The Earth got blasted with solar radiation this week, following an M9-class solar flare on the sun’s northeaster hemisphere, which you see in this photo. A very fast coronal mass ejection (CME) traveling four million miles an hour headed toward our fair planet, flooding us with solar protons. This was the largest flare of its kind since 2005, but scientists ranked it only a 3 (on a 1-5 scale), meaning it was “strong” but not strong enough to turn you into beef jerky. Even better news: photographers could rejoice at the prospect of extraordinary displays of Northern Lights. Photo via AFP/Getty Images, Washington Post

A man in Nigerian dips his hands in crude oil during a protest against oil giant Shell, which is accused of spilling 40,000 barrels of oil off the West African coast.Photo by George Esiri/EPA, Time

In central Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, firefighters struggled to contain a blaze, so local residents pitched in, throwing buckets of water. Photographer Rebecca Blackwell got this remarkably composed shot. Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP BBC

You may have heard stories when you were growing up about how far your parents had to walk in the snow just to get to school. Well, your parents had it easy compared to the students in this picture. They are seen making their way to school across a damaged suspension bridge over the Ciberang River Lebak, Banten Province, Indonesia. Photo via AP Denver Post

The celebration of Saint Anthony’s Day in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, may seem a bit perplexing to outsiders. To honor Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, hundreds of people ride horses through a bonfire. The spectacle, called the “Luminarias,” dates back 500 years. Thank goodness the people of San Bartolome de Pinares do not honor Saint Veronica, the patron saint of photographers, in a similar way. Photo by Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP, Denver Post

The Harbin Ice and Snow festival in China, seen here, is one of the world’s four biggest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival. Harbin, the capital of China’s northernmost province, basks in the cold winter wind from Siberia and has an annual average winter temperature of minus-16 degrees Celsius. That means there is no danger of meltdowns during the festival, which runs through the month January. Photo from AFP/Getty Images, “Big Picture,” The Atlantic

Performing at a dress rehearsal, a dancer writhes in water on a stage suspended above an audience at a fashion trade show in Berlin from January 18 to 20. Photo by Tobias Schwarz/Reuters, “Lightbox,” Time

In Jakarta, Indonesia, ethnic Chinese prayed during the Lunar New Year celebration at the Dharma Bakti temple. Photo by Dita Alangkara/AP, “Lens,” New York Times

Students at Penn State University hold a candlelight vigil for the closest thing the school had to a diety, former football coach Joe Paterno, who laying dying from lung cancer. Paterno was diagnosed with the disease only days after being fired last November. His ouster followed the explosive news that a former Penn State football defense coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, had been arrested for molesting boys. Photo by John Beale/AP, “Framework,” Los Angeles Times

Barack Obama recently had a “bring your photographer to work” day, inviting Time’s Christopher Morris into the White House see what a president does from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The day included a working lunch with Vice President Biden in the Oval dining room, a sit-down with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and a brief encounter with First Lady Michelle Obama in the White House basement, seen here. It was her birthday, January 17. Photo by Christopher Morris, “Lightbox,” Time

South African Oscar Pistorius, 25, was born without a fibula in either of his legs. His legs were amputated at 11 months. At 13 months he was fitted with prostheses, and at 17 months he was walking. Now he is an internationally ranked runner and a favorite to qualify for this summer’s Olympics in London. Photographer Pieter Hugo captured his extraordinary determination. Photos by Pieter Hugo, The New York Times Magazine

Michelle Williams received a Best Actress Oscar nomination this week for her work in the film “My Week with Marilyn.” Williams certainly isn’t the first actress to do a Marilyn impersonation, but her portrayal may go down as one of the best. Michael Thompson’s images suggest the tender photos of the real Marilyn made by photographer Douglas Kirkland in 1961, a year before her death. Photos by Michael Thompson, GQ

“Fashion’s new material girl, Sky Ferreira, is causing a commotion in campaigns and front rows,” reports V magazine. Naturally, then, Ferreira channeled Madonna for photographer Mario Testino. Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Photos by Mario Testino , V

Madonna has had many incarnations over the course of her career—indeed, her ability to adapt to changing environments is what has made her such a ferocious competitor in pop culture’s version of natural selection. And yet she manages to remain quintessentially, identifiably the same, one of the great photographic icons of our time. Tom Munro shot her for Harper’s Bazaar as she prepares to release her new film, “W.E.” Photos by Tom Munro, Harper’s Bazaar