False-colour CCD-image of the southern radio galaxy PKS 2152-69
This false-colour CCD-image of the southern radio galaxy PKS 2152-69 shows the gas cloud in which quasar-like activity has been discovered. The highly energetic cloud is seen to the upper left of the bright centre in the otherwise normal radio galaxy. The image was obtained by subtracting a...
Possible planetary or protoplanetary disc around the star Beta Pictoris
This is an image of a possible planetary or protoplanetary disc around the star Beta Pictoris. It is the first visible light image ever taken of a compact disc of solid material located within such close proximity to a star. The disc is estimated to be 80.000 million kilometres across.
Minor planet (1179) Mally
The trail of Minor Planet (1179) Mally, as seen on a 30-min. blue ESO Schmidt plate obtained on March 12, 1986. (ESO Press Release eso8611; BW)
Comet Halley develops 15-degree tail
Comet Halley develops 15-degree tail (February 27). (ESO Press Photo eso9004; Colour). This image was taken using a special custom-made telescope which was dismantled shortly after the comet went away.
Comet Halley's CO tails
Comet Halley's CO tails (March 3 - 5). (ESO Press Photo eso8607; BW)
Comet Halley's multiple tails
Comet Halley's multiple tails (February 22). (ESO Press Photo eso8607; Colour) This image was taken using a special custom-made telescope which was dismantled shortly after the comet went away.
Comet 1P/Halley
Comet 1P/Halley with the wide-field CCD.
Comet Halley's ion tails
Comet Halley's ion tails were photographed with the ESO Schmidt telescope on 9 December 1985. (Original scale of the photograph: 1 degree = 12 cm)
Halley's multiple dust tail
Halley's multiple dust tail. This false-colour wide-field CCD Picture of Comet Halley was obtained with the ESO special camera sensitive to the 500-1100 nm spectral region. The exposure time was 45 seconds. This is the first picture to show clearly multiple tails of Comet Halley. The ion tails...
The Horsehead Nebula*
A reproduction of a composite colour image of the Horsehead Nebula and its immediate surroundings. It is based on three exposures in the visual part of the spectrum with the FORS2 multi-mode instrument at the 8.2-m KUEYEN telescope, part of ESO's Very Large Telescope, at Paranal. It was...
The Horsehead Nebula
An enlargement of a smaller area. Technical information about these photos is available below. This is an enlargement of a smaller area, measuring 3.8 x 4.1 arcmin 2 . North is to the left and east is down (the usual orientation for showing this object). The frames were recorded with a TK2048...
R Leporis as imaged by ALMA
This image of R Leporis, a star in the final stages of its evolution, is the highest resolution image ever achieved with ALMA. It has an angular resolution of 5 milli-arcseconds, equivalent to seeing a 10-metre-long bus on the Moon. It was achieved using the ALMA Band 10 (high-frequency)...
Chandra "Hears" a Supermassive Black Hole in Perseus
A 53-hour Chandra observation of the central region of the Perseus galaxy cluster.
Chandra Sees Evidence for Possible Planet in Another Galaxy
Astronomers have found evidence for a possible planet candidate in the M51 ("Whirlpool") galaxy, representing what could be the first planet detected outside of the Milky Way.
Chandra Catches Slingshot During Collision
Galaxy clusters are the titans of the Universe. A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory examines the repercussions after two galaxy clusters clashed.
Chandra Sees Evidence for Possible Planet in Another Galaxy
Astronomers have found evidence for a possible planet candidate in the M51 ("Whirlpool") galaxy, representing what could be the first planet detected outside of the Milky Way.
Huge Rings Around a Black Hole
A spectacular set of rings around a black hole has been captured using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Historic Nebula Seen Like Never Before
Combined observations from Chandra and IXPE present a new view of the Crab Nebula.
A new collection of stunning images highlights data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
The NGC 4839 group of galaxies is plunging into the Coma galaxy cluster and leaving behind a tail of superheated gas.
Cosmic Harmonies: Sonifications From NASA Telescopes
Each layer of sound in these three new NASA sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by Chandra, Webb, Hubble, and Spitzer in various combinations.
Each layer of sound in these three new NASA sonifications represents particular wavelengths of light detected by Chandra, Webb, Hubble, and Spitzer in various combinations.
New data from IXPE has provided evidence that our Milky Way's supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, had an outburst about 200 years ago after devouring gas and dust within its reach.
A galaxy cluster located about 8.4 billion light-years from Earth.
A new collection of stunning images highlights data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
Life Is Too Fast, Too Furious for This Runaway Galaxy
A new collection of stunning images highlights data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
A new collection of stunning images highlights data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
IXPE and Chandra Untangle Theories Surrounding Historic Supernova Remnant
Supernova 1006 was first seen in the sky on May 1, 1006 A.D. Today, scientists are learning even more about the spectacular stellar explosion documented in many parts of the world.
X-ray Telescopes Reveal the "Bones" of a Ghostly Cosmic Hand
Chandra's data of MSH 15-52 have been combined with data from NASA's newest X-ray telescope, IXPE to unveil the magnetic field "bones" of this remarkable structure.
Chandra Rewinds Story of Great Eruption of the 1840s
A time-lapse sequence of Eta Carinae allows astronomers to watch as the stellar eruption continues to expand into space at speeds up to 4.5 million miles per hour.
NASA Telescopes Discover Record-Breaking Black Hole
This image contains the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays, a result that may explain how some of the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed.
NGC 4303 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 1512 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 3627 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 1672 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, those these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 2835 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 1566 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 5068 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 7496 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 4254 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 4321 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 4535 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 3351 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 1300 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 1385 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 1433 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 628 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 1365 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
IC 5332 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, though these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
NGC 1087 (Webb Image)
Color Decoder Gas and Dust In Webb’s high-resolution infrared images, the gas and dust stand out in stark shades of orange and red, and show finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges, those these areas are still diffuse. In Hubble’s images, the gas and dust show up as hazy dark...
View of the galactic centre
View of the Galactic centre captured with ESO's VISTA infrared survey telescope, as part of the Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) ESO public survey.
HAWK-I view of the Milky Way’s central region (close-up)
This image features a close-up of a wide-field, near-infrared view of the central region of the Milky Way, taken with the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
HAWK-I view of the Milky Way’s central region
Taken with the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in the Chilean Atacama Desert, this stunning image shows the Milky Way’s central region with an angular resolution of 0.2 arcseconds. This means the level of detail picked up by HAWK-I is roughly equivalent to seeing a football...
Wide-field view of the centre of the Milky Way
This visible light wide-field view shows the rich star clouds in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer) in the direction of the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. The entire image is filled with vast numbers of stars — but far more remain hidden behind clouds of dust and are only revealed...
NASA's Chandra Catches Spider Pulsars Destroying Nearby Stars
A group of dead stars known as "spider pulsars" are obliterating companion stars within their reach.
NASA Telescope Data Becomes Music You Can Play
A new collaboration is enabling actual data from NASA telescopes to be used as the basis for original music that humans can play.
Ribbons and pearls
This is an image of the galaxy NGC 1398. The original version and description are available in the ESO image archive.
Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey (NIRCam Image)
Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey Galaxy Close-Ups (NIRCam Image)
Hubble Photographs Home of Farthest Fast Radio Burst
A Hubble Space Telescope image of the host galaxy of an exceptionally powerful Fast Radio Burst, FRB20220610A. Hubble’s sensitivity and sharpness reveals a compact group of multiple galaxies that may be in the process of merging. They existed when the universe was only 5 billion years ago. FRB...
Providers | Sign In
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.