The brilliant star VFTS 682 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This view shows part of the very active star-forming region around the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small neighbour of the Milky Way. At the exact centre lies the brilliant but isolated star VFTS 682 and to its lower right the very rich star cluster R 136. The origins of...
The brown dwarf binary CFBDSIR 1458+10
This image of the brown dwarf binary CFBDSIR 1458+10 was obtained using the Laser Guide Star (LGS) Adaptive Optics system on the Keck II Telescope in Hawaii. Adaptive optics cancels out much of Earth’s atmospheric interference, improving the image sharpness by a factor of ten and enabling the...
Comparison of visible-light and infrared images of the galaxy NGC 1365
This comparison shows a visible-light image of the barred spiral NGC 1365 taken with the FORS1 camera on ESO’s VLT, along with the new infrared view obtained with the HAWK-I camera. In the infrared the dust in the galaxy is much less prominent and the new data is ideal for studying the complex...
Highlights of Messier 78: a reflection nebula in Orion
This panel highlights three regions from a new image of the reflection nebula Messier 78 that was captured using the Wide Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory, Chile. The upper panel covers the most northerly part of the nebula and reveals the...
Hubble infrared image of the most remote mature cluster of galaxies yet found
This image from the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows CG J1449+0856, the most distant mature cluster of galaxies found. The image was taken in infrared light, with colour data added from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and...
Wide-field view of the sky around the remarkable star SDSS J102915+172927
This visible light wide-field image of the region around SDSS J102915+172927 was created from photographs taken through blue, red and infrared filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The star is faint and appears very close to the centre. The field of view is approximately...
The star cluster and nebula NGC 371
This picture of the star cluster and surrounding nebula NGC 371 was taken using the FORS1 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. NGC 371 lies in the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way.
The globular star cluster Messier 107
The globular cluster Messier 107, also known as NGC 6171, is located about 21 000 light-years away in the constellation of Ophiuchus. Messier 107 is about 13 arcminutes across, which corresponds to about 80 light-years at its distance. As is typical of globular clusters, a population of...
HAWK-I image of NGC 1300
This image is of NGC 1300, a spiral galaxy with arms extending from the ends of a spectacularly prominent central bar. It is considered a prototypical example of barred spiral galaxies and lies at a distance of about 65 million light-years, in the constellation of Eridanus (the River). The...
Wide-field view of the sky around NGC 1929
This visible-light wide-field image of the area around the star-forming region LHA 120–N 44 surrounding the cluster NGC 1929, was created from photographs taken through red and blue filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The superbubble appears close to the centre and several...
The disturbed galactic duo NGC 3169 and NGC 3166
This image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile captures the pair of galaxies NGC 3169 (left) and NGC 3166 (right). These adjacent galaxies display some curious features, demonstrating that each member of the duo is close enough to...
Wide Field Imager image of Westerlund 1 (annotated)
This image of the young star cluster Westerlund 1 was taken with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. This remarkable cluster contains hundreds of very massive stars, some shining with a brilliance of almost one million suns. Although...
VISTA's infrared view of the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8)
This new infrared view of the star formation region Messier 8, often called the Lagoon Nebula, was captured by the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. This colour picture was created from images taken through J, H and Ks near-infrared filters, and which were acquired as part...
Wide Field Imager view of the spiral galaxy NGC 3621
This picture of the spiral galaxy NGC 3621 was taken using the Wide Field Imager (WFI) at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. NGC 3621 is about 22 million light-years away in the constellation of Hydra (The Sea Snake). It is comparatively bright and can be well seen in moderate-sized...
HAWK-I image of NGC 1232
NGC 1232 is a spiral galaxy some 65 million light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus (the River). The galaxy is classified as an intermediate spiral galaxy — somewhere between a barred and an unbarred spiral galaxy. An image of this galaxy and its small companion galaxy NGC 1232A in...
HAWK-I image of NGC 2997
This image, NGC 2997, is a spiral galaxy roughly 30 million light-years away in the constellation of Antlia (the Air Pump). NGC 2997 is the brightest member of a group of galaxies of the same name in the Local Supercluster of galaxies. Our own Local Group, of which the Milky Way is a member, is...
Wide-field view of the COSMOS field
This visible-light wide-field image of the region around the COSMOS field was created from photographs taken through red and blue filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The extent of the COSMOS field, one of the most studied parts of the sky with telescopes on the ground...
Wide-field view of the sky around NGC 247
This visible light wide-field image of the region around NGC 247 was created from photographs taken through red and blue filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The galaxy appears close to the centre. The field of view is approximately 2.8 degrees across.
The star cluster Westerlund 1
This image of the young star cluster Westerlund 1 was taken with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Although most stars in the cluster are hot blue supergiants, they appear reddish in this image as they are seen through interstellar...
Wide-field view of the sky around NGC 6744
This visible-light wide-field image of the region around NGC 6744 was created from photographs taken through blue, red and infrared filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The galaxy appears close to the centre. The field of view is approximately 2.9 degrees across.
Atoms-for-Peace: a galactic collision in action*
This new image shows the results of a vast collision between two galaxies. This strange object is known as NGC 7252, or Arp 226, and has the odd nickname Atoms-for-Peace. The picture was taken by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It...
The Orion Nebula*
This new image of the Orion Nebula was captured using the Wide Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory, Chile. This image is a composite of several exposures taken through a total of five different filters. Light that passed through a red filter, as...
HAWK-I infrared image of the spectacular barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365*
This striking new image, taken with the powerful HAWK-I infrared camera on ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile, shows NGC 1365. This beautiful barred spiral galaxy is part of the Fornax cluster of galaxies, and lies about 60 million light-years from Earth. The picture was...
Close-up view of the sky around the star HD 10180
This image shows a close-up of the sky around the star HD 10180. The picture was created from photographs taken through red and blue filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The field of view is approximately eleven arcminutes across. The blue and orange halos around the star,...
HAWK-I image of NGC 4030
This spiral galaxy, NGC 4030, lies about 75 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Virgo. In 2007 Takao Doi, a Japanese astronaut who doubles as an amateur astronomer, spotted a supernova — a stellar explosion that is briefly almost as bright as its host galaxy — going off in...
VST’s view of the Leo Triplet and beyond
Triplet of bright galaxies in the constellation of Leo (The Lion), together with a multitude of fainter objects: distant background galaxies and much closer Milky Way stars. The image hints at the power of the VST and OmegaCAM for surveying the extragalactic Universe and for mapping the ...
The young cluster RMC 136a
Using a combination of instruments on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered the most massive stars to date, some weighing at birth more than 300 times the mass of the Sun, or twice as much as the currently accepted limit of 150 solar masses. The most extreme of these stars was...
Infrared/visible light comparison of views of a stellar nursery in Monoceros
This image compares infrared and visible views of the Monoceros R2 star-forming region. The visible light image (left) was created from digitised photographs through red and blue filters forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The new infrared image (right) was taken with the VISTA...
The young cluster RMC 136a
A new near-infrared image of the R136 cluster, obtained at high resolution with the MAD adaptive optics instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope, provides unique details of its stellar content. At birth, the three brightest stars each weighed more than 150 times the mass of the Sun. The most...
A wide-field view of the sky around the young star T Cha
This visible-light wide-field image of the region around the young star T Cha was created from photographs taken through red and blue filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. T Cha is the upper right of the two faint stars very close to the centre of the picture. Some of the dust...
Wide-field view of the sky around the remote cluster CL J1449+0856
This visible light wide-field image of the region around the most remote mature galaxy cluster yet found was created from photographs taken through red and blue filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The cluster lies at the centre of the picture but is too faint to be seen. The...
Wide-field view of Abell 2744
This ground-based view shows the area of sky around the merging galaxy cluster Abell 2744, which has been given the nickname Pandora’s Cluster. This remarkable object seems to be the result of the collision of at least four separate galaxy clusters. In this picture the cluster itself is faintly...
Wide-field view of the sky around the Meathook galaxy
This visible-light wide-field image of the region around the deformed spiral galaxy NGC 2442 was created from photographs taken through red and blue filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The object itself, nicknamed the Meathook Galaxy, is close to the centre and many other...
Wide Field Imager view of the star formation region NGC 3582
This picture of the star formation region NGC 3582 was taken using the Wide Field Imager at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The image reveals giant loops of gas ejected by dying stars that bear a striking resemblance to solar prominences.
Extracts from the VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey view of the Tarantula Nebula
This composite image shows extracts from a near-infrared VISTA image of the spectacular 30 Doradus star-forming region, also called the Tarantula Nebula. This infrared image, made with ESO’s VISTA survey telescope, is from the VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey. The project will scan a vast area —...
HAWK-I image of NGC 5247
This image shows NGC 5247, a grand design barred spiral galaxy, located 60–70 million light-years away. The galaxy lies face-on towards Earth, thus providing an excellent view of its pinwheel structure and multiple arms. It is in the zodiacal constellation of Virgo (the Maiden). The image was...
Wide field view of the R Coronae Australis region
This spectacular wide field image shows the area around the star R Coronae Australis. A huge dust cloud, about eight light-years across, dominates the centre of the image. The bluish reflection nebula close to R Coronae Australis is right of centre and the globular cluster NGC 6723 lies to the...
An infrared/visible comparison view of Messier 83
This image is a comparison of the view of the galaxy Messier 83 in visible and infrared light. The visible light image (right) was taken with the Wide Field Imager on the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at La Silla in Chile. The new infrared image (left) was taken with the HAWK-I instrument on the...
HAWK-I image of Messier 100
This galaxy is Messier 100, also known as NGC 4321, which was discovered in the 18th century. About 55 million light-years from Earth, Messier 100 is part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and lies in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair, named after the ancient Egyptian queen...
VST image of the giant globular cluster Omega Centauri*
This VST image may be the best portrait of the globular star cluster Omega Centauri ever made. Omega Centauri, in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur), is the largest globular cluster in the sky, but the very wide field of view of VST and its powerful camera OmegaCAM can encompass even...
The superwind galaxy NGC 4666
This visible light image, made with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, shows the galaxy NGC 4666 in the centre. It is a starburst galaxy, about 80 million light-years from Earth, in which particularly intense star formation is taking...
Planet around Beta Pictoris
For the first time, astronomers have been able to directly follow the motion of an exoplanet as it moves to the other side of its host star. The planet has the smallest orbit so far of all directly imaged exoplanets, lying as close to its host star as Saturn is to the Sun. The team of...
Wide Field Imager view of the southern spiral NGC 300
This picture of the spectacular southern spiral galaxy NGC 300 was taken using the Wide Field Imager (WFI) at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It was assembled from many individual images through a large set of different filters over many observing nights, spanning several years. The main...
Extracts from the VISTA image of the Monoceros R2 star forming region
This composite image shows extracts from the VISTA image of the Monoceros R2 star forming region.
Infrared/visible comparison of the VISTA Tarantula Nebula image
The left-hand panel shows the region around the Tarantula Nebula in visible light. Most of the light from the spectacular clouds comes from hydrogen gas glowing under the fierce ultraviolet glare from the central hot young stars. This visible light image was obtained with Wide Field Imager on...
Exoplanet caught on the move
For the first time, astronomers have been able to directly follow the motion of an exoplanet as it moves to the other side of its host star. The planet has the smallest orbit so far of all directly imaged exoplanets, lying as close to its host star as Saturn is to the Sun. The team of...
Infrared/visible light comparison of views of the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253)
This image compares infrared and visible views of the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253). The visible light image (lower) was taken with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla in Chile (eso0902). The new infrared image (upper) was taken with the VISTA telescope at ESO’s...
Highlights of the HAWK-I infrared image of Messier 83
Some highlights from the infrared view of the classic spiral galaxy Messier 83 taken with the HAWK-I camera on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. As well as showing the structure of the galaxy without the obscuring effect of dust, huge numbers of stars within the galaxy are revealed.
Messier 78: a reflection nebula in Orion
This new image of the reflection nebula Messier 78 was captured using the Wide Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory, Chile. This colour picture was created from many monochrome exposures taken through blue, yellow/green and red filters, supplemented...
Infrared VISTA view of a stellar nursery in Monoceros*
This dramatic infrared image shows the nearby star formation region Monoceros R2, located some 2700 light-years away in the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn). The picture was created from exposures in the near infrared bands Y, J and Ks taken by the VISTA survey telescope at ESO’s...
VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey view of the Tarantula Nebula (annotated version)
This VISTA image shows the spectacular 30 Doradus star-forming region, also called the Tarantula Nebula. At its core is a large cluster of stars known as R 136, in which some of the most massive stars known are located. This infrared image, made with ESO’s VISTA survey telescope, is from the...
Highlights from VISTA’s infrared view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula
Highlights from the infrared view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) taken by VISTA. NGC 6334 is a vast region of star formation about 5500 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius. The whole gas cloud is about 50 light-years across. NGC 6334 is one of the most active nurseries...
Wide-field view of part of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the remarkable double star OGLE-LMC-CEP0227
This wide field view of part of our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, was created from photographs taken in red and blue light as part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The remarkable double star OGLE-LMC-CEP0227 lies at the centre of the picture, just one of huge numbers of faint...
VISTA’s infrared view of the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8)
This new infrared view of the star formation region Messier 8, often called the Lagoon Nebula, was captured by the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. This image is a wider version of eso1001a and was created from images taken through J, H and Ks near-infrared filters, It was...
Wide-field view of the sky around the Leo Triplet of galaxies
This visible-light wide-field image of the region around the Leo Triplet of galaxies was created from photographs taken through blue and red filters and forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The galaxies appear to the lower right of centre. The bright star at the upper right is the ...
VISTA’s infrared view of the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253)
NGC 253 is one of the closest galaxies to our own. It is a bright spiral that lies about 13 million light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Sculptor and is noted for being a starburst galaxy with very vigorous star formation and very dusty spiral arms. In the infrared, the rich...
Planet around Beta Pictoris (annotated)
For the first time, astronomers have been able to directly follow the motion of an exoplanet as it moves to the other side of its host star. The planet has the smallest orbit so far of all directly imaged exoplanets, lying as close to its host star as Saturn is to the Sun. The team of...
Detailed annotated view of a section of the Large Magellanic Cloud
This spectacular new image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile reveals a celestial menagerie of different objects and phenomena in part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small companion galaxy to our own Milky Way. Many clusters...
The GOODS-South field
This composite image of the GOODS-South field — the result of an extremely deep survey using two of the four giant 8.2-metre telescopes composing ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and a unique custom-built filter — shows some of the faintest galaxies ever seen. It also allows astronomers to...
Wide-field image centred on the exoplanet HIP 13044 b
This visible light wide-field image of the region around the exoplanet HIP 13044 b was created from photographs forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The field of view is approximately three degrees across. HIP 13044 is visible as an unremarkable, moderate brightness star at the exact...
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