive for NASA's Curiosity rover. On Aug. 22, 2012, the rover made its first move, going forward about 15 feet (4.5 meters), rotating 120 degrees and then reversing about 8 feet (2.5 meters). Curiosity is about 20 feet (6 meters) from its landing site, now named Bradbury Landing.

Visible in the image are the rover's first track marks. A small 3.5-inch (9-centimeter) rock can be seen where the drive began, which engineers say was partially under one of the rear wheels. Scour marks left by the rover's descent stage during landing can be seen to the left and right of the wheel tracks. The lower slopes of Mount Sharp are visible at the top of the picture, near the center.

This mosaic from the rover's Navigation camera is made up of 23 full-resolution frames, displayed in a cylindrical projection.

In other mission news: The lander has successfully deployed its laser against a Martian rock and the Huffington Post looks into whether there are UFOs on Mars. (My guess: No, but it works as click bait.)

• NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
• Curiosity snapped this shot of its separated heat shield during its descent onto Mars

The Mars Curiosity team took to Reddit to discuss the latest on the mission yesterday. Talking Points Memo has the takeaways:

NASA scientists have been understandably proud of performing the most accurate landing of an unmanned robotic spacecraft yet, with the Mars Curiosity Rover touching down just one-and-a-half miles away from its precise landing target, an amazing feat given the sheer complexity and unaccountable factors involved in descent, such as Martian weather.

The pride makes even more sense now, given the Curiosity team’s admission on Reddit that the rover is unlikely to ever leave the area immediately surrounding its landing site, a 96-mile-wide depression known as Gale Crater, which scientists believe could have retained liquid water — and thus, offered increased chances of supporting life — on ancient Mars.

As Steve Collins, the rover’s cruise altitude and control systems engineer, wrote in response to a user question: “Probably won’t leave Gale crater. It’s huge! and there is plenty of interesting science to do there.”

Specifically, NASA is aiming to drive the rover from its current position on the edge of the crater over to one of the major features of its interior, a 3.4-mile high mountain known as Mount Sharp, where the Curiosity team wants to sample rocks and soil for clues as to the history of Mars’ climate and geology.

Meanwhile, Slate has assembled a gallery of some of the coolest pics from the Curiosity mission. After the jump, you'll find a Martian landscape photo, as well as a spectacular pic of Curiosity's landing spot taken by the UA's HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Slideshow

Tucson Botanical Garden

Click to View 12 slides

While living in Tucson for the past three years I would say I have not taken full advantage of what the city has to offer. I had heard about Tucson’s Botanical Garden from a friend and thought I would take a trip and explore it myself.

I would suggest going early in the morning and bringing a water bottle along the way because with summer temperatures it can get pretty hot.

As I make my way through the trail, I am surprised by the massive amounts of green I see. The garden has various aspects that are entertaining for the entire family, including the tropical green house, Children’s Discovery Garden, birdhouse garden with birdhouses made by local artists, sensory patios, zen garden and much more.

At the end of the trail I decided to head back into the gift shop where the Porter Hall Gallery is located. Local artist Valerie Galloway is featured in this months exhibit.

Some great events they have featured this summer you should check out:
Twilight Third Thursdays: every third Thursday during the summer they host an evening filled with art, music, food and drinks. The next third Thursday is August 16 from 5 to 8 p.m.. Public: $9 adults, $4 children, members $8, $3 children
Hot Fridays: enjoy the intensity of the hot summer at the botanical garden. July 27 and August 24 from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, with members getting in for free.

On Thursday evening hundreds of Harry Potter fans of all ages gathered at Hotel Congress for festivities inspired from the bestselling book series. The event was co-hosted by Bookmans, and some of the activities included wizard chess tutorials, a quidditch video game, face-painting and tea-leaf readings. The band, Harry and the Potters, performed two shows of upbeat jams that centered around the wizarding world from the perspective of Harry himself.

More photos below the cut.