A raw image from ISAAC
This raw ISAAC image was used, combined with many others, to generate the photo at the top of this page. All the images taken with astronomical instruments are monochromatic: the information on the colour is obtained by taking exposures through different filters. In infrared light, the sky is...
LMC snapped by the ESO 1-metre Schmidt telescope
Astronomers used the ESO 1-metre Schmidt telescope to capture this image of the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) galaxy in 1986.
Raw image from a KMOS detector
On the tip of each of KMOS’ 24 arms, a small optical device splits the image in 14 slices of 14 pixels each. These slices are aligned on the entrance of one of the 3 spectrograph, which disperses the light in wavelength, forming spectra of each of the original pixels, as seen on this raw image...
NGC 604 (NIRCam Image)
This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) of star-forming region NGC 604 shows how stellar winds from bright, hot young stars carve out cavities in surrounding gas and dust. The bright orange streaks in this image signify the presence of carbon-based...
NGC 604 (MIRI Image)
This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) of star-forming region NGC 604 shows how large clouds of cooler gas and dust glow in mid-infrared wavelengths. This region is a hotbed of star formation and home to more than 200 of the hottest, most massive...
Supernova 1987a (NIRCam, MIRI and NIRSpec Image)
The James Webb Space Telescope has observed the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a well-known and recently-observed supernova known as SN 1987A. At left is a NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image released in 2023. The image at top right shows light from singly...
NGC 5468 (Webb NIRCam + Hubble WFC3)
This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, combines data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the farthest galaxy in which Hubble has identified Cepheid variable stars. These are important milepost markers for measuring the expansion...
Cepheid P42 in NGC 5468
At the center of these side-by-side images is a special class of star used as a milepost marker for measuring the universe’s rate of expansion – a Cepheid variable star. The two images are very pixelated because they are a very zoomed-in view of a distant galaxy. Each of the pixels represents...
Galaxy AM 1054-325
Galaxy AM 1054-325 has been distorted into an S-shape from a normal pancake-like spiral shape by the gravitational pull of a neighboring galaxy, seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image. A consequence of this is that newborn clusters of stars form along a stretched-out tidal tail for thousands...
Dark and towering
Astronomers are well-known for naming objects with odd conventions, and the cometary globule GN 16.43.7.01 seen in this Picture of the Week is no exception. Cometary globules have nothing to do with comets aside from appearance: they are named for their dusty head and elongated, dark tail, as...
The MWC 758 planet-forming disc as seen by SPHERE and ALMA
This composite image shows the MWC 758 planet-forming disc, located about 500 light-years away in the Taurus region, as seen with two different facilities. The yellow colour represents infrared observations obtained with the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE)...
Messier 55 (M55) globular cluster
Globular cluster Messier 55 (M55, or NGC 6809) in the constellation Sagittarius, as imaged by the ESO 3.6-metre telescope on La Silla.
The Southern Pinwheel
Located about 15 million light-years away towards the Hydra (the sea serpent) constellation, Messier 83 is a nearby face-on barred spiral with a classic grand design form. It is the main member of a small galactic group including NGC 5253 and about 9 dwarf galaxies. Messier 83 stretches over...
Jet in M87 spied by the VLT
A jet of material shoots out of M87, a giant elliptical galaxy about 50 million light years away in the Virgo Cluster. The powerful jet shines in the energetic blue and ultraviolet range, while old, cool stars in the galaxy proper emit less energetic reddish light. A supermassive black hole at...
Messier 4 (M4) globular cluster
Globular cluster Messier 4 (M4, or NGC 6121) in the constellation Scorpius as imaged by the ESO Schmidt Telescope on La Silla.
Wide-field view of the sky around the globular cluster 47 Tucanae
This view of 47 Tucanae covers a field of view of 2.4 x 2.8 degrees, and shows the landscape around the cluster. It is a colour composite made using exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Below and to the left of 47 Tucanae is another small, bright star cluster named NGC 121, and several...
El Gordo: a massive distant merging galaxy cluster
This picture of the galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0102−4915 combines images taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope with images from the SOAR Telescope and X-ray observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The X-ray image shows the hot gas in the cluster and is shown in blue. This newly...
Highlights of the VST image of the Hercules galaxy cluster
These highlights, taken from a new image of the young Hercules galaxy cluster from the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) and the OmegaCAM camera, show a wide variety of interacting galaxies. The numerous interactions, and the large number of gas-rich, star-forming spiral galaxies in the cluster, make...
Teenage galaxies in the distant Universe (unannotated)
This deep view of a tiny patch of sky in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster) shows a rich sea of galaxies at many different distances. A selection of these, seen as they were between three and five billion years after the Big Bang, was used in a new survey of the feeding habits of...
This image of the sky around the star Tau Boötis was created from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 images. The star itself, which is bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye, is at the centre. The spikes and coloured circles around it are artifacts of the telescope and photographic plate used...
Wide-field view of the sky around the quasar HE0109-3518
This wide-field image of the sky around the quasar HE0109-3518 is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The total field of view of this image is approximately 3 degrees across.
Wide-field view of the sky around the cluster NGC 6604
This visible-light wide-field image of the region around the star cluster NGC 6604 was created from photographs taken through blue, red and infrared filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The star cluster appears close to the centre, as a knot of bright stars. This view shows...
Distant star-forming galaxies in the early Universe
The LABOCA camera on the ESO-operated 12-metre Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope reveals distant galaxies undergoing the most intense type of star formation activity known, called a starburst. This image shows these distant galaxies, found in a region of sky known as the Extended...
Wide-field view of the sky around the globular star cluster Messier 55
This visible light wide-field image of the region around Messier 55 was created from photographs taken through blue and red filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The globular cluster appears at the centre. The field of view is approximately 2.7 degrees across.
Wide-field view of the sky around the bright star Fomalhaut
This wide-field view shows the sky around the bright star Fomalhaut in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus (The Southern Fish). This picture was created from photographs forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Fomalhaut lies about 25 light-years from the Earth and is surrounded by a huge...
Infrared/visible light comparison view of the Helix Nebula
This comparison shows a new view of the Helix Nebula acquired with the VISTA telescope in infrared light (left) and the more familiar view in visible light from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope (right). The infrared vision of VISTA reveals strands of cold nebular gas that are mostly obscured in...
The bright star Alpha Centauri and its surroundings
This wide-field view of the sky around the bright star Alpha Centauri was created from photographic images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The star appears so big just because of the scattering of light by the telescope's optics as well as in the photographic emulsion. Alpha...
APEX image of a star-forming filament in Taurus
This image from the APEX telescope, of part of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, shows a sinuous filament of cosmic dust more than ten light-years long. In it, newborn stars are hidden, and dense clouds of gas are on the verge of collapsing to form yet more stars. The cosmic dust grains are so cold...
The Prawn Nebula from ESO's VST (wide crop)
The glowing jumble of gas clouds visible in this new image make up a huge stellar nursery nicknamed the Prawn Nebula. Taken using the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, this may well be the sharpest picture ever taken of this object. It shows clumps of hot new-born...
Wide-field view of the entire Seagull Nebula (IC 2177)
This wide-field view captures the evocative and colourful star formation region of the Seagull Nebula, IC 2177, on the borders of the constellations of Monoceros (The Unicorn) and Canis Major (The Great Dog). This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
ALMA observes a ring around the bright star Fomalhaut
This view shows a new picture of the dust ring around the bright star Fomalhaut from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The underlying blue picture shows an earlier picture obtained by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The new ALMA image has given astronomers a major...
Wide-field view of the sky around VFTS 102: the fastest rotating massive star
This view shows part of the stellar nursery called the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small neighbour of the Milky Way. At the centre lies the brilliant star VFTS 102 This view includes both visible-light and infrared images from the Wide Field Imager at the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre...
Dark galaxies spotted for the first time (annotated)
This deep image shows the region of the sky around the quasar HE0109-3518. The quasar is labelled with a red circle near the centre of the image. The energetic radiation of the quasar makes dark galaxies glow, helping astronomers to understand the obscure early stages of galaxy formation. The...
Infrared view of the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region
This image shows the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region in infrared light, as seen by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WISE). Blue and cyan represent light emitted at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 micrometres, which is predominantly from stars. Green and red represent light from 12 and 22...
VFTS 102: the fastest rotating star
This view shows part of the stellar nursery called the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small neighbour of the Milky Way. At the centre lies the brilliant star VFTS 102 This view includes both visible-light and infrared images from the Wide Field Imager at the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre...
The star formation region NGC 3324
The Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory has imaged a region of star formation called NGC 3324. The intense radiation from several of NGC 3324's massive, blue-white stars has carved out a cavity in the surrounding gas and dust. The ultraviolet...
VFTS 102: the fastest rotating massive star (unannotated)
This view shows part of the stellar nursery called the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small neighbour of the Milky Way. At the centre lies the brilliant star VFTS 102 This view includes both visible-light and infrared images from the Wide Field Imager at the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre...
The globular star cluster Messier 4
This image from the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory shows the spectacular globular star cluster Messier 4. This great ball of ancient stars is one of the closest of such stellar systems to the Earth and appears in the ...
Wide-field view of the area of NGC 6357
Part of the constellation Scorpius centred on NGC 6357 which has star cluster Pismis 24 in its centre. This image is a colour composite taken by the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), the field of view is 3.8x3.3 degrees.
Wide-field view of the Hercules galaxy cluster
This visible-light wide-field image of the region around the Hercules cluster of galaxies was created from photographs taken through blue and red filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The galaxy cluster appears as a swarm of faint galaxies close to the centre of the image.
The mouthpiece of the Pipe Nebula
This picture shows Barnard 59, part of a vast dark cloud of interstellar dust called the Pipe Nebula. This new and very detailed image of what is known as a dark nebula was captured by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory. This image is so large...
El Gordo: a massive distant merging galaxy cluster
This picture of the galaxy cluster ACT-CL J0102−4915 combines images taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope with images from the SOAR Telescope. This newly discovered object has been nicknamed El Gordo — the "big" or "fat one" in Spanish. It consists of two separate galaxy subclusters...
The radio galaxy Centaurus A, as seen by ALMA
This new image of Centaurus A combines ALMA and near-infrared observations of the massive elliptical radio galaxy. The new ALMA observations, shown in a range of green, yellow and orange colours, reveal the position and motion of the clouds of gas in the galaxy. They are the sharpest and most...
VISTA view of the newly discovered globular cluster VVV CL001 and its brighter companion
This image from VISTA is a tiny part of the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey that is systematically studying the central parts of the Milky Way in infrared light. On the right lies the globular star cluster UKS 1 and on the left lies a much less conspicuous new discovery, VVV...
Wide-field view of the sky around the Pencil Nebula
This image of the region of sky around the Pencil Nebula shows a spectacular celestial landscape featuring the blue filaments of the Vela supernova remnant, the red glow of clouds of hydrogen and countless stars. It is a colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
VISTA view of the newly discovered globular cluster VVV CL002 close to the centre of the Milky Way
This image from VISTA is a tiny part of the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey that is systematically studying the central parts of the Milky Way in infrared light. In the centre lies the faint newly found globular star cluster, VVV CL002. This previously unknown globular, which...
The star cluster NGC 6604 and its surroundings
The star cluster NGC 6604 is shown in this image taken by the Wide Field Imager attached to the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. NGC 6604 is the bright grouping towards to the upper left of the image. It is a young star cluster that is the densest part of a more...
VISTA stares deep into the cosmos
This view shows a section of the widest deep view of the sky ever taken using infrared light, with a total effective exposure time of 55 hours. It was created by combining more than 6000 individual images from the VISTA survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. This picture shows...
VST image of the Hercules galaxy cluster
This new image, taken with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) shows a wide variety of interacting galaxies in the young Hercules galaxy cluster. The sharpness of the picture and the sheer number of objects captured — across a full square degree — in less than three hours of observations attest to...
The smoky pink core of the Omega Nebula
This image of the Omega Nebula (Messier 17), captured by ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), is one of the sharpest of this object ever taken from the ground. It shows the dusty, rosy central parts of the famous star-forming region in fine detail.
Digitized Sky Survey image of part of the Taurus molecular cloud
This image shows a wide-field view of part of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, about 450 light-years from Earth. Its relative closeness makes it an ideal place to study the formation of stars. Many dark clouds of obscuring dust are clearly visible against the background stars.
Antennae Galaxies composite of ALMA and Hubble observations
The Antennae Galaxies (also known as NGC 4038 and 4039) are a pair of distorted colliding spiral galaxies about 70 million light-years away, in the constellation of Corvus (The Crow). This view combines ALMA observations, made in two different wavelength ranges during the observatory’s...
A Wide-field view of the sky around a field studied in the MASSIV survey
This image shows a photographic view created from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 of part of the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). The bright red star at the upper right is the famous variable star Mira (Omicron Ceti) and towards the lower left is the region of space studied in a new survey,...
Highlights of VISTA’s deep infrared view of the COSMOS field
This view shows some highlights from widest deep view of the sky ever taken using infrared light, with a total effective exposure time of 55 hours. It was created by combining more than 6000 individual images from the VISTA survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. This picture...
Antennae galaxies composite of ALMA and Hubble observations
The Antennae Galaxies (also known as NGC 4038 and 4039) are a pair of distorted colliding spiral galaxies about 70 million light-years away, in the constellation of Corvus (The Crow). This view combines ALMA observations, made in three different wavelength ranges during the observatory’s...
The star cluster NGC 2100 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
The brilliant star cluster NGC 2100 lies in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. This image was taken with the EMMI instrument on the ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. This star cluster lies close to the Tarantula...
ESO’s VLT reveals the Carina Nebula's hidden secrets
This broad image of the Carina Nebula, a region of massive star formation in the southern skies, was taken in infrared light using the HAWK-I camera on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Many previously hidden features, scattered across a spectacular celestial landscape of gas, dust and young stars,...
Wide-field view of the newly discovered globular cluster VVV CL001
This wide-field image of the very rich region around the newly discovered globular cluster VVV CL001 and its brighter companion UKS 1 was created from photographs taken through blue, red and infrared filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The globular star clusters are close to...
Wide-field view of the Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region in visible light
This wide-field view shows the star-forming region Rho Ophiuchi in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer), as seen in visible light. This view was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
The cool clouds of Carina
Observations made with the APEX telescope in submillimetre-wavelength light at a wavelength of 870 µm reveal the cold dusty clouds from which stars form in the Carina Nebula. This site of violent star formation, which plays host to some of the highest-mass stars in our galaxy, is an ideal arena...
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