Digitized Sky Survey image of Betelgeuse
This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximatelly 2.0 x 1.5 degrees.
View of the Galactic Plane from the ATLASGAL survey
Colour-composite image of part of the Galactic Plane seen by the ATLASGAL survey. In this image, the ATLASGAL submillimetre-wavelength data are shown in red, overlaid on a view of the region in infrared light, from the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) in green and blue. The total size of the...
View of the Galactic Plane from the ATLASGAL survey (in five sections)
Colour-composite image of part of the Galactic Plane seen by the ATLASGAL survey, divided into sections. In this image, the ATLASGAL submillimetre-wavelength data are shown in red, overlaid on a view of the region in infrared light, from the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) in green and blue....
Digitized Sky Survey image around the stellar cluster RCW 38
This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximately 2.4 x 2.0 degrees.
Detailed view of a section of the Large Magellanic Cloud
This spectacular new image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile reveals a celestial menagerie of different objects and phenomena in part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small companion galaxy to our own Milky Way. Many clusters...
DSS + insert, annotated
This wide-field image contains the area where a team of researchers confirmed that cosmic rays from our galaxy are very efficiently accelerated in the remnants of exploded stars. The red line guides the eye to various regions where the remnants of the stellar explosion are most visible. The...
The Eagle Nebula
Three-colour composite mosaic image of the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16, or NGC 6611), based on images obtained with the Wide-Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory. At the centre, the so-called “Pillars of Creation” can be seen. This wide-field image...
Submillimetre and infrared view of the Galactic Centre
This is a colour composite image of the central region of our Milky Way galaxy, about 26 000 light years from Earth. Giant clouds of gas and dust are shown in blue, as detected by the LABOCA instrument on the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope at submillimetre wavelengths (870...
View of the Galactic Plane from the ATLASGAL survey (annotated)
Colour-composite annotated image of part of the Galactic Plane seen by the ATLASGAL survey. In this image, the ATLASGAL submillimetre-wavelength data are shown in red, overlaid on a view of the region in infrared light, from the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) in green and blue. The total size...
VISTA's infrared view of the Orion Nebula*
This wide-field view of the Orion Nebula (Messier 42), lying about 1350 light-years from Earth, was taken with the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The new telescope’s huge field of view allows the whole nebula and its surroundings to be imaged in a single...
DSS image
A wide-field image of the area of the sky near the system Gliese 581.
Digitized sky survey image of the galaxy NGC 6822
This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximatelly 2.9 x 2.9 degrees.
The field around HD 87643
This image, showing a very rich field of stars towards the Carina arm of the Milky Way, is centred on the star HD 87643, a member of the class of B[e] stars. The amazing image is set ablaze by a flurry of stars of all colours and brightnesses, some of which are seen against a backdrop of clouds...
Nebula around star cluster RCW 38
The wider region surrounding the star cluster RCW 38, located about 5,500 light years away in the direction of the constellation Vela (the Sails). RCW 38 is an "embedded" cluster, in that the nascent cloud of dust and gas still envelops its stars. There, young, titanic stars bombard fledgling...
The hidden fires of the Flame Nebula (full frame)
This VISTA image shows the spectacular star-forming region known as the Flame Nebula, or NGC 2024, in the constellation of Orion (the Hunter) and its surroundings. In views of this evocative object in visible light the core of the nebula is completely hidden behind obscuring dust, but in this...
Mercury transit on May 7, 2003
The view through a large telescope may have offered scenes like this one, when the black disc of Mercury (above, left) passed near a group of sunspots on the solar surface. This picture is a montage that was created for a press release before the Mercury Transit that took place on May 7, 2003.
View of the Galactic Plane from the ATLASGAL survey (annotated and in five sections)
Colour-composite annotated image of part of the Galactic Plane seen by the ATLASGAL survey, divided into sections. In this image, the ATLASGAL submillimetre-wavelength data are shown in red, overlaid on a view of the region in infrared light, from the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) in green...
Spiral galaxy NGC 7793
Image of the chaotic spiral galaxy NGC 7793, observed with the FORS instrument attached to ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal. The image is based on data obtained through B, V, I and H-alpha filters.
Digitized Sky Survey image of the galaxy NGC 4945
This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximatelly 3.0 x 3.0 degrees.
Field around the planet-hosting star CoRoT-7
The star CoRoT-7 is located towards the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn) at a distance of about 500 light-years. This image shows a larger field of view around the star, covering about 9 square degrees or about 11 times the size of the Full Moon. CoRoT-7 is in the centre of the image.
The Fornax Cluster of galaxies
The Fornax Galaxy Cluster is one of the closest of such groupings beyond our Local Group of galaxies. This VISTA image was constructed from images taken through Z, J and Ks filters in the near-infrared part of the spectrum and has captured many of the cluster members in a single image. At the...
Digitized sky survey image of the Eagle Nebula
This image is a colour composite of the Eagle Nebula (M 16) made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximatelly 3.8 x 3.3 degrees.
Around the Arches Cluster
The turbulent central region of our Milky Way is shown in this beautiful picture taken with the Wide Field Imager attached to the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope. Near the centre of the image — and of our Galaxy — a supermassive black hole lurks (see ESO Press Release eso0846). Dense dust found...
Digitized Sky Survey image of the double star HD 87643
This image is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximatelly 3.9 x 2.5 degrees.
Irregular galaxy NGC 55
Image of the irregular galaxy NGC 55 obtained with the Wide Field Imager on the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at ESO La Silla Observatory. The galaxy is about 7.5 million light-years away and 70,000 light-years across. The image is based on data obtained through B, V, and H-alpha filters. North...
Disc around the young star HD 163296 (observations+model)
New research carried out using ESO telescopes has, for the first time, allowed astronomers to reconstruct a detailed picture of the disc of matter around a young star. Stéphanie Renard of the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Grenoble and colleagues used the ESO VLT Interferometer to probe the...
Blue dwarf galaxy NGC 5233
ISAAC image of NGC 5253 obtained in infrared the L-band (3.78 μm), with a very massive young stellar cluster (see text) as the brightest object. The FOV is 49 times 64 arcseconds.
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...
DSS image
A wide-field image of the area of the sky where the mystery of the Milky Way’s super-efficient particle accelerators was solved by studying the ancient RCW 86 supernova remnant.
Disc around the young star HD 163296 (observations)
New research carried out using ESO telescopes has, for the first time, allowed astronomers to reconstruct a detailed picture of the disc of matter around a young star. Stéphanie Renard of the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Grenoble and colleagues used the ESO VLT Interferometer to probe the...
Big stellar cluster in the blue dwarf galaxy NGC 5253
Composite colour-coded image of the small starburst galaxy NGC 5253, at a distance of 11 million light-years. It is based on one near-infrared image (in the K-band at wavelength 2.16 μm; here coded red) obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) and two images in the visual spectral...
Big stellar cluster in the blue dwarf galaxy NGC 5253
Composite colour-coded image of the small starburst galaxy NGC 5253, at a distance of 11 million light-years. It is based on one near-infrared image (in the K-band at wavelength 2.16 μm; here coded red) obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) and two images in the visual spectral...
One million stars — towards the dark heart of the Milky Way*
With this remarkable VISTA mosaic we look deep into the dusty heart of our own Milky Way galaxy in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). About one million stars are revealed in this picture, most of them not seen in visible light pictures. As well as absorbing light, the dust also...
The globular star cluster NGC 6752
This image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the globular star cluster NGC 6752 in the southern constellation of Pavo (The Peacock). Studies of this cluster using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have unexpectedly revealed ...
The Virgo Cluster
Image of the Virgo cluster of galaxies taken with the Palomar Observatory 48-inch Schmidt telescope as part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 is seen in the centre, while Messier 84 and 86 are the two bright galaxies forming part of the small group on the...
Digitized Sky Survey Image of the Omega Nebula (M 17)
This image is a colour composite of the Omega Nebula (M 17) made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximatelly 4.7 x 3.7 degrees.
The Orion a molecular cloud from VISTA
This image from the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in northern Chile is part of the largest infrared high-resolution mosaic of Orion ever created. It covers the Orion A molecular cloud, the nearest known massive star factory, lying about 1350 light-years from...
Wide-field of the region around the quasar J0529-4351
This image shows the region of the sky in which the record-breaking quasar J0529-4351 is situated. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, this quasar has been found to be the most luminous object known in the Universe to date. This picture was created from images forming part of the...
Water in the HL Tauri disc
Astronomers have found water vapour in a disc around a young star exactly where planets may be forming. In this image, the new observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, show the water vapour in shades of blue. Near the centre of the...
ALMA image of the protoplanetary disc around HL Tauri
This is the sharpest image ever taken by ALMA — sharper than is routinely achieved in visible light with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It shows the protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star HL Tauri. These new ALMA observations reveal substructures within the disc that have never...
Wide-field view of the sky around the young star HL Tauri
This image shows the region in which HL Tauri is situated. HL Tauri is part of one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth and there are many young stars, as well as clouds of dust, in its vicinity. This picture was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
The Large Magellanic Cloud revealed by VISTA
ESO’s VISTA telescope reveals a remarkable image of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of our nearest galactic neighbours. VISTA has been surveying this galaxy and its sibling the Small Magellanic Cloud, as well as their surroundings, in unprecedented detail. This survey allows astronomers to...
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...
The Carina Nebula with OmegaCAM
This raw image, straight from the OmegaCam instrument on the VST, was used together with many others to produce the iconic photo of the Carina Nebula (eso1250). The images taken with astronomical instruments are always in intensity scale: the colour information is obtained by taking exposures...
The Orion Nebula spied by Hawk-I
The central region of the Orion Nebula (M42, NGC 1976) as seen in the near-infrared by the High Acuity Wide field K-band Imager (HAWK-I) instrument at ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal.
Galaxy cluster Abell S0740
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the diverse collection of galaxies in the cluster Abell S0740 that is over 450 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Centaurus. The giant elliptical ESO 325-G004 looms large at the cluster's centre. Hubble...
Galaxy cluster RCS2 032727-132623 (uncropped)
Galaxy cluster RCS2 032727-132623 (uncropped).
The Omega Nebula (M17)
The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Messier 17 (M17), or NGC 6618, as imaged by the ESO 3.6-metre telescope on La Silla.
Omega Centauri with the NTT
Four views of Omega Centauri, the largest and most luminous globular cluster in the Milky Way Galaxy. The images, obtained in 1994, come courtesy of ESO's 3.6-metre New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. The images demonstrate the improvement in spatial resolution...
Omega Centauri
Field near the centre of Omega Centauri.
NGC 2997
This is one of the first CCD images taken at ESO. It was obtained in the V filter, with the CCD camera at the 1.5-metre Danish Telescope at La Silla Observatory. NGC 2997 is a beautiful galaxy and a typical Sc type with two dominant arms. In spite of some ramifications, both arms can be traced...
NGC 6188
Impressive image of the NGC 6188 nebula, located some 4000 light-years away, in the southern constellation of Ara (the Altar). The red colour is due to emission from hydrogen, lit up by massive, recently-formed stars. The emission nebula is embedded in a dark, large molecular cloud.
Cosmic bubble NGC 6781
Stars such as our Sun do not contain enough mass to finish their lives in the glorious explosions known as supernovae. However, they are still able to salute their imminent demise into dense, Earth-sized embers called white dwarfs by first expelling colourful shells of gas known as planetary...
Warm gas clouds and stars in NGC 4303 mapped with MUSE on ESO’s VLT
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 4303 was taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). The bright reddish glows map warm clouds of hydrogen (Hα), marking the presence of newly born stars, while the bluish regions (a combination of green, red...
The NGC 4303 galaxy as seen with MUSE on ESO’s VLT
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 4303, taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), combines green, red and infrared filters to reveal the distribution of stars. NGC 4303 is a spiral galaxy, with a bar of stars and gas at its centre, located...
The NGC 4303 galaxy as seen with ALMA
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 4303, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, shows the distribution of cold clouds of molecular gas, which provide the raw material from which stars form. NGC 4303 is a spiral galaxy, with a bar of...
Warm gas clouds and stars in NGC 4254 mapped with MUSE on ESO’s VLT
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 4254 was taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). The bright reddish glows map warm clouds of hydrogen (Hα), marking the presence of newly born stars, while the bluish regions (a combination of green, red...
Cat's Paw print in the Scorpius constellation
The distinctive-looking Cat's Paw Nebula, also known as the Bear Claw Nebula and cataloged as NGC 6334, is located in the constellation Scorpius. ESO's 3.6-meter Telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile gathered the light for this image in 1986.
The NGC 4254 galaxy as seen with MUSE on ESO’s VLT
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 4254, taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), combines green, red and infrared filters to reveal the distribution of stars. NGC 4254 is a grand-design spiral galaxy located approximately 45 million...
Warm gas clouds and stars in NGC 3627 mapped with MUSE on ESO’s VLT
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 3627 was taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). The bright reddish glows map warm clouds of hydrogen (Hα), marking the presence of newly born stars, while the bluish regions (a combination of green, red...
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