NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope view of the dust disc around the young star HD 100546
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows a visible light view of the outer dust around the young star HD100546. The position of the newly discovered protoplanet is marked with an orange spot. The inner part of this picture is dominated by artifacts from the brilliant central...
VST snaps a very detailed view of the Triangulum Galaxy
The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile has captured this beautifully detailed image of the galaxy Messier 33, often called the Triangulum Galaxy. This nearby spiral, the second closest large galaxy to our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is packed with bright star...
Wide-field view of the sky around SDC 335.579-0.292
This wide-field view shows a region of sky in the southern constellation of Norma (The Carpenter's Square). At the centre lies the massive star-forming region SDC 335.579-0.292, but this is too obscured by dust to be visible. This is also true for the filamentary network of dust and gas. The...
VST images the Lagoon Nebula
The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile has captured this richly detailed new image of the Lagoon Nebula. This giant cloud of gas and dust is creating intensely bright young stars, and is home to young stellar clusters. This image is a tiny part of just one of...
Part of the supernova remnant SN 1006 seen with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope
This image is a composite of hydrogen-light observations taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in February 2006 and Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations in blue, yellow-green, and near-infrared light taken in April 2008. The supernova remnant, visible only in the hydrogen-light...
View of the sky around young star HD 95086
This picture shows the sky around the young star HD 95086 in the southern constellation of Carina (The Keel). It was created from images from the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Wide-field view of the star-forming region around the Herbig-Haro object HH 46/47
This wide-field view shows a rich region of dust clouds and star formation in the southern constellation of Vela. Close to the centre of the picture the jets of the Herbig-Haro object HH 46/47 can be seen emerging from a dark cloud in which infant stars are being born (to zoom in use the...
Wide field view of the area around the Toby Jug Nebula
This wide-field image shows the patch of sky around the Toby Jug Nebula (IC 2220). This view was created from photographs forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The spikes and blue circles around the stars in this picture are artifacts of the telescope and the photographic process.
The Very Large Telescope snaps a stellar nursery and celebrates fifteen years of operations
This intriguing new view of a spectacular stellar nursery IC 2944 is being released to celebrate a milestone: 15 years of ESO’s Very Large Telescope. This image also shows a group of thick clouds of dust known as the Thackeray globules silhouetted against the pale pink glowing gas of the...
Wide-field view of the sky around the spiral galaxy NGC 1637
This image shows the sky around the spiral galaxy NGC 1637 in the constellation of Eridanus (The River). It was created from images from the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Wide-field view of the region around galaxy NGC 3783
This picture was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. It shows the region of sky around the active galaxy NGC 3783 in the southern constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). The galaxy is the face-on spiral right at the centre.
The sky around the quasar QSO J2246-6015
This wide-field view shows the sky around a very rare galaxy and quasar pair in the southern constellation of Tucana (The Toucan). The quasar and galaxy are too faint to show up on this picture from a relatively small telescope, but their position is marked. This image was created using images...
Part of the VVV view of the bulge of the Milky Way from ESO's VISTA
This large star-filled picture is a tiny part of the VVV survey conducted by ESO’s VISTA infrared survey telescope. It shows a patch of sky in the direction of the centre of the Milky Way and includes many thousands of stars that form part of the Milky Way bulge. The star catalogues from the...
ESO's VLT images the planetary nebula IC 1295
This intriguing picture from ESO’s Very Large Telescope shows the glowing green planetary nebula IC 1295 surrounding a dim and dying star. It is located about 3300 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum (The Shield). This is the most detailed picture of this object ever taken.
The star cluster NGC 3766
This spectacular group of young stars is the open star cluster NGC 3766 in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). Very careful observations of these stars by a group from the Geneva Observatory using the Swiss 1.2-metre Leonhard Euler Telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile have...
ALMA observations of the disc and gas streams around HD 142527
Observations made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope of the disc of gas and cosmic dust around the young star HD 142527, showing vast streams of gas flowing across the gap in the disc. These are the first direct observations of these streams, which are...
ALMA pinpoints early galaxies
A team of astronomers has used ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) to pinpoint the locations of over 100 of the most fertile star-forming galaxies in the early Universe. The best map so far of these distant dusty galaxies was made using the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment...
VLT image of the protoplanet around the young star HD 100546
This image from the NACO system on ESO’s Very Large Telescope shows a candidate protoplanet in the disc of gas and dust around the young star HD100546. This picture was taken with a special coronagraph that suppresses the light from the brilliant star and allows the region of the...
The dark cloud Lupus 4
The Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile captured this view of dark cloud Lupus 4 blotting out background stars. Lupus 4 is a dense pocket of gas and dust where new stars are expected to form. The cloud is located about 400 light-years...
The remnant of the supernova SN 1006 seen at many different wavelengths
This remarkable image was created from pictures taken by different telescopes in space and on the ground. It shows the thousand-year-old remnant of the brilliant SN 1006 supernova, as seen in radio (red), X-ray (blue) and visible light (yellow).
Wide Field Imager view of part of the bulge of the Milky Way
This star-filled picture was taken using the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It shows a patch of sky in the direction of the centre of the Milky Way and includes many thousands of stars that form part of the Milky Way bulge. Very...
Stunning ALMA and NTT image of newborn star
This unprecedented image of Herbig-Haro object HH 46/47 combines radio observations acquired with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) with much shorter wavelength visible light observations from ESO’s New Technology Telescope (NTT). The ALMA observations (orange and green,...
The globular cluster NGC 6388 observed by the European Southern Observatory
This image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile shows NGC 6388, a dynamically middle-aged globular cluster in the Milky Way. While the cluster formed in the distant past (like all globular clusters, it is over ten billion years old), a study of the...
Hubble view of galaxy NGC 4710 with x-shaped bulge
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows edge-on galaxy NGC 4710. When staring directly at the centre of the galaxy, one can detect a faint, ethereal "X"-shaped structure. Such a feature, which astronomers call a "boxy" or "peanut-shaped" bulge, is due to the vertical motions...
Wide-field view of the sky around Abell 33
This wide-field view shows the sky around the planetary nebula Abell 33, which appears as the ghostly blue circle near the centre of the picture. This picture was created from photographic material forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Many faint galaxies are also visible and the bright...
The sky around the star Gliese 667C
This picture shows the sky around multiple star Gliese 667. The bright star at the centre is Gliese 667 A and B, the two main components of the system, which cannot be separated in this image. Gliese 667C, the third component, is visible as a bright star, very close and just under A and B,...
Young stars in the open star cluster NGC 2547
This image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, shows the bright open star cluster NGC 2547. Between the bright stars, far away in the background of the image, many remote galaxies can be seen, some with clearly spiral shapes.
Detailed view of the Prawn Nebula from ESO's VST
The glowing jumble of gas clouds visible in new image make up a huge stellar nursery nicknamed the Prawn Nebula. Taken using the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, this may well be the sharpest picture ever taken of this object. It shows clumps of hot new-born stars...
The globular star cluster 47 Tucanae
This bright cluster of stars is 47 Tucanae (NGC 104), shown here in an image taken by ESO’s VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy) from the Paranal Observatory in Chile. This cluster is located around 15 000 light-years away from us and contains millions of stars, some of...
ALMA and VLT image of comet factory around Oph-IRS 48
This image from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) shows the dust trap in the disc that surrounds the system Oph-IRS 48. The dust trap provides a safe haven for tiny particles in the disc, allowing them to clump together and grow to sizes that allow them to survive on their...
The Green Bean galaxy J2240
This view from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope shows thousands of galaxies in the distant Universe. But the one close to the centre looks very odd — it is bright green. This very unusual object is known as J224024.1−092748 or J2240 and it is a bright example of a new class of objects that...
Wide-field view of the star cluster NGC 6520 and the dark cloud Barnard 86
This wide-field view shows the very rich star fields of the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud and the cluster NGC 6520 and the neighbouring dark cloud Barnard 86. It was created from images from the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
The globular cluster NGC 6388, observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 6388, a dynamically middle-aged globular cluster in the Milky Way. While the cluster formed in the distant past (like all globular clusters, it is over ten billion years old), a study of the distribution of bright blue stars within...
This view from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope shows a close-up of the sky around a very unusual green object called J224024.1−092748 or J2240. It is a bright example of a new class of objects that have been nicknamed green bean galaxies. Green beans are entire galaxies that are glowing...
The free-floating planet CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9
This closeup of an image captured by the SOFI instrument on ESO’s New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory shows the free-floating planet CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9 in infrared light. This object, which appears as a faint blue dot at the centre of the picture, is the closest such...
Wide-field view of part of Orion in visible light
This wide-field view shows a region of sky in the famous constellation of Orion (The Hunter), as seen in visible light. The large, bright feature at the top of the image is the well-known Orion Nebula (Messier 42). This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
The free-floating planet CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9 (annotated)
This image captured by the SOFI instrument on ESO’s New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory shows the free-floating planet CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9 in infrared light. This object, which appears as a faint blue dot at the centre of the picture and is marked with a cross, is the...
The free-floating planet CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9
This image captured by the SOFI instrument on ESO’s New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory shows the free-floating planet CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9 in infrared light. This object, which appears as a faint blue dot at the centre of the picture, is the closest such object to the...
Thor’s Helmet Nebula imaged on the occasion of ESO’s 50th anniversary
This VLT image of the Thor’s Helmet Nebula was taken on the occasion of ESO’s 50th Anniversary, 5 October 2012, with the help of Brigitte Bailleul — winner of the Tweet Your Way to the VLT! competition. The observations were broadcast live over the internet from the Paranal Observatory in...
The planetary nebula Fleming 1 seen with ESO’s Very Large Telescope
This new ESO Very Large Telescope image shows the planetary nebula Fleming 1 in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). This striking object is a glowing cloud of gas around a dying star. New observations have shown that it is likely that a very rare pair of white dwarf stars lies at the...
This image shows the brown dwarf ISO-Oph 102, or Rho-Oph 102, in the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region. Its position is marked by the crosshairs. This visible-light view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Wide-field view of the Lagoon Nebula
This spectacular image shows the very rich region of sky around the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8). The Lagoon appears at the centre, the Trifid Nebula (Messier 20) close to the top. Other nebulae, both bright and dark, can be seen elsewhere in the picture as well as several star clusters. This view...
Wide-field view of the sky around the planetary nebula Fleming 1
This wide-field view shows the sky around planetary nebula Fleming 1 in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Curious spiral spotted by ALMA around red giant star R Sculptoris (data visualisation)
Observations using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have revealed an unexpected spiral structure in the material around the old star R Sculptoris. This feature has never been seen before and is probably caused by a hidden companion star orbiting the star. This slice...
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the centre of Messier 4
This sparkling picture taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the centre of globular cluster Messier 4. The power of Hubble has resolved the cluster into a multitude of glowing orbs, each a colossal nuclear furnace. Messier 4 is relatively close to us, lying 7200 light-years...
Wide-field view of the sky around the young star HD 100546
This picture shows the sky around the young star HD 100546 in the southern constellation of Musca (The Fly). It was created from images from the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The cross-like features that are centred on brighter stars, as well as the coloured circles around them, are artifacts of...
The glowing cloud Sharpless 2-296, part of the Seagull Nebula
This image shows the intricate structure of part of the Seagull Nebula, known more formally as IC 2177. These wisps of gas and dust are known as Sharpless 2-296 (officially Sh 2-296) and form part of the “wings” of the celestial bird. This region of the sky is a fascinating muddle of intriguing...
Wide-field view of the sky around the red giant star R Sculptoris
This wide-field image shows the patch of sky around the red giant variable star R Sculptoris. In this part of the sky far from the Milky Way, there are relatively few stars but many faint and distant galaxies can be seen. This view was created from photographs forming part of the Digitized Sky...
Dark galaxies spotted for the first time
This deep image shows the region of the sky around the quasar HE0109-3518. The quasar is near the centre of the image. The energetic radiation of the quasar makes dark galaxies glow, helping astronomers to understand the obscure early stages of galaxy formation. Dark galaxies are essentially...
Setting the dark on fire
A new image from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile shows a beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in the region of Orion. While these dense interstellar clouds seem dark and obscured in visible-light observations, APEX’s LABOCA camera can detect the heat glow of the...
Cosmic dust clouds in Messier 78
This image of the region surrounding the reflection nebula Messier 78, just to the north of Orion’s belt, shows clouds of cosmic dust threaded through the nebula like a string of pearls. The submillimetre-wavelength observations, made with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope and...
Close-up view of NGC 6357
ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has taken the most detailed image so far of a spectacular part of the stellar nursery called NGC 6357. The view shows many hot young stars, glowing clouds of gas and weird dust formations sculpted by ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds.
The Lobster Nebula seen with ESO’s VISTA telescope
This image from ESO’s VISTA telescope captures a celestial landscape of vast, glowing clouds of gas and tendrils of dust surrounding hot young stars. This infrared view reveals the stellar nursery known as NGC 6357 in a new light. It was taken as part of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea...
Wide-field view of the Lupus 3 dark cloud and associated hot young stars
This wide-field view shows a dark cloud where new stars are forming along with cluster of brilliant stars that have already burst out of their dusty stellar nursery. This cloud is known as Lupus 3 and it lies about 600 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). It...
Wide-field view of the open star cluster NGC 2547
This picture was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. It shows the rich region of sky around the young open star cluster NGC 2547 in the southern constellation of Vela (The Sail).
An APEX view of star formation in the Orion Nebula
This dramatic new image of cosmic clouds in the constellation of Orion reveals what seems to be a fiery ribbon in the sky. The orange glow represents faint light coming from grains of cold interstellar dust, at wavelengths too long for human eyes to see. It was observed by the ESO-operated...
VISTA infrared image of the globular star cluster Messier 55
This striking view of the globular star cluster Messier 55 in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer) was obtained in infrared light with the VISTA survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. This vast ball of ancient stars is located at a distance of about 17 000 light-years...
Wide-field view of the sky around the globular star cluster Messier 4
This wide-field view is centred on the globular star cluster Messier 4 (NGC 6121) in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). It is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The smaller globular cluster at the upper left is NGC 6144. It is similar...
Wide-field view of the sky around the globular cluster NGC 6362
This wide-field view shows the region of sky around the globular star cluster NGC 6362 in the constellation of Ara (The Altar). This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Sifting through dust near Orion’s Belt (data coverage)
This image of the region surrounding the reflection nebula Messier 78, just to the north of Orion’s belt, shows clouds of cosmic dust threaded through the nebula like a string of pearls. The submillimetre-wavelength observations, made with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope and...
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