Maffei 2: The Hidden Galaxy
Maffei 2 is the poster child for an infrared galaxy that is almost invisible to optical telescopes. Foreground dust clouds in the Milky Way block about 99.5% of its visible light, but this infrared image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope penetrates this dust to reveal the galaxy in all its glory.
24-micron image of the Spiral Galaxy Messier 81
The magnificent spiral arms of the nearby galaxy Messier 81 are highlighted in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. 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.
Warm Spitzer Sees 'Serpent' Star-Forming Cloud Spawning Stars
Within the swaddling dust of the Serpens Cloud Core, astronomers are studying one of the youngest collections of stars ever seen in our galaxy. This infrared image uses data from the warm phase of NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope, letting us peer into the clouds of dust wrapped around this stellar...
Story of Stellar Birth
This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals the complex life cycle of young stars, from their dust-shrouded beginnings to their stellar debuts. The stellar nursery was spotted in a cosmic cloud sitting 21,000 light-years away in the Cepheus constellation.
A Flood of Gas
A new feature in the evolution of galaxies has been captured in this image of galactic interactions.
NGC 1333 in the Infrared
Located 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus, a reflection nebula called NGC 1333 epitomizes the beautiful chaos of a dense group of stars being born. Most of the visible light from the young stars in this region is obscured by the dense, dusty cloud in which they formed....
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, as illustrated in this artist's concept showing the very beginnings of the process.
The "lifestyles" of 75 neighboring galaxies are illuminated in this poster from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Scientists say this fresh perspective of our cosmic neighborhood provides valuable insights into growth process of galaxies at a glance.
Spitzer MIPS view of Star Formation in the DR21 Region
Hidden behind a shroud of dust in the constellation Cygnus is an exceptionally bright source of radio emission called DR21. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope allows us to peek behind the cosmic veil and pinpoint one of the most massive natal stars yet seen in our Milky Way galaxy.
The Shocking Behavior of a Speedy Star
The antics of a speeding star are on display in a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
This graph of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope indicates that stars with known planets (blue) are more likely to have "debris disks" than stars without known planets (red).
Sensitive Observations of the Distant Universe
Astronomers have uncovered the patterns of light that appear to be from the first stars and galaxies that formed in the universe, hidden within a strip of sky observed by NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope.
Globular Cluster Omega Centauri Looks Radiant in Infrared
A cluster brimming with millions of stars glistens like an iridescent opal in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called Omega Centauri, the sparkling orb of stars is like a miniature galaxy.
Spitzer Spies a Comet Coma and Tail
This image represents a more elaborate image processing step, in which the glow of the coma has been removed based on a model comet coma.
Over its ten years in space, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has evolved into a premier tool for studying exoplanets.
Extreme Planets
This artist's concept depicts a planetary system discovered by Aleksander Wolszczan in 1992 around a pulsar.
Infographic: Finding Planets With Microlensing
This infographic explains how NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope can be used in tandem with a telescope on the ground to measure the distances to planets discovered using the "microlensing" technique.
Protostellar Envelope and Jet: IRAS 16253-2429
A young protostar and its signature outflow peeks out through a shroud of dust in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Distance to Dark Bodies
Using the unique orbit of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and a depth-perceiving trick called parallax, astronomers have determined the distance to an invisible Milky Way object called OGLE-2005-SMC-001. This artist's concept illustrates how this trick works: different views from both Spitzer and...
Kepler's "De Stella Nova" (1606) Title Page
Johannes Kepler documented the explosion of a supernova in 1604, which he documented in this book, "De Stella Nova" (Prague, 1606)
Dust in the Wind of Quasar PG2112+059
An Infrared spectrum taken by Spitzer shows dust in the wind of a distant quasar. Where did all this dust come from in the early universe?
Monstrous disks like this one were discovered around two "hypergiant" stars by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Astronomers believe these disks might contain the early "seeds" of planets, or possibly leftover debris from planets that already formed.
This artist's conception shows what a dusty and bright galaxy located billions of light-years away might look like close up if viewed in infrared light. Galaxies like these are so far away and so drenched in dust, they appear invisible to optical telescopes.
A Star's Close Encounter
The potential planet-forming disk (or "protoplanetary disk") of a sun-like star is being violently ripped away by the powerful winds of a nearby hot O-type star in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. At up to 100 times the mass of sun-like stars, O stars are the most massive and...
RCW 120: A Glowing Ring in the Blackest Night
This glowing emerald nebula seen by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has been sculpted by the powerful light of giant "O" stars. O stars are the most massive type of star known to exist.
Infrared View of Spitzer
Spitzer seen against the infrared sky. The band of light is the glowing dust emission from the Milky Way galaxy seen at 100 microns (as seen by the IRAS/COBE missions).
Galactic Train Wreck
This image shows an example of colliding galaxies from a new photo atlas of galactic "train wrecks".
Ring of Stellar Fire
A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, taken in infrared light, shows where the action is taking place in galaxy NGC 1291. The outer ring, colored red in this view, is filled with new stars that are igniting and heating up dust that glows with infrared light. The stars in the central...
Dusty Hula Hoop Rings 'Blinking' Stellar Duo
In this artist's impression, a disk of dusty material leftover from star formation girds two young stars like a hula hoop.
Galactic Wheel of Life Shines in Infrared
The ghostly structures highlighting the peculiar patterns of orbiting stars in the center of the galaxy NGC 1292 stand out vividly in this specially-processed image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. By making detailed observations of the galaxy in infrared light, astronomers can tease out the...
Infrared Detective to the Rescue
In a collaborative effort between NASA's three Great Observatories, astronomers have solved a cosmic mystery by identifying some of the oldest and most distant black holes.
Portrait of Our Dusty Past
This artist's concept illustrates a solar system that is a much younger version of our own. Dusty disks, like the one shown here circling the star, are thought to be the breeding grounds of planets, including rocky ones like Earth.
The (Almost) Invisible Aftermath of a Massive Star's Death
For the universe's biggest stars, even death is a show. Massive stars typically end their lives in explosive cataclysms, or supernovae, flinging abundant amounts of hot gas and radiation into outer space. Remnants of this shy star's supernova would have gone completely unnoticed if the...
Hot, Rocky World
This artist's rendition shows one possible appearance for the planet HD 219134b, the nearest rocky exoplanet found to date outside our solar system. The planet is 1.6 times the size of Earth, and whips around its star in just three days.
The Flame Nebula
The famous Horsehead nebula takes on a ghostly appearance in this newly released image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Spitzer Infrared View of Herbig-Haro 49/50: A Cosmic Tornado
This "tornado," designated Herbig-Haro 49/50, is shaped by a cosmic jet packing a powerful punch as it plows through clouds of interstellar gas and dust.
Counting the Youth in a Middle Aged Galaxy
This image is roughly 1/34 of the entire GLIMPSE Survey. This small section is riddled with young stellar objects, counted by Robitaille and his team.
Spitzer IRAC view of Star Formation in the DR21 Region
Hidden behind a shroud of dust in the constellation Cygnus is an exceptionally bright source of radio emission called DR21. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope allows us to peek behind the cosmic veil and pinpoint one of the most massive natal stars yet seen in our Milky Way galaxy.
Combined Visible/Infrared Image of BHR 71
Two rambunctious young stars are destroying their natal dust cloud with powerful jets of radiation, as revealed in an infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The stars are located approximately 600 light-years away in a cosmic cloud called BHR 71.
Spitzer and Hubble View of NGC 2207 and IC 2163
These shape-shifting galaxies have taken on the form of a giant mask. The icy blue eyes are actually the cores of two merging galaxies, called NGC 2207 and IC 2163, and the mask is their spiral arms. The false-colored image consists of infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (red) and...
Life and Death Intermingled
In what may look to some like an undersea image of coral and seaweed, a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is showing the birth and death of stars. In this view, infrared data from Spitzer are green and blue, while longer-wavelength infrared light from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey...
Bubbles Within Bubbles
This infrared image shows a striking example of what is called a hierarchical bubble structure, in which one giant bubble, carved into the dust of space by massive stars, has triggered the formation of smaller bubbles. The large bubble takes up the central region of the picture while the two...
Solid as a Rock? Porosity of Asteroids
Asteroids can differ in the degree of porosity, or the amount of empty space that makes up their structures. At one end of the spectrum is a single solid rock and, at the other end, is a pile of rubble held together by gravity.
Blacker than Black
This artist's concept illustrates the hottest planet yet observed in the Universe. The scorching ball of gas, a "hot Jupiter" called HD 149026b, is a sweltering 3,700 degrees Fahrenheit (2,040 degrees Celsius) -- about 3 times hotter than the rocky surface of Venus, the hottest planet in or Solar...
The Evolution of Star Formation around the M17 Nebula
A dragon-shaped cloud of dust seems to fly out from a bright explosion in this infrared light image from the Spitzer Space Telescope.
NGC 7793
Galaxy NGC 7793, located approximately 10 million light-years away, is a member of the Sculptor group of galaxies. This galaxy cluster, named after the constellation in which it resides, is one of the closest to our own Local Group of galaxies. This image was captured as part of the Spitzer...
Using an automated computer method to sift through infrared data collected by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers on the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) team found a new star cluster in our Milky Way galaxy.
The King of Rings
This diagram illustrates the extent of the largest ring around Saturn, discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The ring is huge, and far from the gas planet and the rest of its majestic rings.
A Supernova's Shockwaves: N132D
This composite X-ray and infrared image of supernova remnant N132D shows the aftermath of a massive star's violent death.
Protostellar Envelope and Jet: CB230
A young protostar and its signature outflow peeks out through a shroud of dust in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Spitzer/MIPS 24-micron image of a dark globule in IC 1396
This NASA Spitzer Space Telescope image reveals a glowing stellar nursery within a dark globule 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.
Jiggling Soccer-Ball Molecules in Space
These data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show the signatures of buckyballs in space.
A Young Stellar Disk around AA Tauri
This plot of infrared data shows the signatures of water vapor and simple organic molecules in the disk of gas and dust surrounding a young star.
This artist's conception shows green crystals of olivine raining down on a developing star like cosmic glitter.
Dust in the Quasar Wind
Dusty grains -- including tiny specks of the minerals found in the gemstones peridot, sapphires, and rubies -- can be seen blowing in the winds of a quasar, or active black hole, in this artist's concept. The quasar is at the center of a distant galaxy.
Not-So-Bright Bulbs
This artist's concept shows the dimmest star-like bodies currently knowntwin brown dwarfs referred to as 2M 0939.
The Helix Nebula: Unraveling at the Seams
A dying star is throwing a cosmic tantrum in this combined image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX).
An Unexpected Scattering of Light
This series of images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows a dark mass of gas and dust, called a core, where new stars and planets will likely spring up.
Little Black Spot on the Star Today
This artist's conception shows the silhouette of a rocky planet, dubbed HD 219134b, as it passes in front of its star. At 21 light-years away, the planet is the closest outside of our solar system that can be seen crossing, or transiting, its star.
Scientists were excited to discover clear skies on a relatively small planet, about the size of Neptune, using the combined power of NASA's Hubble, Spitzer and Kepler space telescopes.
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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.