Hiding in Plain Sight
The muted red tones of the globular cluster Liller 1 are partially obscured in this image by a dense scattering of piercingly blue stars. In fact, it is thanks to Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) that we are able to see Liller 1 so clearly in this image, because the WFC3 is sensitive to...
Spirals Are In This Season
This stunning image by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features the spiral galaxy NGC 5643 in the constellation of Lupus (The Wolf). Looking this good isn’t easy; thirty different exposures, for a total of 9 hours observation time, together with the high resolution and clarity of Hubble,...
Hubble Captures Supernova in NGC 2525
Pictured here is part of the captivating galaxy NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Together with the Carina and the Vela constellations, it makes up an image of the Argo from ancient greek...
Galactic Conjunction
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures the spiral galaxy NGC 105, which lies roughly 215 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces. While it looks like NGC 105 is plunging edge-on into a collision with a neighbouring galaxy, this is just the result of the chance...
Four Filter Fusion
This stellar whirlpool is a spiral galaxy named NCG 7329, which has been imaged by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Creating a colourful image such as this one using a telescope such as Hubble is not as straightforward as pointing and clicking a camera. Commercial cameras will typically try...
Aftermath of a Cosmic Cataclysm
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the tattered remnant of a supernova — a titanic explosion marking the end of the life of a dying star. This object — known as DEM L249 — is thought to have been created by a Type 1a supernova during the death throes of a white dwarf....
Abell 370 Parallel Field with Asteroids
Some asteroids from within our Solar System have photobombed deep images of the Universe taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. These asteroids reside, on average, only about 260 million kilometres from Earth — right around the corner in astronomical terms. Yet they've horned their way...
Herschels Population of Trans-Neptunian Objects
SAs Herschel space observatory has observed 132 of the known 1400 cold worlds that inhabit a region of the Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune, some 4.5-7.5 billion km from the Sun.
Hubble Sees Double in M99
The magnificent spiral galaxy M99 fills the frame in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. M99 — which lies roughly 42 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices — is a “grand design” spiral galaxy, so-called because of the well-defined, prominent spiral...
Carina Nebula western wall (with adaptive optics)
A 50-trillion-km (33-trillion-mile, or 5 light-year) long section of the western wall in the Carina Nebula, as observed with adaptive optics on the Gemini South telescope. This mountainous section of the nebula reveals a number of unusual structures including a long series of parallel ridges...
Carina Nebula (NGC 3372)
This image shows a giant star-forming region in the southern sky known as the Carina Nebula (NGC3372), combining the light from 3 different filters tracing emission from oxygen (blue), hydrogen (green), and sulfur (red). The color is also representative of the temperature in the ionized gas:...
The Hickson Compact Group 40
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is celebrating its 32nd birthday with a stunning look at an unusual close-knit collection of five galaxies, called the Hickson Compact Group 40. This snapshot reflects a special moment in their lifetimes as they fall together before they merge.
An international team of astronomers using archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and other space- and ground-based observatories have discovered a unique object in the distant, early Universe that is a crucial link between young star-forming galaxies and the earliest...
Hubble Inspects a Set of Galactic Wings
Two merging galaxies in the VV689 system — nicknamed the Angel Wing —feature in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. In this view, the focus is placed on the system itself, allowing a closer look at it's unique morphology.
Hubble Inspects a Set of Galactic Wings
Two merging galaxies in the VV689 system — nicknamed the Angel Wing —feature in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Unlike chance alignments of galaxies which only appear to overlap as seen from our vantage point on Earth, the two galaxies in VV689 are in the midst of a...
NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (sub-section)
This first release from the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS) consists of the optical images in 1.15 x 1.15 degrees (pixel size 0.258 arc seconds) of the Bootes field, one of the two NDWFS sky fields. Covering roughly 7 percent of the total survey area, this region contains approximately...
Galactic Dance
Image of the interacting galaxy pair NGC 5394/5 obtained with NSF's NOIRLab's Gemini North 8-meter telescope on Hawai'i's Maunakea using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph in imaging mode. This four-color composite image has a total exposure time of 42 minutes
Fast Radio Burst 180916 Host Galaxy (unannotated)
Image of the host galaxy of FRB 180916 (center) acquired with the 8-meter Gemini-North telescope of NOIRLab on Hawaii’s Maunakea. Images acquired in SDSS g’, r’, and z’ filters are used for the blue, green, and red colors, respectively.
Portrait of a Starburst Galaxy
KPNO captures irregular starburst galaxy IC 10 in glorious detail This striking image from NOIRLab’s Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) presents a portrait of the irregular galaxy IC 10, a disorderly starburst galaxy close to the Milky Way. As well as a population of bright young stars, this...
TWA 7
A circumstellar disk around star TWA 7 selected from the larger sample of 26 disks obtained with the Gemini South telescope in Chile using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI).
HR 4796 A
A circumstellar disk around star HR 4796 A selected from the larger sample of 26 disks obtained with the Gemini South telescope in Chile using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI).
HD 111520
A circumstellar disk around star HD 111520 selected from the larger sample of 26 disks obtained with the Gemini South telescope in Chile using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI).
HD 32297
A circumstellar disk around star HD 32297 selected from the larger sample of 26 disks obtained with the Gemini South telescope in Chile using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI).
HD 117214
A circumstellar disk around star HD 117214 selected from the larger sample of 26 disks obtained with the Gemini South telescope in Chile using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI).
HD 129590
A circumstellar disk around star HD 129590 selected from the larger sample of 26 disks obtained with the Gemini South telescope in Chile using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI).
Cosmic Fireworks (wide angle)
The spiral galaxy NGC 925 reveals cosmic pyrotechnics in its spiral arms where bursts of star formation are taking place in the red, glowing clouds scattered throughout it.
Cosmic Fireworks
The spiral galaxy NGC 925 reveals cosmic pyrotechnics in its spiral arms where bursts of star formation are taking place in the red, glowing clouds scattered throughout it.
Carina Nebula Western Wall (without adaptive optics)
A 50-trillion-km (33-trillion-mile, or 5 light-year) long section of the western wall in the Carina Nebula, observed without adaptive optics.
NGC 1003 (wide crop)
A stunning long-exposure observation lasting 70 minutes from the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, reveals the surroundings of the spiral galaxy NGC 1003 in glorious detail. NGC 1003 resides in front of a galaxy cluster — a vast...
NGC 1003
A stunning long-exposure observation lasting 70 minutes from the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, reveals the spiral galaxy NGC 1003 in glorious detail. NGC 1003 resides in front of a galaxy cluster — a vast collection of...
The irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 — excerpt from the Dark Energy Survey
The irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 contains some 100 million stars and is a member of our Local Group of galaxies, which also includes our Milky Way, the Andromeda spiral galaxy, and the Magellanic Clouds. It is at a distance of 2.4 million light-years and contains several examples of Cepheid...
Wide View of Spiral Galaxy Messier 106
This image of the spiral galaxy Messier 106, or NGC 4258, was taken with the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. A popular target for amateur astronomers, Messier 106 can also be spotted with a small telescope in the constellation...
Galaxies in the Fornax Cluster
Members of the Fornax galaxy cluster fill this image from the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. Appearing in the constellation Fornax (the Furnace), the Fornax Cluster is a relatively nearby galaxy cluster, only...
Sextans B
Sextans B is an irregular dwarf galaxy, meaning that it is irregularly shaped and smaller than our galaxy, the Milky Way. It lies around 4.5 million light-years from Earth and is located in the constellation Sextans in the southern sky. Captured with the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope,...
IC 1396A Elephant Trunk Nebula
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. IC 1396 is a giant emission nebula that is over 3 degrees in diameter. It is illuminated by a hot, massive O-type star (HD 206267) near its center. The star...
Double-Wide Image of Pickering's Triangle
A new wide-field image of Pickering's Triangle taken with the National Science Foundation's Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory is being released today in Austin, Texas, at the 211th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Pickering's Triangle is part of the Cygnus...
Wide field view of NGC 7635
This wide field view of NGC 7635 shows the nebulosity carved out by the winds of the massive central star and demonstrates the exquisite image quality of the new One Degree Imager camera on the WIYN 3.5-m telescope. An image of the central portion of the nebula, cosmetically corrected, is found...
Dark Energy Survey begins five-year mission to map southern sky in tremendous detail
This image of the NGC 1398 galaxy was taken with the Dark Energy Camera. This galaxy lives in the Fornax cluster, roughly 65 million light years from Earth. It is 135,000 light years in diameter, just slightly larger than our own Milky Way galaxy, and contains more than a hundred million stars.
M51, Whirlpool Galaxy
The spiral galaxy M51, (the Whirlpool Galaxy) observed with the ODI camera on the WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, May 2013. Even though the galaxy is almost 30 million light years away, the image clearly shows clusters of young, hot stars that light up the spiral arms....
M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, seen with new ODI Camera on WIYN Telescope
Cropped view of Spiral Galaxy M51, demonstrating the excellent sharpness of the One Degree Imager (ODI) on the WIYN 3.5-m telescope on Kitt Peak.
Planetary Nebula Sh2-174
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Sh2-174 is an unusual ancient planetary nebula. A planetary nebula is created when a low-mass star blows off its outer layers at the end of its life. The core...
Panoramic Loop in Cygnus
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the WIYN 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak, Arizona. It shows faint filaments that are part of a large supernova remnant called the Cygnus Loop. The Cygnus Loop is a giant supernova remnant. It is the remains of a star that...
NGC 188, Caldwell 1
NGC188 is an open star cluster in the constellation Cepheus. With a membership of around 120, it may be the oldest known open cluster, although age estimates have varied from as much as 24 billion years (which some may notice is a bit of an anomaly when compared to the current estimates of the...
Soap Bubble Nebula, PN G75.5+1.7
Informally known as the "Soap Bubble Nebula", this planetary nebula (officially known as PN G75.5+1.7) was discovered by amateur astronomer Dave Jurasevich on July 6th, 2008. It was noted and reported by Keith Quattrocchi and Mel Helm on July 17th, 2008. This image was obtained with the Kitt...
Barnard 163
Barnard 163 is a dark nebula within IC1396, a very large emission nebula complex in the constellation Cepheus. This interstellar cloud was discovered by Edward Emerson (E. E.) Barnard (1857-1923), an American astronomer and pioneer of astrophotography who began as an amateur comet hunter,...
Cometary Globule CG4
The image from the Blanco 4-meter telescope was taken in four filters, three of which are for blue, green and near-infrared light. The fourth is designed to isolate a specific color of red, known as hydrogen-alpha, which is produced by warm hydrogen gas.
Large Magellanic Cloud
The glowing gas of the interstellar medium (ISM) is the breeding ground for the formation of new stars, and the cemetery where the ashes of dead stars ultimately return. A team led by astronomers from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) has conducted a new study called the...
Small Magellanic Cloud
The glowing gas of the interstellar medium (ISM) is the breeding ground for the formation of new stars, and the cemetery where the ashes of dead stars ultimately return. A team led by astronomers from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) has conducted a new study called the...
Merope in the Pleiades
The star Merope, in the familiar object the Pleiades, in a three-color composite image obtained with the Burrell Schmidt telescope of Case Western Reserve University's Warner and Swasey Observatory. The images were taken in January of 1997. The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters and...
M45, Pleiades
M45, or NGC1432, a portion of the Pleiades open star cluster in the constellation Taurus, at a distance of some 410 light-years. The glow around the stars is interstellar dust which shines by reflected starlight. The entire group is contained within a span of 20 light-years, and is believed to...
Pelican Nebula Ionization Front
This image of the clouds of gas and dust next to the “neck” and “body” of the Pelican Nebula was taken by the National Science Foundation’s Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, AZ. Narrow-band filters were used to isolate the red emission lines of hydrogen and...
M13, NGC 6205
M13, or NGC6205, a globular cluster in the constellation Hercules. M13 is sometimes called the Great Globular in Hercules, as it is one of the most noticeable globular clusters in the northern hemisphere. About 22000 light-years away and about 150 light-years across, M13 contains perhaps as...
M31, NGC 224
A beautifully detailed image of the northwest portion of the Andromeda galaxy, M31, demonstrates the power of an on-going sky survey project sponsored by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). This image of M31, the closest spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way, was taken by Phil...
NGC 6822 and its rich neighborhood
A new color image of the nearby irregular galaxy NGC6822 shows a myriad of hot blue massive stars and several famous nebulae in impressive detail. NGC6822 is located approximately 1.6 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation Sagittarius. A member of the Milky Way galaxy's Local...
Solar composition star cluster
New observations of the richly populated star cluster NGC 2420 taken by the refurbished WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory suggest that the cluster contains a multitude of clues about the history and evolution of the Milky Way. NGC 2420 consists of approximately 1,000...
Skull Nebula NGC 246
Gemini South Image of the planetary nebula NGC 246 NGC 246 is a planetary nebula that lies about 1,600 light-years away in the constellation Cetus. Its central star shines at 12th magnitude and is whisking through space at about 80 kilometers (50 miles) per second.
More Than Meets the Eye
Tendrils of dark dust can be seen threading across the heart of the spiral galaxy NGC 7172 in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy lies approximately 110 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Piscis Austrinus. The lane of dust threading its way across...
New Insights into the ‘Golden Age’ of Galaxy Formation
Studies of a distant corner of the Universe, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, made with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) have revealed distant galaxies rich in molecular gas. Their high gas content likely fueled the high rate of star formation during the “Golden Age” of galaxy formation 10...
Portrait of the Great Barred Spiral
This image captures the elegant galaxy NGC 1365 in the Fornax Cluster of galaxies. Also known as The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy, NGC 1365 is a strikingly perfect example of a barred spiral galaxy. This image shows the galaxy’s prominent bar and its graceful spiral arms, with lanes of dust...
M82 Galaxy with Supernova
The supernova SN 2014J is seen in this image near its peak brightness in the first week of February 2014. It appears as a faint star to the lower right of the central region of its host galaxy M82.
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