This artist's illustration shows the atmosphere of a brown dwarf called 2MASSJ22282889-431026, which was observed simultaneously by NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.
The Milky Way Galaxy
Like early explorers mapping the continents of our globe, astronomers are busy charting the spiral structure of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Using infrared images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have discovered that the Milky Way's elegant spiral structure is dominated by just two...
Twin Brown Dwarfs Wrapped in a Blanket
This image shows two young brown dwarfs, objects that fall somewhere between planets and stars in terms of their temperature and mass. Brown dwarfs are cooler and less massive than stars, never igniting the nuclear fires that power their larger cousins, yet they are more massive (and normally...
Evidence for a Strange Stellar Family
This artist's concept depicts a quadruple-star system called HD 98800. The system is approximately 10 million years old, and is located 150 light-years away in the constellation Crater. HD98800 is included in the TW Hydrae association.
'Mini-Me' Solar System
This artist's conception shows the relative size of a hypothetical brown dwarf-planetary system (below) compared to our own solar system.
This artist's concept shows microscopic crystals in the dusty disk surrounding a brown dwarf, or "failed star." The crystals, made up of a green mineral found on Earth called olivine, are thought to help seed the formation of planets.
An unusual celestial object called CX330 was first detected as a source of X-ray light in 2009. It has been launching jets of material into the gas and dust around it.
Welcome to the Sun's Neighborhood
This diagram illustrates the locations of the star systems closest to the sun. The year when the distance to each system was determined is listed after the system's name.
This artist's concept depicts a distant hypothetical solar system, similar in age to our own. Looking inward from the system's outer fringes, a ring of dusty debris can be seen, and within it, planets circling a star the size of our Sun.
Super Earths are exotic planets unlike any in our solar system. They are more massive than Earth yet lighter than gas giants like Neptune, and they can be made of gas, rock or a combination of both.
The TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Zone
The TRAPPIST-1 system contains a total of seven planets, all around the size of Earth.Three of them -- TRAPPIST-1e, f and g -- dwell in their stars so-called habitable zone. The habitable zone, or Goldilocks zone, is a band around every star (shown here in green) where astronomers have calculated...
When galaxies grow, they merge and become gravitationally tangled in a violent process that results in streams of stars being ripped away from the galaxies.
Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
NASA Spitzer Space Telescope image of periodic comet Schwassmann-Wachmann I (P/SW-1) - an unusual comet that experiences frequent outbursts, which produce abrupt changes in brightness. P/SW-1 has a nearly circular orbit just outside that of Jupiter, with an orbital period of 14.9 years.
Stellar Debris in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This is a composite image from Spitzer, Chandra and Hubble of N49, the brightest supernova remnant in optical light in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Epsilon Eridani: Double the Rubble
This artist's conception shows the closest known planetary system to our own, called Epsilon Eridani. Observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show that the system hosts two asteroid belts, in addition to previously identified candidate planets and an outer comet ring.
Supernova Seen In Two Lights
The destructive results of a mighty supernova explosion reveal themselves in a delicate blend of infrared and X-ray light, as seen in this image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton.
Dimming of FU Orionis (SOFIA)
The brightness of outbursting star FU Orionis has been slowly fading since its initial flare-up in 1936. Researchers found that it has dimmed by about 13 percent in short infrared wavelengths from 2004 to 2016.
What does an extremely young planetary system look like? The answer depends on your point of view. This diagram shows how such a system appears when viewed from different directions.
The Cat's Paw Nebula IRAC
The Cat's Paw Nebula, imaged here by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope using the IRAC instrument, is a star-forming region inside the Milky Way Galaxy. The dark filament running through the middle of the nebula is a particularly dense region of gas and dust.
M83 The Milky Ways Smaller Cousin
This spectacular spiral galaxy is known to astronomers as Messier 83. Colloquially, it is also called the Southern Pinwheel due to its similarity to the more northerly Pinwheel galaxy Messier 101. NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope shows us, in spectacular detail, the infrared structure of what many...
Protostellar Envelope and Jet: IRAS 03282+3035
A young protostar and its signature outflow peeks out through a shroud of dust in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Signature of a Carbon-Rich Planet
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope indicates the presence of molecules in the planet WASP-12b -- a super-hot gas giant that orbits tightly around its star.
Dwarf Galaxies Forming in Tidal Tails
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows little "dwarf galaxies" forming in the "tails" of two larger galaxies that are colliding together.
Star Formation in the DR21 Region
Hidden behind a shroud of dust in the constellation Cygnus is a stellar nursery called DR21, which is giving birth to some of the most massive stars in our galaxy. Visible light images reveal no trace of this interstellar cauldron because of heavy dust obscuration.
M33: Infrared View of a Close Neighbor
One of our closest galactic neighbors shows its awesome beauty in this new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Dusty Ring Around Boyajians Star
This illustration depicts a hypothetical uneven ring of dust orbitingKIC 8462852, also known as Boyajians Star or Tabby's Star.
Crab Nebula Supernova Remnant (Spitzer/IRAC Image)
The Crab Nebula is the shattered remnant of a massive star that ended its life in a massive supernova explosion. This infrared view of the supernova remnant was obtained by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Cassiopeia A: Supernova Flashback
The Cassiopeia A supernova's first flash of radiation makes six clumps of dust unusually hot.
Mini Solar System in the Making
A brown dwarf surrounded by a swirling disk of planet-building dust. The brown dwarf, called OTS 44, is only 15 times the size of Jupiter, making it the smallest brown dwarf known to host a planet-forming, or protoplanetary disk.
Full Infrared View of the M81 Galaxy
The magnificent spiral arms of the nearby galaxy Messier 81 are highlighted in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This Spitzer infrared image is a composite mosaic combining data from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) at wavelengths of 3.6/4.5 microns (blue/cyan) and 8 microns (green)...
Spinning Top Star: Visible Light View
A rare, infrared view of a developing star and its flaring jets taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows us what our own solar system might have looked like billions of years ago. In this visible light, this star and its surrounding regions are surrounded by dark dust.
"Wrong-way" Winds on CoRoT-2b
This illustration depicts the strange case of the backwards hotspot researchers have found on the hot exoplanet known as CoRoT-2b.
Infrared Black Widow Nebula
In the constellation Circinus, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope's dust-piercing eyes uncovers a big "Black Widow Nebula" teeming with clusters of massive young stars.
An Unexpected Scattering of Light
This series of images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows a dark mass of gas and dust, called a core, where new stars and planets will likely spring up.
Spitzer/IRAC composite image of a dark globule in IC 1396
This NASA Spitzer Space Telescope image reveals a glowing stellar nursery embedded within the dark Elephant's Trunk Nebula. Spitzer pierces through the obscuration to reveal the birth of new protostars, or embryonic stars, and previously unseen young stars.
Interacting Galaxy Pair Arp 107
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope's sensitive infrared detectors map out faint regions of new star formation in this pair of colliding galaxies known as Arp 107.
Brown Dwarf System
This illustration depicts a newly discovered brown dwarf, an object that weighs in somewhere between our solar system's most massive planet (Jupiter) and the least-massive known star.
Dimming of FU Orionis (Artist's Concept)
The brightness of outbursting star FU Orionis has been slowly fading since its initial flare-up in 1936. Researchers found that it has dimmed by about 13 percent in short infrared wavelengths from 2004 (left) to 2016 (right).
2-Channel RCW 49
This image of prolific star-forming region RCW 49 exposes breathtaking detail of this dark and dusty region, which is home to more than 2,200 stars.
Baby Stars in the Witch Head Nebula Revealed by Spitzer
Eight hundred light-years away in the Orion constellation, a gigantic murky cloud called the "Witch Head" nebula is brewing baby stars.
Whopper Galaxy Collision
One of the biggest galaxy collisions ever observed is taking place at the center of this image. The four white blobs in the middle are large galaxies that have begun to tangle and ultimately merge into a single gargantuan galaxy.
Exotic World Blisters Under the Sun
This artist's concept shows a Jupiter-like planet, called Upsilon Andromedae b, soaking up the scorching rays of its nearby star. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope determined that this planet is two-faced, with one side perpetually in the cold dark, and the other forever blistering under the heat of...
M33: Infrared View of a Close Neighbor
One of our closest galactic neighbors shows its awesome beauty in this new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Massive Star Makes Waves
The giant star Zeta Ophiuchi is having a "shocking" effect on the surrounding dust clouds in this infrared image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Stellar winds flowing out from this fast-moving star are making ripples in the dust as it approaches, creating a bow shock seen as glowing gossamer...
Silicates in Alien Asteroids
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescopes shows that asteroid dust around a dead "white dwarf" star contains silicates -- a common mineral on Earth.
Spitzer Image of HD168625: Ready to go Supernova?
A Luminous Blue Variable star, HD168625, is surrounded by a bipolar nebula that is similar to the one around SN1987A. This may explain how the structure around SN1987A formed pre-supernova, and it may signal that HD168625 is nearing the end.
Double Helix Nebula
The double helix nebula as revelaed in the infrared by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The spots are infrared-luminous stars, mostly red giants and red supergiants. Many other stars are present in this region, but are too dim to appear even in this sensitive infrared image.
Brown Dwarf Microlensing Diagram
Two space-based telescopes teamed up with ground-based observatories to observe a microlensing event caused by a brown dwarf.
500 Hours of Spitzer Observations of TRAPPIST-1
This data plot shows infrared observations by NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope of a system of seven planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1, an ultracool dwarf star. Over 21 days, Spitzer measured the drop in light as each planet passed in front of the star. Spitzer was able to identify a total of seven rocky...
North America Nebula in Different Lights
This new view of the North America nebula combines both visible and infrared light observations, taken by the Digitized Sky Survey and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, respectively, into a single vivid picture.
'Enterprise' Nebulae Seen by Spitzer
Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the TV series "Star Trek," which first aired September 8th,1966, a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope may remind fans of the historic show.
Exoplanet Forecast: Hot and Wet
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells astronomers that a toasty gas exoplanet, or a planet beyond our solar system, contains water vapor.
Luminous Blue Variable HD 168625: Destined To Be a Supernova?
A Luminous Blue Variable star, HD168625, is surrounded by a bipolar nebula that is similar to the one around SN 1987A. This may explain how the structure around SN1987A formed pre-supernova, and it may signal that HD168625 is nearing the end.
Galactic Fossil Found Behind Curtain of Dust
This image mosaic shows the same patch of sky in various wavelengths of light. While the visible-light image (left) shows a dark sky speckled with stars, infrared images (middle and right), reveal a never-before-seen bundle of stars, called a globular cluster.
Composite View of Kepler's Supernova Remnant - SN 1604
NASA's three Great Observatories -- the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory -- joined forces to probe the expanding remains of a supernova, called Kepler's supernova remnant, first seen 400 years ago by sky watchers, including famous astronomer...
The Infrared View of RCW 79
Revealed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, RCW 79 is seen in the southern Milky Way, 17,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus. The bubble is 70-light years in diameter, and probably took about one million years to form from the radiation and winds of hot young stars.
Reflection Nebula NGC 7129
A cluster of newborn stars herald their birth in this interstellar Valentine's Day commemorative picture obtained with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. These bright young stars are found in a rosebud-shaped (and rose-colored) nebulosity known as NGC 7129.
Sequence of Brown Dwarfs and Planets in Infrared Light
This figure shows an artist's rendition comparing brown dwarfs to stars and planets. All objects are plotted to the same scale. On the far left is the limb of the Sun. To its right is shown a very low mass star (a so-called "late-M dwarf"), a couple of brown dwarfs (a hotter "L dwarf" and a...
This artist's concept illustrates how planetary systems arise out of massive collisions between rocky bodies. New findings from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show that these catastrophes continue to occur around stars even after they have developed full-sized planets, when they are as old as one...
NASA's Great Observatory View of the Crab Nebula
A star's spectacular death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D. Now, almost a thousand years later, a superdense neutron star left behind by the stellar death is spewing out a blizzard of extremely high-energy particles into the expanding debris field...
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