This artists concept of a young star and its planet forming disk shows tiny quartz like crystals detected by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The crystals, which are types of silica minerals called cristobalite and tridymite, can be seen close-up in the black-and-white insets.
A Twisted Star-Forming Web in the Galaxy IC 342
Looking like a spiders web swirled into a spiral, the galaxy IC 342 presents its delicate pattern of dust in this image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Seen in the infrared the faint starlight gives way to the glowing bright patterns of dust found throughout the galaxys disk.
The Spacious Structure of Asteroid 2011 MD
Observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveal new information about the structure of 2011 MD, a small asteroid being considered by NASA for its proposed Asteroid Redirect Mission, or ARM. This illustration shows a possible structure for such an asteroid.
Galaxy Merger VII Zw 96
This image shows the merger of two galaxies, known as NGC 6786 (right) and UGC 11415 (left), also collectively called VII Zw 96. It is composed of images from three Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) channels: IRAC channel 1 in blue, IRAC channel 2 in green and IRAC channel 3 in red.
Cold and Close Celestial Orb
This artist's conception shows the object named WISE J085510.83-071442.5, the coldest known brown dwarf.
What Feeds the Beast in a Galaxy Cluster?
A massive cluster of galaxies, called SpARCS1049+56, can be seen in this multi-wavelength view from NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. At the middle of the picture is the largest, central member of the family of galaxies (upper right red dot of central pair). Unlike other central...
This artist's concept shows what the weather might look like on cool star-like bodies known as brown dwarfs.
Spitzer/MIPS View of the Andromeda Galaxy
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured stunning infrared views of the famous Andromeda galaxy to reveal insights that were only hinted at in visible light.
The Dust of Galaxy M81
Wispy patterns of dust trace the spiral arms of the nearby galaxy Messier 81 in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The infrared view of M81 at a wavelength of 8 microns (red) has been specially processed in this image to remove most of the glow of starlight to isolate the glow of dust.
Spitzer Spies Spectacular Sombrero
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescopes created this striking infrared image of one of the most popular sights in the universe. Messier 104 is commonly known as the Sombrero galaxy because in visible light, it resembles the broad-brimmed Mexican hat. However, in Spitzer's striking infrared view, the...
The Seven Sisters (Pleiades) Pose for Spitzer and for You!
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil.
A Dwarf Galaxy's Star Bar and Dusty Wing
Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy in infrared light, is one of the biggest satellite galaxies of our home galaxy, though it is still considered a dwarf galaxy compared to the big spiral of our Milky Way.
Stellar Work of Art
This painterly portrait of a star-forming cloud, called NGC 346, is a combination of multiwavelength light from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared), the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope (visible), and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space telescope (X-ray).
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is about to use its last drop of the coolant that has chilled it for the past five-and-a-half years. On about May 12, give or take a week or so, the observatory is predicted to run out of the liquid helium that has run through its veins, keeping its infrared...
Distant Galaxy Cluster
This distant galaxy cluster was discovered using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals the light from a "super Earth" called 55 Cancri e. The planet is the smallest yet, beyond our solar system, to reveal its direct light.
Spitzer/IRAC Image of the Trifid Nebula
This image shows a close-up infrared view from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of the glowing Trifid Nebula, a giant star-forming cloud of gas and dust located 5,400 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
The Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946)
NGC 6946, or "The Fireworks Galaxy", is one of about a dozen nearby neighbors to the Milky Way. It is located approximately 10 million light-years away in the Cepheus constellation. This image was captured as part of the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey.
Spitzer Spectrum of Ices in a Protoplanetary Disc
Astronomers have made the first clear detection of a variety of ices -- water, ammonium, and carbon dioxide -- in the inner planet-forming region near a young star about 120 light years away. Such an observation is only possible by combining the unique sensitivity of NASA's Spitzer Space...
Bow Shocks in Space G106.63
Bow shocks thought to mark the paths of massive, speeding stars are highlighted in this image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.
Hot and Cold in the M100 Galaxy
The galaxy Messier 100, or M100, shows its swirling spiral in this infrared image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. The arcing spiral arms of dust and gas that harbor starforming regions glow vividly when seen in the infrared.
Cracking the Code of Faraway Worlds: an Exoplanet Atmosphere
This infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope called a spectrum tells astronomers that a distant gas planet, a so-called "hot Jupiter" called HD 209458b, might be smothered with high clouds. It is one of the first spectra of an alien world.
HH 211: Laser-Sharp Jet Splits Water
A jet of gas firing out of a very young star can be seen ramming into a wall of material in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
A Glimmer from a Dark Cosmic Era
With the combined power of NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, as well as a cosmic magnification effect, astronomers have spotted what could be the most distant galaxy ever seen. Light from the primordial galaxy traveled approximately 13.2 billion light-years, shining forth from the...
The Infrared Whirlpool Galaxy
This image shows the Whirlpool galaxy, also known as Messier 51 and NGC 5194/5195, which is actually a pair of galaxies. Located approximately 23 million light-years away, it resides in the constellation Canes Venatici. Here we see four wavelengths of infrared light: 3.6 microns (shown in blue),...
This graph, or spectrum, charts light from a faraway galaxy located 10 billion light years from Earth. It tracks mid-infrared light from an extremely luminous galaxy when the universe was only 1/4 of its current age.
Itsy Bitsy Solar System
This artist's conception compares a hypothetical solar system centered around a tiny "sun" (top) to a known solar system centered around a star, called 55 Cancri, which is about the same size as our sun.
Orion's Dreamy Stars
A colony of hot, young stars is stirring up the cosmic scene in this new picture from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Cracking the Code of Faraway Worlds: An Exoplanet Atmosphere
This infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope called a spectrum tells astronomers that a distant gas planet, a so-called "hot Jupiter" called HD 189733b, might be smothered with high clouds. It is one of the first spectra of an alien world.
Spitzer/MIPS View of NGC 2264
Newborn stars, hidden behind thick dust, are revealed in this infrared image of a section of the Christmas Tree Cluster from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Infrared Ring Nebula
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope finds a delicate flower in the Ring Nebula, as shown in this infrared image. The outer shell of this planetary nebula looks surprisingly similar to the delicate petals of a camellia blossom. A planetary nebula is a shell of material ejected from a dying star.
Spinning Top Star
A rare, infrared view of a developing star and its flaring jets taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (right) shows us what our own solar system might have looked like billions of years ago.
Out of the Dust, A Planet is Born
A possible newfound planet spins through a clearing in a nearby star's dusty, planet-forming disc. The possible planet is theorized to be at least as massive as Jupiter, and may have a similar appearance to what the giant planets in our own solar system looked like billions of years ago.
Spitzer 8.0 micron View of the Milky Way Center
Our Milky Way is a dusty place. So dusty, in fact, that we cannot see the center of the galaxy in visible light. But when NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes on the galactic center, it captured this spectacular view. But when NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes...
This artist's concept illustrates a tight pair of stars and a surrounding disk of dust -- most likely the shattered remains of planetary smashups.
Visible-light image of Henize 206
This image shows a visible-light view of the emission nebula, Henize 206, which lies within the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The LMC is a nearby and irregularly-shaped galaxy seen in the Southern Hemisphere.
The View from Within AU Microscopii's Disk
This is an artist's impression of the view from the vicinity of a hypothetical terrestrial planet and moon orbiting the red dwarf star AU Microscopii. The relatively newborn 12 million year-old star is surrounded by a very dusty disk of debris from the comets, asteroids, and planetissimals...
Beastly Stars and a Bubble
A star forming region called BG2107+49 shines from the considerable distance of more than 30,000 light years away in the upper left of this image.
Spitzer Captures Messier 87 (Jets)
The galaxy M87, imaged here by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, is home to a supermassive black hole that spews two jets of material out into space at nearly the speed of light. The inset shows a close-up view of the shockwaves created by the two jets.
Exoplanet HD 80606b Infrared Light Curve
This figure charts 30 hours of observations taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of a strongly irradiated exoplanet (an planet orbiting a star beyond our own). It shows the very rapid heating the planet experienced as it swung through its closest approach to the star.
A Surprisingly Bright Superbubble
This composite image shows a superbubble in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Astronomers using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Deep Impact mission are putting together a recipe for comet "soup" -- the primordial stuff of planets, comets, and other bodies in our solar system.
Galactic Wheels within Wheels
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the double-ringed galaxy Messier 94. Just outside the bright core, a burning ring of star formation glows brightly in the light of warm interstellar dust. Encircling it all is the faint blue glow of starlight forming what was long...
This artist's concept shows a brown dwarf with bands of clouds, thought to resemble those seen on Neptune and the other outer planets in the solar system.
Time Delay in Microlensing Event
This plot shows data obtained from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, or OGLE, telescope located in Chile, during a "microlensing" event. Microlensing events occur when one star passes another, and the gravity of the foreground star causes the distant...
Super-Comet or Big Asteroid Belt
This graph of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope demonstrates that the dust around a nearby star called HD 69830 (upper line) has a very similar composition to that of Comet Hale-Bopp. Spitzer spotted large amounts of this dust in the inner portion of the HD 69830 system.
Little Dust Grains in Giant Stellar Disks
This graph of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the composition of a monstrous disk of what may be planet-forming dust circling the colossal "hypergiant" star called R 66. The disk contains complex organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as well as silicate dust...
Artist's Rendering of Saturn's Infrared Ring
This artist's conception shows a nearly invisible ring around Saturn -- the largest of the giant planet's many rings. It was discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Dusty Death of a Massive Star
The supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 (inset) revealed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope sits next to the nebula N76 in a bright, star-forming region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy located about 200,000 light-years from Earth.
Comets Kick Up Dust in Helix Nebula
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Helix nebula, a cosmic starlet often photographed by amateur astronomers for its vivid colors and eerie resemblance to a giant eye.
Scientists were excited to discover clear skies on a relatively small planet, about the size of Neptune, using the combined power of NASA's Hubble, Spitzer and Kepler space telescopes.
I Spy a Little Asteroid With My Infrared Eye
This image of asteroid 2011 MD was taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in Feb. 2014, over a period of 20 hours. The long observation, taken in infrared light, was needed to pick up the faint signature of the small asteroid (center of frame).
This graph shows the brightness variations of the brown dwarf named 2MASSJ22282889-431026 measured simultaneously by both NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. As the object rotates every 1.4 hours, its emitted light periodically brightens and dims. Surprisingly, the timing, or phase, of...
New View of the Great Nebula in Carina
Compared to our own Sun, it is about 100 times as massive and a million times as bright. This famed variable hypergiant star is surrounded by the Carina Nebula.
Kepler's Supernova Remnant: Views from Chandra, Hubble and Spitzer
These images represent views of Kepler's supernova remnant taken in X-rays, visible light, and infrared radiation. The images indicate that the bubble of gas that makes up the supernova remnant appears different in various types of light.
Planetary Nebula NGC 4361
This infrared picture shows a dying star called NGC 4361. This star was once a lot like our sun, before it evolved and puffed out its outer layers. The object, called a planetary nebula, is unusual in that is has four lobes, or jets, of ejected material instead of the standard two.
The Whirlpool Galaxy in Infrared Light
This image shows the Whirlpool galaxy, also known as Messier 51 and NGC 5194/5195, which is actually a pair of galaxies. Located approximately 23 million light-years away, it resides in the constellation Canes Venatici. Here we see three wavelengths of infrared light: 3.6 microns (shown in blue),...
Brief History of the Universe
This artist's timeline chronicles the history of the universe, from its explosive beginning to its mature, present-day state.
An age-defying star called IRAS 19312+1950 exhibits features characteristic of a very young star and a very old star. The object stands out as extremely bright inside a large, chemically rich cloud of material.
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NASA’s Universe of Learning materials are based upon work supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The award is part of NASA’s Science Activation program, which strives to further enable NASA science experts and content into the learning environment more effectively and efficiently with learners of all ages.