'The infrared vision of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed that the Sombrero galaxy -- named after its appearance in visible light to a wide-brimmed hat -- is in fact two galaxies in one. It is a large elliptical galaxy (blue-green) with a thin disk galaxy (partly seen in red) embedded...
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals the light from a "super Earth" called 55 Cancri e. The planet is the smallest yet, beyond our solar system, to reveal its direct light.
The Sombrero Galaxy's Split Personality
The infrared vision of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed that the Sombrero galaxy -- named after its appearance in visible light to a wide-brimmed hat -- is in fact two galaxies in one.
Sombrero Galaxy Not So Flat After All
New observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveal the Sombrero galaxy is not simply a regular flat disk galaxy of stars as previously believed, but a more round elliptical galaxy with a flat disk tucked inside.
A New View of the Tarantula Nebula
A massive star-forming region located about 160,000 light years away.
Finding Bubbles in the Milky Way
A huge team of volunteers from the general public has poured over observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and discovered more than 5,000 "bubbles" in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy. Young, hot stars blow these shells out into surrounding gas and dust, highlighting areas of brand new...
An Audience-Favorite Nebula
If astronomy had its own Academy Awards, then this part of the Milky Way would have been the Favorite Nebula pick for 2011. Competing against 12,263 other slices of the sky, this got more votes from the 35,000 volunteers searching for cosmic bubbles than any other location.
Orion's Rainbow of Infrared Light
This new view of the Orion nebula highlights fledging stars hidden in the gas and clouds. It shows infrared observations taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Herschel mission, in which NASA plays an important role.
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.
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.
Remnant of an Explosion With a Powerful Kick?
Vital clues about the devastating ends to the lives of massive stars can be found by studying the aftermath of their explosions.
Goings On Around Star-forming Towns
In this new action-packed view of the Cygnus X star-forming region from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, stars can be seen at different stages of development.
Stars Brewing in Cygnus X
A bubbling cauldron of star birth is highlighted in this new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Stars Brewing in Cygnus X
A bubbling cauldron of star birth is highlighted in this new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
A Dwarf Galaxy's Star Bar and Dusty Wing
Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy in infrared light, is one of the biggest satellite galaxies of our home galaxy, though it is still considered a dwarf galaxy compared to the big spiral of our Milky Way.
Dusty Space Cloud
Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy in infrared light, this nearby dwarf galaxy looks like a fiery, circular explosion. Rather than fire, however, those ribbons are actually giant ripples of dust spanning tens or hundreds of light-years.
Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS)
This Hubble image shows a field of galaxies, known as the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, or GOODS.
Infrared View of a Distant Galaxy Bursts with Stars
This image shows one of the most distant galaxies known, called GN-108036, dating back to 750 million years after the Big Bang that created our universe. The galaxy's light took 12.9 billion years to reach us.
Distant Galaxy Bursts with Stars
This image shows one of the most distant galaxies known, called GN-108036, dating back to 750 million years after the Big Bang that created our universe. The galaxy's light took 12.9 billion years to reach us.
This turbulent region, jam-packed with stars, is home to some of the most luminous massive stars in our Milky Way galaxy.
A Dusty View of Milky Ways Smaller Cousin
This spectacular spiral galaxy is known to astronomers as Messier 83. Colloquially, it is also called the Southern Pinwheel due to its similarity to the more northerly Pinwheel galaxy Messier 101. NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope shows us, in spectacular detail, the infrared structure of what many...
M83 The Milky Ways Smaller Cousin
This spectacular spiral galaxy is known to astronomers as Messier 83. Colloquially, it is also called the Southern Pinwheel due to its similarity to the more northerly Pinwheel galaxy Messier 101. NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope shows us, in spectacular detail, the infrared structure of what many...
30 Doradus and The Growing Tarantula Within
About 2,400 massive stars in the center of 30 Doradus are producing intense radiation and powerful winds as they blow off material.
All That Remains of Exploded Star
Infrared images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer are combined in this image of RCW 86, the dusty remains of the oldest documented example of an exploding star, or supernova.
All Eyes on Oldest Recorded Supernova
This image combines data from four different space telescopes to create a multi-wavelength view of all that remains of the oldest documented example of a supernova, called RCW 86.
It's Raining Comets
This artist's conception illustrates a storm of comets around a star near our own, called Eta Corvi.
Living the High Life
The high-mass stars in NGC 281 drive many aspects of their galactic environment through powerful winds flowing from their surfaces and intense radiation that heats surrounding gas, "boiling it away" into interstellar space.
Earth and Super-Earth
This artists concept contrasts our familiar Earth with the exceptionally strange planet known as 55 Cancri e. While it is only about twice the size of the Earth, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has gathered surprising new details about this supersized and superheated world.
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...
Weighing in on the Dumbbell Nebula
The Dumbbell nebula, also known as Messier 27, pumps out infrared light in this image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. It was discovered in 1764 by Charles Messier, who included it as the 27th member of his famous catalog of nebulous objects. Though he did not know it at the time, this was...
A Twisted Dust Web in the Galaxy IC 342
Looking like a spiders web swirled into a spiral, the galaxy IC 342 presents its delicate pattern of dust in this image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. In the infrared the faint starlight gives way to the glowing bright patterns of dust found throughout the galaxys disk.
A Twisted Star-Forming Web in the Galaxy IC 342
Looking like a spiders web swirled into a spiral, the galaxy IC 342 presents its delicate pattern of dust in this image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Seen in the infrared the faint starlight gives way to the glowing bright patterns of dust found throughout the galaxys disk.
This split view shows how a normal spiral galaxy around our local universe (left) might have looked back in the distant universe, when astronomers think galaxies would have been filled with larger populations of hot, bright stars (right).
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.
In the Blackest Night, a Green Ring Nebula
This glowing emerald nebula seen by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is reminiscent of the glowing ring wielded by the superhero Green Lantern.
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.
Cosmic Fountain of Crystal Rain
This graphic illustrates a stellar fountain of crystal rain, beginning with a Spitzer picture of the star in question, and ending with an artist's concept of what the crystal "rain" might look like.
Finding Forsterite Around a Developing Star
Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have, for the first time, found signatures of silicate crystals around a newly forming protostar in the constellation of Orion.
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.
Protostar HOPS-68 in Orion
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope detected tiny green crystals, called olivine, thought to be raining down on a developing star.
Crystal Rain
Olivine crystals were spotted by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in a collapsing cloud of gas surrounding an embryonic star called HOPS-68.
This artist's conception shows green crystals of olivine raining down on a developing star like cosmic glitter.
Galactic Train Wrecks
This montage shows three examples of colliding galaxies from a new photo atlas of galactic "train wrecks."
Galactic Train Wreck
This image shows an example of colliding galaxies from a new photo atlas of galactic "train wrecks".
Galactic Train Wreck
This image shows an example of colliding galaxies from a new photo atlas of galactic "train wrecks".
Galactic Train Wreck
This image shows an example of colliding galaxies from a new photo atlas of galactic "train wrecks".
New View of the Great Nebula in Carina
Compared to our own Sun, it is about 100 times as massive and a million times as bright. This famed variable hypergiant star is surrounded by the Carina Nebula.
Kepler-10 Stellar Family Portrait
This artist's conception depicts the Kepler-10 star system, located about 560 light-years away near the Cygnus and Lyra constellations.
Annotated View of Abell 383
The giant cluster of elliptical galaxies in the center of this image contains so much dark matter mass that its gravity bends light. This means that for very distant galaxies in the background, the clusters gravitational field acts as a sort of magnifying glass, bending and concentrating the...
This illustration shows a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, which is used by astronomers to study very distant and very faint galaxies. Note that the scale has been greatly exaggerated in this diagram. In reality, the distant galaxy is much further away and much smaller.
Lensing Cluster Abell 383
The giant cluster of elliptical galaxies in the center of this image contains so much dark matter mass that its gravity bends light. This means that for very distant galaxies in the background, the clusters gravitational field acts as a sort of magnifying glass, bending and concentrating the...
It's Twins! Spitzer Finds Hidden Jet
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope took this image of a baby star sprouting two identical jets.
Undercover Jet Exposed
This image layout shows two views of the same baby star -- at left is a visible-light image, and at right is an infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Spitzer's view shows that this star has a second, identical jet shooting off in the opposite direction of the first.
Stars Gather in 'Downtown' Milky Way
A view from the bustling center of our galactic metropolis. Spitzer Space Telescope offers us a fresh, infrared view of the frenzied scene at the center of our Milky Way, revealing what lies behind the dust.
Spitzer's Sunflower
The various spiral arm segments of the Sunflower galaxy, also known as Messier 63, show up vividly in this image taken in infrared light by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Sunflower Galaxy Glows with Infrared Light
The various spiral arm segments of the Sunflower galaxy, also known as Messier 63, show up vividly in this image taken in infrared light by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
An Extended Stellar Family
This swirling landscape of stars is known as the North America nebula. In visible light, the region resembles North America, but in this new infrared view from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, the continent disappears.
North America Nebula in Different Lights
This new view of the North America nebula combines both visible and infrared light observations, taken by the Digitized Sky Survey and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, respectively, into a single vivid picture.
North America Nebula Disappears
This image layout compares visible (left) and infrared views of the North America nebula, taken by the Digitized Sky Survey and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, respectively.
The Case of the Disappearing Continent
This swirling landscape of stars is known as the North America nebula. In visible light, the region resembles North America, but in this new infrared view from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, the continent disappears.
Changing Face of the North America Nebula
This image layout reveals how the appearance of the North America nebula can change dramatically using different combinations of visible and infrared observations from the Digitized Sky Survey and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, respectively.