Intricate Dance of Black Holes
This simulation helps explain an odd light signal thought to be coming from a close-knit pair of merging black holes, PG 1302-102, located 3.5 billion light-years away.
This computer-simulated image shows gas from a tidally shredded star falling into a black hole.
The Beginning of the End of Star Formation
Time is running out for the galaxy NGC 3801, NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer and other instruments have helped catch the galaxy NGC 3801 in the act of destroying its cold, gaseous fuel for new stars.
Galaxy Growth by Interaction
This ultraviolet/visible-light composite image shows one-way galaxies may grow from interaction. The composite was created with ultraviolet imagery taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), and visible-light pictures from the Digital Sky Survey (DSS).
Hubble spotlights a swirling spiral
The barred spiral galaxy UGC 678 takes centre stage in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The spectacular galaxy lies around 260 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pisces and is almost face on, allowing its lazily winding spiral arms to stretch across this...
A jellyfish and the ram
Here we see JO204, a ‘jellyfish galaxy’ so named for the bright tendrils of gas that appear in this image to be drifting lazily below JO204’s bright central bulk. The galaxy lies almost 600 million light-years away in the constellation Sextans. This image was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble...
The loneliest of galaxies
Only three local stars appear in this image, quartered by right-angled diffraction spikes. Everything besides them is a galaxy; floating like a swarm of microbes in a drop of water, and brought into view here not by a microscope, but by the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space...
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No It's Mira!
A close-up view of a star racing through space faster than a speeding bullet can be seen in this image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The star, called Mira, is traveling at 130 kilometers per second, or 291,000 miles per hour. As it hurls along, it sheds material that will be recycled...
Andromeda, the Galaxy Next Door
At approximately 2.5 million light-years away, the Andromeda Galaxy, or M31, is our Milky Way's largest galactic neighbor. The entire galaxy spans 260,000 light-years across -- a distance so large, it took 10 GALEX images stitched together to produce this view of the galaxy next door.
Structural Integrity of the Pinwheel Galaxy
The structural integrity of M101, or the Pinwheel Galaxy, is revealed in this classic image from GALEX.
A Cosmic Embrace
From 22 million light-years away, galaxy M106 extends two ultraviolet-bright spiral arms in this image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer.
Hubble unexpectedly finds double quasar in distant Universe
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows a pair of quasars (known as J0749+2255) that existed when the Universe was just 3 billion years old. They are embedded inside a pair of colliding galaxies. The quasars are separated by less than the size of a single galaxy. Quasars are...
NGC 1333
This image of NGC 1333 was taken using the Mosaic-1 imager and the National Science Foundation’s Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak. This star-forming region, located roughly 1,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Perseus, harbors hundreds of newly formed stars...
Dual Quasar (J0749+2255)
Hubble Unexpectedly Finds Double Quasar in Distant Universe
Cassiopeia A - The colourful aftermath of a violent stellar death
A new image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provides a detailed look at the tattered remains of a supernova explosion known as Cassiopeia A (Cas A). It is the youngest known remnant from a supernova explosion in the Milky Way. The new Hubble image shows the complex and intricate...
Portrait of a galactic jellyfish
The galaxy JW100 features prominently in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, with streams of star-forming gas dripping from the disc of the galaxy like streaks of fresh paint. These tendrils of bright gas are formed by a process called ram pressure stripping, and their...
Hubble’s neighbourhood watch
UGCA 307 hangs against an irregular backdrop of distant galaxies in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The small galaxy consists of a diffuse band of stars containing red bubbles of gas that mark regions of recent star formation, and lies roughly 26 million light-years from...
Hubble spies a meandering spiral
The irregular spiral galaxy NGC 5486 hangs against a background of dim, distant galaxies in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The tenuous disc of the galaxy is threaded through with pink wisps of star formation, which stand out from the diffuse glow of the galaxy’s bright...
Galactic Seascape
A jellyfish galaxy with trailing tentacles of stars hangs in inky blackness in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. As Jellyfish galaxies move through intergalactic space they are slowly stripped of gas, which trails behind the galaxy in tendrils illuminated by clumps of star...
Galaxy Trio: NGC 5566, NGC 5560, and NGC 5569
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows a triplet of galaxies in the Virgo cluster: NGC 5560 (top galaxy), NGC 5566 (middle galaxy), and NGC 5569 (bottom galaxy).
This artist's concept illustrates a young, red dwarf star surrounded by three planets. Such stars are dimmer and smaller than yellow stars like our sun, which makes them ideal targets for astronomers wishing to take images of planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets.
Frankenstein Galaxy
At left, in optical light, UGC 1382 appears to be a simple elliptical galaxy. But spiral arms emerged when astronomers incorporated ultraviolet and deep optical data (middle). Combining that with a view of low-density hydrogen gas (shown in green at right), scientists discovered that UGC 1382 is...
Galactic Train Wreck
This image shows an example of colliding galaxies from a new photo atlas of galactic "train wrecks".
Galactic Train Wreck
This image shows an example of colliding galaxies from a new photo atlas of galactic "train wrecks".
A new study analyzes several sites where dead stars once exploded. The explosions, called Type Ia supernovae, occurred within galaxies, six of which are shown in these images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
Galactic Train Wreck
This image shows an example of colliding galaxies from a new photo atlas of galactic "train wrecks".
Cygnus Loop Nebula
Wispy tendrils of hot dust and gas glow brightly in this ultraviolet image of the Cygnus Loop nebula, taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer.
These postage-stamp images were taken by the ultraviolet-sensing GALEX -- the top row shows four galaxies that each produced a typical supernova, while the bottom row shows four galaxies that each produced an ultra-bright supernova.
Blue Ring Nebula
Located 6,300 light-years away in the constellation Hercules, the Blue Ring Nebula is thought to be a short-lived phase after the merger of two stars. As debris from the stellar merger was blown outward, it led to the creation of a shock front, in which hydrogen atoms were excited and induced to...
A new study analyzes several sites where dead stars once exploded. The explosions, called Type Ia supernovae, occurred within galaxies, six of which are shown in these images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
This image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows Messier 94, also known as NGC 4736, in ultraviolet light. It is located 17 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici.
This image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows NGC 4565, one of the nearest and brightest galaxies not included in the famous list by 18th-century comet hunter Charles Messier.
The Extended Region Around the Planetary Nebula NGC 3242
This ultraviolet image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows NGC 3242, a planetary nebula frequently referred to as "Jupiter's Ghost."
Evolution of Mira's Enormous Tail
This chart illustrates the length (top) and age (bottom) of a long comet-like tail of material trailing behind a speeding star called Mira (pronounced My-rah). Mira is located in the bulb-shaped structure at right, but it is very small compared to the tail and is difficult to distinguish. The...
Stars and Dust in the Triangulum Galaxy
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer Mission celebrates its sixth anniversary studying galaxies beyond our Milky Way through its sensitive ultraviolet telescope, the only such far-ultraviolet detector in space. This image is a blend of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's M33 image and another taken by...
"Ghost of Mirach" Rears its Spooky Head
The "Ghost of Mirach" galaxy is shown in ultraviolet as seen by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The Ghost of Mirach -- a galaxy called NGC 404 -- is seen as the whitish spot in the center of the image.
This image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows NGC 6744, one of the galaxies most similar to our Milky Way in the local universe.
Blue Ring Nebula
Located 6,300 light-years away in the constellation Hercules, the Blue Ring Nebula is thought to be a short-lived phase after the merger of two stars. As debris from the stellar merger was blown outward, it led to the creation of a shock front, in which hydrogen atoms were excited and induced to...
Astronomers have found unexpected rings and arcs of ultraviolet light around a selection of galaxies, four of which are shown here as viewed by NASA's and the European Space Agency's Hubble Space Telescope.
The Ultraviolet Stars and Infrared Dust of the Triangulum Galaxy
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer Mission celebrates its sixth anniversary studying galaxies beyond our Milky Way through its sensitive ultraviolet telescope, the only such far-ultraviolet detector in space. This image is a blend of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's M33 image and another taken by...
Now You See a Tail, Now You Don't
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer found a tail behind a galaxy called IC 3418.
The Ultraviolet Triangulum Galaxy
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer Mission celebrates its sixth anniversary studying galaxies beyond our Milky Way through its sensitive ultraviolet telescope, the only such far-ultraviolet detector in space. The image shows a map of the recent star formation history of M33.
This diagram illustrates the extent to which astronomers have been underestimating the proportion of small to big stars in certain galaxies.
The unique ultraviolet vision of NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer reveals, for the first time, dwarf galaxies forming out of nothing more than pristine gas likely leftover from the early universe. Dwarf galaxies are relatively small collections of stars that often orbit around larger galaxies...
Ultraviolet Extensions
This ultraviolet image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows the Southern Pinwheel galaxy, also know as Messier 83 or M83.
"Ghost of Mirach" Rears its Spooky Head
The "Ghost of Mirach" -- a galaxy called NGC 404 -- is seen as the whitish spot in the center of this visible light image.
Nearby Newborns
This image shows six of the three-dozen "ultraviolet luminous galaxies" spotted in our corner of the universe by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. These massive galaxies greatly resemble newborn galaxies that were common in the early universe.
The Galaxy Next Door in Ultraviolet
Hot stars burn brightly in this new image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, showing the ultraviolet side of a familiar face.
NGC 362
This image is a ultraviolet color composite, where light detected by GALEX's far-ultraviolet detector is colored blue, and light from GALEX's near-ultraviolet detector is red.
Johnny Appleseed of the Cosmos
A new ultraviolet mosaic from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows a speeding star that is leaving an enormous trail of "seeds" for new solar systems. The star, named Mira, is shedding material that will be recycled into new stars, planets and possibly even life as it hurls through our galaxy.
Classic Galaxy With Glamour
In a new ultraviolet image, the magnificent M81 spiral galaxy is shown at the center.
NGC 4522 Stripped
This image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows galaxy NGC 4522 being stripped of its star-forming material. Astronomers refer to this process as "ram-pressure stripping" - where surrounding hot-gas shoves star-forming gas out of the galaxy's outer disk.
This artist's concept depicts a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy. NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer found evidence that black holes - once they grow to a critical size - stifle the formation of new stars in elliptical galaxies. Black holes are thought to do this by heating up and...
The Stars of EF Eri
This artist's concept depicts subtle mass transfer between the stars of EF Eridanus, nicknamed EF Eri for short. Located 300 light-years away, EF Eri is binary (two star) cataclysmic variable system. In this system a white dwarf, or a dead star with approximately 60 percent of our Sun's mass...
Look at My Arms!
This image shows the hidden spiral arms that were discovered around the galaxy called NGC 4625 (top) by the ultraviolet eyes of NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. An armless companion galaxy called NGC 4618 is pictured below.
Multi-Wavelength Composite
This false-color composite image shows the Cartwheel galaxy as seen by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's Far Ultraviolet detector (blue); the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera-2 in B-band visible light (green); the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) at 8...
This artist's concept shows a supermassive black hole at the center of a remote galaxy digesting the remnants of a star. NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer had a "ringside" seat for this feeding frenzy, using its ultraviolet eyes to study the process from beginning to end.
Gravitational Dance: NGC 1512 and NGC 1510
In this image, the wide ultraviolet eyes of NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer show spiral galaxy NGC 1512 sitting slightly northwest of elliptical galaxy NGC 1510. The two galaxies are currently separated by a mere 68,000 light-years, leading many astronomers to suspect that a close encounter is...
Stellar Parties
Like confetti at a party, the diverse stellar populations of globular clusters NGC 1851 and 1904 display a spectacular range of colors in these three-channel composites.
Silver Dollar Galaxy: NGC 253
Located 10 million light-years away in the southern constellation Sculptor, the Silver Dollar galaxy, or NGC 253, is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the night sky. In this edge-on view from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, the wisps of blue represent relatively dustless areas of the...
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