This stunning multi-mission picture shows off the many sides of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. It is made up of images taken by three of NASA's Great Observatories, using three different wavebands of light. Infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope are colored red; visible data from the...
Eagle Nebula Flaunts Its Infrared Feathers: Infrared Views of M16
This set of images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Eagle nebula in different hues of infrared light. Each view tells a different tale about the lives and deaths of stars.
This is an artist's concept of a hypothetical 10-million-year-old star system. The bright blur at the center is a star much like our sun. The other orb in the image is a gas-giant planet like Jupiter. Wisps of white throughout the image represent traces of gas.
3.6 micron image of the Spiral Galaxy Messier 81
The nearby spiral galaxy, Messier 81 (M81) is shown 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.
Brief History of the Universe
This artist's timeline chronicles the history of the universe, from its explosive beginning to its mature, present-day state.
The Universe's First Fireworks
These images reveal a background glow of light from a period of time when the universe was less than one billion years old. This light most likely originated from the universe's very first groups of objects -- either huge stars or voracious black holes.
The Universe's First Fireworks
This image reveals a background glow of light from a period of time when the universe was less than one billion years old. This light most likely originated from the universe's very first groups of objects -- either huge stars or voracious black holes.
Red Giant Plunging Through Space
This image from the Spitzer Space Telescope (left panel) shows the "bow shock" of a dying star named R Hydrae (R Hya) in the constellation Hydra.
Stellar Debris in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This is a composite image from Spitzer, Chandra and Hubble of N49, the brightest supernova remnant in optical light in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Chaos at the Heart of Orion
NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes have teamed up to expose the chaos that baby stars are creating 1,500 light-years away in a cosmic cloud called the Orion Nebula.
Hubble's sharpest view of the Orion Nebula
This dramatic image offers a peek inside a cavern of roiling dust and gas where thousands of stars are forming. The image, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, represents the sharpest view ever taken of this region, called the Orion Nebula.
Orion Nebula
NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes have teamed up to expose the chaos that baby stars are creating 1,500 light-years away in a cosmic cloud called the Orion Nebula.
"Galactic Snake" in Infrared Milky Way Image
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows what astronomers are referring to as a "snake" (upper left) and its surrounding stormy environment. The sinuous object is actually the core of a thick, sooty cloud large enough to swallow dozens of solar systems.
Where Galactic Snakes Live
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows what astronomers are referring to as a "snake" (upper left) and its surrounding stormy environment. The sinuous object is actually the core of a thick, sooty cloud large enough to swallow dozens of solar systems.
Cassiopeia A: Once an Onion, Always an Onion
This artist's concept illustrates a massive star before and after it blew up in a cataclysmic supernova explosion. That this star -- the remains of which are named Cassiopeia A -- exploded with some degree of order, preserving chunks of its onion-like layers as it blasted apart.
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.
NASA's Great Observatory View of the Crab Nebula
A star's spectacular death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D. Now, almost a thousand years later, a superdense neutron star left behind by the stellar death is spewing out a blizzard of extremely high-energy particles into the expanding debris field...
Perseus' Stellar Neighbors
Baby stars are forming near the eastern rim of the cosmic cloud Perseus, revealed in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Seeing Stars in Serpens
Infant stars are glowing gloriously in this infrared image of the Serpens star-forming region, captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Forensic Evidence of a Galactic Collision
Astronomers have new evidence that the Andromeda spiral galaxy was involved in a violent head-on collision with the neighboring dwarf galaxy Messier 32 (M32) more than 200 million years ago. Infrared photographs taken with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope ring deep within the Andromeda galaxy.
Spitzer View of Andromeda Galaxy
Astronomers have new evidence that the Andromeda spiral galaxy was involved in a violent head-on collision with the neighboring dwarf galaxy Messier 32 (M32) more than 200 million years ago. Infrared photographs taken with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope revealed a never-before-seen dust ring deep...
The Light and Dark Sides of a Distant Planet
The top graph consists of infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. It tells astronomers that a distant planet, called Upsilon Andromedae b, always has a giant hot spot on the side that faces the star, while the other side is cold and dark. The artist's concepts above the graph...
Exotic World Blisters Under the Sun
This artist's concept shows a Jupiter-like planet, called Upsilon Andromedae b, soaking up the scorching rays of its nearby star. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope determined that this planet is two-faced, with one side perpetually in the cold dark, and the other forever blistering under the heat of...
Amazing Andromeda Galaxy
The many "personalities" of our great galactic neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, are exposed in this new composite image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer and the Spitzer Space Telescope.
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...
Protoplanetary Disk Evaporation
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.
Brown Dwarf Companion
This is an artist's concept of the star HD 3651 as it is orbited by a close-in Saturn-mass planetary companion and the distant brown dwarf companion discovered by Spitzer infrared photographs.
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.
Spitzer View of IRAS 2214+5948
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.
Large Magellanic Cloud in the Infrared
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy.
What's Old Is New in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy.
Large Magellanic Cloud in the Infrared
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy.
Our Chaotic Neighbor
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy.
Baby Stars in the Witch Head Nebula
Eight hundred light-years away in the Orion constellation, a gigantic murky cloud called the "Witch Head" nebula is brewing baby stars.
A Slice of Orion
This image composite shows a part of the Orion constellation surveyed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The shape of the main image was designed by astronomers to roughly follow the shape of Orion cloud A, an enormous star-making factory containing about 1,800 young stars. This giant cloud...
The Sword of Orion
This image shows a visible light view of the famous Orion nebula and its surrounding cloud, an industrious star-making region located near the hunter constellation's sword.
The Sword of Orion
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Orion nebula, our closest massive star-making factory, 1,450 light-years from Earth. The nebula is close enough to appear to the naked eye as a fuzzy star in the sword of the popular hunter constellation.
Baby Stars in the Witch Head Nebula Revealed by Spitzer
Eight hundred light-years away in the Orion constellation, a gigantic murky cloud called the "Witch Head" nebula is brewing baby stars.
Orion in the Infrared
This image unveils the infrared view of the famous Orion nebula and its surrounding cloud, an industrious star-making region located near the hunter constellation's sword. The infrared picture is from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
The Sword of Orion in the Infrared
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Orion nebula, our closest massive star-making factory, 1,450 light-years from Earth. The nebula is close enough to appear to the naked eye as a fuzzy star in the sword of the popular hunter constellation.
The Infrared Hunter
This image composite compares infrared and visible views of the famous Orion nebula and its surrounding cloud, an industrious star-making region located near the hunter constellation's sword. The infrared picture is from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and the visible image is from the National...
Orion's Inner Beauty
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Orion nebula, our closest massive star-making factory, 1,450 light-years from Earth. The nebula is close enough to appear to the naked eye as a fuzzy star in the sword of the popular hunter constellation.
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.
Black Hole Spills Kaleidoscope of Color
This new composite image from NASA's Hubble, Chandra and Spitzer space telescopes shows a giant jet of particles that has been shot out from the vicinity of a type of supermassive black hole called a quasar. The jet is enormous, stretching across more 100,000 light-years of space a size...
A Slice of Orion
This image composite shows a part of the Orion constellation surveyed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The region that makes up the shaft part of the "hockey stick" stretches 70 light-years beyond the Orion nebula. This particular area does not contain massive young stars like those of the...
Supernova Dust Factory in M74
Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have spotted a "dust factory" thirty million light-years away in the spiral galaxy M74. The factory is located at the scene of a massive star's explosive death, or supernova. The image was obtained in January 2005.
Supernova Dust Factory in M74
Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have spotted a "dust factory" thirty million light-years away in the spiral galaxy M74. The factory is located at the scene of a massive star's explosive death, or supernova.
Supernova Dust Factory in M74
Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have spotted a "dust factory" thirty million light-years away in the spiral galaxy M74. The factory is located at the scene of a massive star's explosive death, or supernova. This image was obtained in July 2004.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope View of M74
Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have created this infrared image of the spiral galaxy M74.
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.
Supernova Remnant 1E0102.2-7219
The supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219, revealed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, 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...
Dust in Andromeda
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Andromeda galaxy, a neighbor to our Milky Way galaxy. The image highlights the galaxy's choppy waves of dust.
Dusty Death of a Massive Star
The supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 (inset) revealed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope 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.
Astronomers have discovered nearly 300 galaxy clusters and groups in this image, including almost 100 located 8 to 10 billion light-years away, using the space-based Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Andromeda
This infrared composite image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Andromeda galaxy, a neighbor to our Milky Way galaxy. The image highlights the contrast between the galaxy's choppy waves of dust (red) and smooth sea of older stars (blue). The Spitzer view also shows Andromeda's...
Galaxies Gather at Great Distances
Astronomers have discovered nearly 300 galaxy clusters and groups, including almost 100 located 8 to 10 billion light-years away, using the space-based Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Ariz. The new sample...
Distant Galaxy Cluster
This distant galaxy cluster was discovered using data from the space-based Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Ariz.
Stars in Andromeda
This infrared composite image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Andromeda galaxy, a neighbor to our Milky Way galaxy. The image highlights the smooth sea of older stars.
Andromeda Makes a Splash
This infrared composite image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Andromeda galaxy, a neighbor to our Milky Way galaxy. The main image (top) highlights the contrast between the galaxy's choppy waves of dust (red) and smooth sea of older stars (blue). The panels below the main image show...
Distant Galaxy Cluster
This distant galaxy cluster was discovered using data from the space-based Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Ariz.
Distant Galaxy Cluster
This distant galaxy cluster was discovered using data from the space-based Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Ariz.