This artist's concept illustrates one possible answer to the puzzle of the "giant galactic blobs." These blobs (red), first identified about five years ago, are mammoth clouds of intensely glowing material that surround distant galaxies (white).
The Discovery of TRAPPIST-1 Planets
The first observations of the TRAPPIST-1 system reported in 2016 revealed three planets orbiting a small, red-dwarf star, though the exact location of the outermost one, was not well-determined (yellow band, top image). Follow-up observations with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as...
This artist's rendition illustrates a rare galaxy that is extremely dusty, and produces radio jets. Scientists suspect that these galaxies are created when two smaller galaxies merge.
Sun and Earth in Scale
This illustration shows the relative sizes of the Sun and the Earth by placing them impossibly close together.
A New View of the Tarantula Nebula
A massive star-forming region located about 160,000 light years away.
How to Measure the Size of an Asteroid
Observations of infrared light coming from asteroids provide a better estimate of their true sizes than visible-light measurements. This diagram illustrates why.
Evidence for Comets Found in Dead Star
This graph of data, or spectrum, from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope indicates that a dead star, or white dwarf, called G29-38, is shrouded by a cloud of dust. The data also demonstrate that this dust contains some of the same types of minerals found in comet Hale-Bopp.
Hypothetical 'Rejuvenated' Planets
This artist's concept shows a hypothetical "rejuvenated" planet -- a gas giant that has reclaimed its youthful infrared glow. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope found tentative evidence for one such planet around a dead star, or white dwarf, called PG 0010+280 (depicted as white dot in illustration).
Bok Globule containing HH 46/47
Visible light view of a dark cloud (known as a 'Bok globule') which is illuminated by the nearby Gum Nebula. Located at a distance of 1140 light-years and found in the constellation Vela, this cloud contains the protostar HH46/47 which hidden from view in this visible-light image.
Into the Depths of the Lagoon Nebula
Swirling dust clouds and bright newborn stars dominate the view in this image of the Lagoon nebula from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Also known as Messier 8 and NGC 6523, astronomers estimate it to be between 4000 and 6000 light years away, lying in the general direction of the center of our...
Multispectral Triangulum Galaxy 4 Channel
This image is a blend of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer's M33 image and another taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. M33, one of our closest galactic neighbors, is about 2.9 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum, part of what's known as our Local Group of galaxies.
Stars Adorn Orion's Sword
This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows what lies near the sword of the constellation Orion -- an active stellar nursery containing thousands of young stars and developing protostars.
This image shows a mysterious, background infrared glow captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Star Formation Region DR 6
A "monster" lurking behind a blanket of cosmic dust is unveiled in this 2004 Halloween image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Resembling a ghoul with two hollow eyes and a screaming mouth, this cloud of newborn stars was uncovered by Spitzer's heat-seeking infrared eyes.
These two data plots from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show a primitive supermassive black hole (top) compared to a typical one.
Surface of TRAPPIST-1f
Imagine standing on the surface of the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1f. This artist's concept is one interpretation of what it could look like.
Stars Brewing in Cygnus X
A bubbling cauldron of star birth is highlighted in this new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
The Magnified Traces of Early Galaxies
The cluster in this image, known as J0717, is the grouping of bright objects near the center of the field. Upon close examination, examples of the very distant background galaxies can be seen as distorted arcs scattered through the cluster.
Cepheus C and Cepheus B (IRAC-MIPS)
This image was compiled using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope using the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and the Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) during Spitzer's "cold" mission, before the spacecraft's liquid helium coolant ran out in 2009.
Arp 142: The Penguin and the Egg
This image of distant interacting galaxies, known collectively as Arp 142, bears an uncanny resemblance to a penguin guarding an egg. Data from NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes have been combined to show these dramatic galaxies in light that spans the visible and infrared parts of the...
Galaxy Merger Arp 302
This image shows two merging galaxies known as Arp 302, also called VV 340. In these images, different colors correspond to different wavelengths of infrared light. Blue and green are wavelengths both strongly emitted by stars. Red is a wavelength mostly emitted by dust.
Flicker of A Neutron Star Merger in Infrared Light
NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope has provisionally detected the faint afterglow of the explosive merger of two neutron stars in the galaxy NGC 4993. The dot framed by the markers may be one of the last detections made in infrared light of this event.
Super-Starburst Galaxy: J100054_023436
The green and red splotch in this image is the most active star-making galaxy in the very distant universe. Nicknamed "Baby Boom," the galaxy is churning out an average of up to 4,000 stars per year, more than 10 times the number produced in our own Milky Way galaxy.
The Boxy Retina Nebula
This boxy, almost rectangular structure, known as the Retina Nebula or IC 4406, shows its infrared glow in this image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. It is found in the constellation Lupis. Estimates of its distance are somewhat uncertain, placing it anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 light years...
Spitzer View of the Core L1014
The "Cores to Disks" Spitzer Legacy team is using the two infrared cameras on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to search dense regions of interstellar molecular clouds (known as "cores") for evidence of star formation. Part of the study targeted a group of objects with no known stars to study the...
Spitzer/IRAC+MIPS View of the Trifid Nebula
The glowing Trifid Nebula is revealed with near- and mid-infrared views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The Trifid Nebula is a giant star-forming cloud of gas and dust located 5,400 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
The Barred Sculptor Galaxy
The spectacular swirling arms and central bar of the Sculptor galaxy are revealed in this new view from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope.
Spitzer/IRAC 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.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Johannes Kepler documented the explosion of a supernova in 1604, which was the last such event observed in our Milky Way galaxy and would later be known as "Kepler's supernova."
Dark Clouds on the Milky Way's Horizon
The large cloud looms in the very center of this image of the galactic plane from Spitzer. A new study takes advantage of the shadows cast by the cloud's darkest clumps to measure the cloud's overall structure and mass.
Supernova Remnant 1E0102.2-7219 Revealed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope
The supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 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.
Exotic Exoplanet
An unusual, methane-free world is partially eclipsed by its star in this artist's concept.
Hidden Black Holes
Astronomers have probed the deep sky with NASA's three Great Observatories for hidden black holes and come to the conclusion that most black holes cannot be seen in visible images. This data suggests that the X-ray sources are black holes hidden behind a screen of dust.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected the solid form of buckyballs in space for the first time. To form a solid particle, the buckyballs must stack together like oranges in a crate, as illustrated in this playful artist's concept.
Galactic Metropolis
The large white and yellow dots in this picture are stars in our galaxy, while the rest of the smaller dots are distant galaxies. The cluster, comprised of red dots near the center, includes more than 100 massive galaxies.
Abstract Concept of TRAPPIST-1 System
The TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf, has seven Earth-size planets orbiting it. This artist's concept appeared on the cover of the journal Nature in Feb. 2017 announcing new results about the system.
Ring Around a Magnetar
This image shows a ghostly ring extending seven light-years across around the corpse of a massive star. The collapsed star, called a magnetar, is located at the exact center of this image.
NGC 5907 in the Infrared
The spiral galaxy NGC 5907, sometimes known as the "Splinter Galaxy" because of its unusual appearance, is located in the constellation Draco. NGC 5907 has a strong set of dust lanes, visible in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope as red features.
Spiral Galaxy Messier 81
The magnificent spiral arms of the nearby galaxy Messier 81 are highlighted in this NASA Spitzer Space Telescope image. Located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major (which also includes the Big Dipper), this galaxy is easily visible through binoculars or a small telescope.
Planetary Hot Spot Not Under the Glare of Star
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found that the hottest part of a distant planet, named upsilon Andromedae b, is not under the glare of its host star as might be expected.
Mystery of the Fading Star
Astronomers have found a likely solution to a centuries-old riddle of the night sky. Every 27 years, a bright star called Epsilon Aurigae fades over period of two years, then brightens back up again.
The Stars of the Barred Sculptor Galaxy
The spectacular swirling arms and central bar of the Sculptor galaxy are revealed in this new starlight view from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope.
Rocky Ring of Debris Around Vega
This artist's concept illustrates an asteroid belt around the bright star Vega.
NGC 2976
The nearby galaxy NGC 2976, located approximately 10 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major near the Big Dipper, was captured by the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey (SINGS) Legacy Project using the telescope's Infrared Array Camera
Hot-Lava World Illustration
This illustration shows one possible scenario for the hot, rocky exoplanet called 55 Cancri e, which is nearly two times as wide as Earth. New data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show that the planet has extreme temperature swings from one side to the other and a possible reason for this...
Heart of the Rosette Nebula
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Rosette nebula, a pretty star-forming region more than 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros.
This artist's concept shows a dusty planet-forming disk in orbit around a whirling young star. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence that disks like this one can slow their stars down, which prevents the stars from spinning themselves to death.
Seeing Beyond the 'Monkey Head'
Scores of baby stars shrouded by dust are revealed in this infrared image of the star-forming region NGC 2174, as seen by NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Some of the clouds in the region resemble the face of a monkey in visible-light images, hence the nebula's nickname: the "Monkey Head."
Cepheus C and Cepheus B (IRAC Annotated)
This image shows data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, from the IRAC instrument, with colors corresponding to wavelengths of 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 m.
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.
Spitzer Composite View of NGC 7331
This composite infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured a nearby spiral galaxy that resembles our own Milky Way. The galaxy, known as NGC 7331 and sometimes referred to as our galaxy's twin, is found in the constellation Pegasus at a distance of 50 million light-years.
This artist's conception symbolically represents complex organic molecules, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, seen in the early universe. These large molecules, comprised of carbon and hydrogen, are considered among the building blocks of life.
Baby Picture of our Solar System: The Spinning Top Star in Infrared
A rare, infrared view of a developing star and its flaring jets taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows us what our own solar system might have looked like billions of years ago.
Spitzer Near-Infrared View of NGC 7331
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured a nearby spiral galaxy that resembles our own Milky Way. The galaxy, known as NGC 7331 and sometimes referred to as our galaxy's twin, is found in the constellation Pegasus at a distance of 50 million light-years.
Making a Spectacle of Star Formation in Orion
The cosmos sport a pair of infrared shades, as seen in this new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Spitzer/MIPS+IRAC composite image of a dark globule in IC 1396
This NASA Spitzer Space Telescope image reveals a glowing stellar nursery within a dark globule in IC 1396 that is opaque in visible light. Spitzer pierces through the obscuration to reveal the birth of new protostars, or embryonic stars, and young stars never before seen.
Devastated Stellar Neighborhood
This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the nasty effects of living near a group of massive stars: radiation and winds from the massive stars (white spot in center) are blasting planet-making material away from stars like our sun.
This graph shows the extent of planetary debris discs around nearby stars of various ages, as measured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
This artist's concept shows what a fiery hot star and its close-knit planetary companion might look close up if viewed in visible. In visible light, a star shines brilliantly, overwhelming the little light that is reflected by its planet.
Infrared Cassiopeia A
This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the scattered remains of an exploded star named Cassiopeia A. Spitzer's infrared detectors "picked" through these remains and found that much of the star's original layering had been preserved.
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.