The glowing Trifid Nebula is revealed with near- and mid-infrared views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The Trifid Nebula is a giant star-forming cloud of gas and dust located 5,400 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. The false-color Spitzer image reveals a different side of...
North America Nebula
Babies in the North America Nebula
Stars at all stages of development, from dusty little tots to young adults, are on display in a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
COSMOS-AzTEC3
Galactic City at the Edge of the Universe
The growing galactic metropolis, named COSMOS-AzTEC3, is the most distant known massive "proto-cluster" of galaxies, lying about 12.6 billion light-years away from Earth.
Delta Cephei
Standard Candle in the Wind
This image layout illustrates how NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was able to show that astandard candle" used to measure cosmological distances is shrinking -- a finding that affects precise measurements of the age, size and expansion rate of our universe.
Maffei 2
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.
WISE-12b
Hot, Carbon-Rich Planet
This artist's concept shows the searing-hot gas planet WASP-12b (orange orb) and its star.
WASP-12b
Signature of a Carbon-Rich Planet
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope indicates the presence of molecules in the planet WASP-12b -- a super-hot gas giant that orbits tightly around its star.
Abell 1763
Bent Galactic Jets
Astronomers have caught sight of an unusual galaxy that, like a lighthouse, has illuminated new details about a celestial "sandbar" connecting two massive islands of galaxies.
II Zw 096
Shrouded Starburst in the Galaxy Merger II Zw 096
A brilliant burst of star formation is revealed in this image combining observations from NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes. The collision of two spiral galaxies, has triggered this luminous starburst, the brightest ever seen taking place far away from the centers, or nuclei, of merging...
II Zw 096
A Powerful Shrouded Starburst
The collision of two spiral galaxies, has triggered this luminous starburst, the brightest ever seen taking place away from the centers, or nuclei, of merging galaxies.
II Zw 096
Hubble View of Galaxy Merger II Zw 096
The merging galaxies known collectively as II Zw 096 are shown in this image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Buckyballs in Space
NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope has detected buckyballs - intriguing, miniature-soccer-ball-shaped molecules - in interstellar space for the first time.
Extragalactic Space Balls
For the first time, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected little spheres of carbon, called buckyballs, in a galaxy beyond our Milky Way galaxy.
Upsilon Andromedae b
Planetary Hot Spot Not Under the Glare of Star
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found that the hottest part of a distant planet, named upsilon Andromedae b, is not under the glare of its host star as might be expected.
Upsilon Andromedae b
How to Find a Planetary Hot Spot
This graph of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows how astronomers located a hot spot on a distant gas planet named upsilon Andromedae b -- and learned that it was in the wrong place.
Dusty Supernova
While searching the skies for black holes using the Spitzer Space Telescope Deep Wide Field Survey, Ohio State University astronomers discovered a giant supernova that was smothered in its own dust.
Lynds 183
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.
Lynds 183
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.
Lynds 183
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.
Lynds 183
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.
Eros
Spitzer Surveys Dozens of Near-Earth Asteroids
This image, taken by NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission in 2000, shows a close-up view of Eros, an asteroid with an orbit that takes it somewhat close to Earth.
Circle of Planetary Ashes
This artist's concept illustrates a tight pair of stars and a surrounding disk of dust -- most likely the shattered remains of planetary smashups.
Spectral Signatures of Planetary Doom
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells astronomers that a dusty planetary smashup probably occurred around a pair of tight twin, or binary, stars.
Before the Smashup
This artist's concept illustrates an imminent planetary collision around a pair of double stars. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence that such collisions could be common around a certain type of tight double, or binary, star system, referred to as RS Canum Venaticorums or RS CVns for...
ClG J02182-05102
Ancient Galaxy Cluster Still Producing Stars
Astronomers have found that stars are forming more rapidly in the center of a distant galaxy cluster than at its edges, which is completely reversed from galaxy clusters seen in the local universe.
ClG J02182-05102
Ancient Galaxy Cluster Still Producing Stars (unannotated)
Astronomers have found that stars are forming more rapidly in the center of a distant galaxy cluster than at its edges, which is completely reversed from galaxy clusters seen in the local universe.
NGC 4038
Takes Two Antenna Galaxies to Tangle
A new image of two tangled galaxies has been released by NASA's Great Observatories.
GL 490
Bright Lights, Green City
Two extremely bright stars illuminate a greenish mist in this and other images from the new GLIMPSE360 survey.
IRAS 21078+5211
A Shocking Outflow
This image shows an outflow of gas from a new star as it jets from a space object dubbed IRAS 21078+5211, among other designations.
BG2107+49
Beastly Stars and a Bubble
A star forming region called BG2107+49 shines from the considerable distance of more than 30,000 light years away in the upper left of this image.
CTB 102
Awash in Green and Red
This wispy, vast structure in the constellation Cygnus has a small bubble right in its center puffed out by the spasms of fresh-formed, heavyweight stars.
Tc 1
Jiggling Soccer-Ball Molecules in Space
These data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show the signatures of buckyballs in space.
Space Balls (Buckyballs)
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has at last found buckyballs in space, as illustrated by this artist's conception showing the carbon balls coming out from the type of object where they were discovered.
A Disk Around a Massive Baby Star
Astronomers have obtained the first clear look at a dusty disk closely encircling a massive baby star, thought to look like this artist's concept.
IRAS 13481-6124
A Massive Star and Its Cradle
This star-forming region is dominated by the bright, young star IRAS 13481-6124 (upper left), which is about twenty times the mass of our Sun and five times its radius, and is surrounded by its pre-natal cocoon.
Omega Nebula
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.
Omega Nebula
The Invisible Dragon
A dragon-shaped cloud of dust seems to fly out from a bright explosion in this infrared light image (top) from the Spitzer Space Telescope, a creature that is entirely cloaked in shadow when viewed in visible part of the spectrum (bottom).
Omega Nebula
Visible Light View of the M17 Nebula
This visible-light view of the sky highlights the bright M17 nebula, as well as the glowing hot gas filling the "bubble" to its left.
Omega Nebula
Dragon's Lair
A dragon-shaped cloud of dust seems to fly out from a bright explosion in this infrared light image from the Spitzer Space Telescope.
SDWFS J143524.44+335334.6
Cool as a Stellar Cucumber
This image shows what astronomers think is one of the coldest brown dwarfs discovered so far (red dot in middle of frame). The object, called SDWFS J143524.44+335334.6, is one of 14 such brown dwarfs found by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope using infrared light.
Solar Neighborhood
Coolest Orbs on the Block
This artist's conception shows simulated data predicting the hundreds of failed stars, or brown dwarfs, that NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is expected to add to the population of known stars in our solar neighborhood.
L483
Protostellar Envelope and Jet: L483
A young protostar and its signature outflow peeks out through a shroud of dust in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
IRAS 03282+3035
Blobs House Twin Stars
New evidence from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is showing that tight-knit twin stars might be triggered to form by asymmetrical envelopes like the ones shown in this image.
IRAS 16253-2429
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.
L1152
Protostellar Envelope and Jet: L1152
A young protostar and its signature outflow peeks out through a shroud of dust in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
HH270 VLA1
Protostellar Envelope and Jet: HH270 VLA1
A young protostar and its signature outflow peeks out through a shroud of dust in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
IRAS 03282+3035
Protostellar Envelope and Jet: IRAS 03282+3035
A young protostar and its signature outflow peeks out through a shroud of dust in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
CB230
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.
ClG J02182-05102
Galactic Metropolis
In this recent deep excavation, courtesy of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have unearthed what may be the most distant, primitive cluster of galaxies ever found. In a twist, however, this apparent ancestor to today's "big cities" of grouped galaxies looks shockingly modern.
GJ 436b
Exotic Exoplanet
An unusual, methane-free world is partially eclipsed by its star in this artist's concept.
GJ 436b
How to Measure Exoplanet Light
These plots from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show light from a distant planet, GJ 436b, and its star, as measured at six different infrared wavelengths.
Orion Nebula
Orion's Dreamy Stars
A colony of hot, young stars is stirring up the cosmic scene in this new picture from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Orion Nebula
Warm Mission Dreamy Stars of Orion
A colony of hot, young stars is stirring up the cosmic scene in this new picture from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
G54.1+0.3
Dusty Dead Star
A composite image from NASA's Chandra (blue) and Spitzer (green and red-yellow) space telescopes shows the dusty remains of a collapsed star, a supernova remnant called G54.1+0.3.
Prehistoric Black Hole
This artist's conception illustrates one of the most primitive supermassive black holes known (central black dot) at the core of a young, star-rich galaxy.
How to Spot a Primitive Black Hole
These two data plots from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show a primitive supermassive black hole (top) compared to a typical one.
Milky Way
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.
Milky Way
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.
Milky Way
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.
