NGC 1376
Head in the Clouds
A small portion of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is pictured in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The SMC is a dwarf galaxy and one of the Milky Way’s nearest neighbours, lying only about 200 000 light-years from Earth. It makes a pair with the Large Magellanic Cloud, and...
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...
DEM L 190
Revisiting a Celestial Fireworks Display
Shreds of the luridly coloured supernova remnant DEM L 190 seem to billow across the screen in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The delicate sheets and intricate filaments are debris from the cataclysmic death of a massive star that once lived in the Large Magellanic Cloud,...
Orion Nebula
Dusty Orion Nebula in Infrared
This infrared image of the Orion Nebula features plenty of dust but no stars. In these infrared wavelengths, it’s possible to see hot spots where new stars are forming, while unseen bright, massive stars have carved out caverns of empty space.
NGC 1097
NGC 1097
NGC 1097 as part of the comparison image ann22015a.
NGC 1097
ERIS sees first light, capturing a detailed view of the inner ring of NGC 1097
ERIS, the Very Large Telescope’s newest infrared eye on the sky, captured this stunning image of the inner ring of the galaxy NGC 1097. This galaxy is located 45 million light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Fornax. ERIS has captured the gaseous and dusty ring that lies at the very...
NGC 1097
NGC 1097
NGC 1097 as part of the comparison image ann22015a.
AM 0417-391
Hubble Hunts an Unusual Galaxy
The galaxy merger Arp-Madore 417-391 steals the spotlight in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The Arp-Madore catalogue is a collection of particularly peculiar galaxies spread throughout the southern sky, and includes a collection of subtly interacting galaxies as well as...
Abell 2744
Abell 2744 GLASS (NIRCam Image)
Two of the farthest galaxies seen to date are captured in these Webb Space Telescope pictures of the outer regions of the giant galaxy cluster Abell 2744. The galaxies are not inside the cluster, but many billions of light-years farther behind it. The galaxy labeled (1) existed only 450 million...
L1527
L1527 and Protostar (NIRCam Image)
The protostar within the dark cloud L1527, shown in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), is embedded within a cloud of material feeding its growth. Ejections from the star have cleared out cavities above and below it, whose boundaries glow orange and...
[CB88] 130
Clouded Vision
A small, dense cloud of gas and dust called CB 130-3 blots out the centre of this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. CB 130-3 is an object known as a dense core, a compact agglomeration of gas and dust. This particular dense core is in the constellation Serpens, and seems to billow...
Cone Nebula
Wide-field view of the Cone Nebula region of the sky
This image from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) shows the region of the sky around the Cone Nebula. The nebulous area at the centre of the image is NGC 2264, an area of the sky that includes the Christmas Tree star cluster and the Cone Nebula below it (at the very centre of the frame).
Cone Nebula
ESO’s 60th anniversary image: the Cone Nebula as seen by the VLT
The Cone Nebula is part of a star-forming region of space, NGC 2264, about 2500 light-years away. Its pillar-like appearance is a perfect example of the shapes that can develop in giant clouds of cold molecular gas and dust, known for creating new stars. This dramatic new view of the nebula was...
WLM
WLM Dwarf Galaxy (NIRCam Image)
A portion of the dwarf galaxy Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte (WLM) captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera. The image demonstrates Webb’s remarkable ability to resolve faint stars outside the Milky Way. Color translation: 0.9-micron light is shown in blue, 1.5-micron in cyan,...
WLM
Dwarf Galaxy WLM (Spitzer IRAC and Webb NIRCam)
portion of the dwarf galaxy Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte (WLM) captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope’s Infrared Array Camera (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (right). The images demonstrate Webb’s remarkable ability to resolve faint stars outside the Milky Way. The...
MACS 0647
MACS 0647 (NIRCam Image)
The massive gravity of galaxy cluster MACS0647 acts as a cosmic lens to bend and magnify light from the more distant MACS0647-JD system. It also triply lensed the JD system, causing its image to appear in three separate locations. These images, which are highlighted with white boxes, are marked...
Abell 370
LENSED SUPERNOVA IN ABELL 370
Through a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, three different moments in a far-off supernova explosion were captured in a single snapshot by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The light from the supernova, which was located behind the galaxy cluster Abell 370, was multiply lensed by the...
NGC 7038
Investigating A Made-to-Measure Galaxy
The spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 7038 wind languidly across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 7038 lies around 220 million light-years from Earth in the southern constellation Indus. This image portrays an especially rich and detailed view of a spiral galaxy, and exposes...
NGC 3576
VISTA’s view on stellar births
This Picture of the Week shows a new view of NGC 3603 (left) and NGC 3576 (right), two stunning nebulas imaged with ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). This infrared image peers through the dust in these nebulas, revealing details hidden in optical images. NGC...
M15
Latest plans for Hubble Servicing Mission 4
NASA officials announced 30 October 2008 that the planned Hubble Servicing Mission 4, originally scheduled for late September, will at the earliest take place in May 2009. The decison comes after engineers completed an initial assessement of the work required to bring the replacement Science...
Arp 248
Hubble Inspects A Pair of Space Oddities
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows two of the galaxies in the galactic triplet Arp 248 — also known as Wild's Triplet — which lies around 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The two large spiral galaxies visible in this image — which flank a...
M16
Pillars of Creation (MIRI Image)
Haunting Portrait: NASA’s Webb Reveals Dust, Structure in Pillars of Creation
Vela Supernova Remnant
The Vela supernova remnant imaged by the VLT Survey Telescope
This image shows a spectacular view of the orange and pink clouds that make up what remains after the explosive death of a massive star — the Vela supernova remnant. This detailed image consists of 554 million pixels, and is a combined mosaic image of observations taken with the...
Abell 611
Wide-Field View Abell 611
This image shows a wide-field view of the galaxy cluster Abell 611.
Abell 611
A Cosmic Cobweb
In celebration of Halloween, Hubble brings you this inky image of the galaxy cluster Abell 611, located roughly 3.2 billion light years from Earth. This object is a popular target for investigating dark matter, in part because of the numerous examples of strong gravitational lensing visible...
NGC 1999
Cosmic Keyhole
This peculiar portrait from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showcases NGC 1999, a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. NGC 1999 is around 1350 light-years from Earth and lies near to the Orion Nebula, the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. NGC 1999 itself is a relic...
NGC 4254
Pinwheel firework
In this picture of the week we can see the well-defined arms of the spiral galaxy NGC 4254, also known as the Coma Pinwheel or Messier 99. It’s called a grand design spiral galaxy because of its distinctive pinwheel shape with prominent arms. Since Charles Messier first observed it in the 18th...
HH 1
Multiwavelength View of a Turbulent Stellar Nursery
The lives of newborn stars are tempestuous, as this image of the Herbig–Haro objects HH 1 and HH 2 from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts. Both objects are in the constellation Orion and lie around 1250 light-years from Earth. HH 1 is the luminous cloud above the bright star in the...
Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula in Taurus
This photo shows a three colour composite of the well-known Crab Nebula (also known as Messier 1), as observed with the FORS2 instrument in imaging mode in the morning of November 10, 1999. It is the remnant of a supernova explosion at a distance of about 6,000 light-years, observed almost...
HH 34
Protostar HH-34 in Orion
Three-colour composite of the young object Herbig-Haro 34 (HH-34), now in the protostar stage of evolution. It is based on CCD frames obtained with the FORS2 instrument in imaging mode, on November 2 and 6, 1999. This object has a remarkable, very complicated appearance that includes two...
N 70
N70 Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This image shows a three-colour composite of the N 70 nebula. It is a "Super Bubble" in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way system, located in the southern sky at a distance of about 160,000 light-years. This photo is based on CCD frames obtained with the...
N 70
Detail of N70 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
This image shows an enlargement of a three-colour composite of the N 70 nebula. It is a "Super Bubble" in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way system, located in the southern sky at a distance of about 160,000 light-years. This photo is based on CCD frames...
HH 34
Protostar HH 34 in Orion
This image is an enlargement of a three-colour composite of the young object Herbig-Haro 34 (HH-34), now in the protostar stage of evolution. It is based on CCD frames obtained with the FORS2 instrument in imaging mode, on November 2 and 6, 1999. This object has a remarkable, very complicated...
Crab Pulsar
Time sequence of Crab pulsar
In this image, the continuous lines in the top and bottom half are produced by normal stars of constant brightness, while the series of dots represents the individual pulses of the Crab pulsar, one every 33 milliseconds (i.e. the neutron star rotates around its axis 30 times per second). It is...
GRB 990510
Afterglow of GRB 990510
This is a false-colour composite of the area around the optical image of the afterglow of GRB 990510, based on three near-infrared exposures with the SOFI multi-mode instrument at the 3.6-m ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) at La Silla, obtained on May 10, 1999, between 23:15 and 23:45 UT. The...
Crab Nebula
Centre of the Crab Nebula in Taurus
This image is an enlargement of a three colour composite of the well-known Crab Nebula (also known as "Messier 1"), as observed with the FORS2 instrument in imaging mode in the morning of November 10, 1999. It is the remnant of a supernova explosion at a distance of about 6,000 light-years,...
Supernova
Supernova at redshift z = 0.51
The image shows a supernova at redshift z = 0.51 (corresponding to a distance of about 10,000 million light-years) is observed on five dates with the SUSI camera at the 3.6-m New Technology Telescope (NTT). The host galaxy is clearly visible and the supernova reaches its maximum brightness...
New Technology Telescope
Supernova at redshift z = 0.40
The image shows a supernova at redshift z = 0.40 (corresponding to a distance of about 6,000 million light-years) observed on five dates with the SUSI camera at the 3.6-m New Technology Telescope (NTT). The host galaxy is barely visible, most probably because it is a low surface brightness...
GRB 990510
Afterglow of GRB 990510
Enlargement from the 30 sec V-exposure by the VLT, shown in ESO Press Photo eso9926. The field is about 1.9 x 1.9 arcmin 2. North is up and East is left.
GRB 990510
Afterglow of GRB 990510
This wide-field photo was obtained with the Wide-Field Imager (WFI) at the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at La Silla on May 11, 1999, at 08:42 UT, under inferior observing conditions (seeing = 1.9 arcsec). The exposure time was 450 sec in a B(lue) filter. The optical image of the afterglow of GRB...
GRB 990510
GRB 990510 sky region
The object of study is the remnant of a mysterious cosmic explosion far out in space, first detected as a gigantic outburst of gamma rays on May 10. Gamma-Ray Bursters (GRBs) are brief flashes of very energetic radiation — they represent by far the most powerful type of explosion known in the...
GRB 990510
GRB 990510
The object of study is the remnant of a mysterious cosmic explosion far out in space, first detected as a gigantic outburst of gamma rays on May 10. Gamma-Ray Bursters (GRBs) are brief flashes of very energetic radiation — they represent by far the most powerful type of explosion known in the...
GRB 990510
Spectrum of GRB 990510 afterglow
The object of study is the remnant of a mysterious cosmic explosion far out in space, first detected as a gigantic outburst of gamma rays on May 10. Gamma-Ray Bursters (GRBs) are brief flashes of very energetic radiation - they represent by far the most powerful type of explosion known in the...
Comet Tempel 1
Evolution of comet Tempel 1
The images obtained at the VLT show that after the impact, the morphology of Comet Tempel 1 had changed, with the appearance of a new plume-like structure, produced by matter being ejected with a speed of about 700 to 1,000 km/h. This structure, however, diffused away in the following days,...
Comet Tempel 1
Evolution of comet Tempel 1 (FORS2/VLT)
This image shows the evolution of Comet Tempel 1 as observed with the FORS2 instrument on Antu (VLT).
M16
Pillars of Creation (Hubble and Webb Images Side by Side)
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope made the Pillars of Creation famous with its first image in 1995, but revisited the scene in 2014 to reveal a sharper, wider view in visible light, shown above at left. A new, near-infrared-light view from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, at right, helps us peer...
M16
Image: Pillars of Creation (NIRCam Image)
The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of color in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing. This is a region where...
Record-breaking Gamma-Ray Burst Caught With Gemini (no annotations)
Thanks to a fast reaction by observers and staff, near-simultaneous observations were made of GRB221009A from Gemini South in Chile. The image is a combination of 4 exposures in I, J,H, K with two instruments taken in the morning of Friday 14 October 2022.
NGC 4495
A Storm of Light
The constellation Coma Berenices hosts the galaxy NGC 4495 among myriad other astronomical objects. This galaxy has a tumultuous history: several supernovae have been recorded over the years, including the three named 1994S, 2010lo, and 2011ca. This last burst of energy from a dying star can be...
WR 140
Wolf-Rayet 140 (MIRI)
Shells of cosmic dust created by the interaction of binary stars appear like tree rings around Wolf-Rayet 140. The remarkable regularity of the shells’ spacing indicates that they form like clockwork during the stars’ eight-year orbit cycle, when the two members of the binary make their closest...
VV191
VV191 Galaxy Pair
Researchers identified a previously unknown lensed galaxy for the first time in new near-infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Examine the white elliptical galaxy at left. A faint red arc appears in the inset at 10 o’clock. This is a very distant galaxy whose appearance is...
VV191
VV191 Galaxy Pair
By combining data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, researchers were able to trace light that was emitted by the large white elliptical galaxy at left through the spiral galaxy at right and identify the effects of interstellar dust in the spiral galaxy....
AM 0608-333
A Snapshot of Interacting Galaxies
The two interacting galaxies making up the pair known as Arp-Madore 608-333 seem to float side by side in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Though they appear serene and unperturbed, the two are subtly warping one another through a mutual gravitational interaction that is...
Terzan 1, Take 2
Terzan 1 is a globular cluster that lies about 22,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. It is one of 11 globular clusters that were discovered by the Turkish-Armenian astronomer Agop Terzan between 1966 and 1971 when he was working in France, based mostly at Lyon...
Milky Way Galactic Centre
Wide-field view of the centre of the Milky Way
This visible light wide-field view shows the rich star clouds in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer) in the direction of the centre of our Milky Way galaxy. The entire image is filled with vast numbers of stars — but far more remain hidden behind clouds of dust and are only revealed...
Sagittarius A*
Stars around Sgr A* in March 2021
This image show stars orbiting very close to Sgr A* (centre), the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. They were obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the end of March 2021.
Sagittarius A*
Stars around Sgr A* in June 2021
This image show stars orbiting very close to Sgr A* (centre), the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. They were obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the end of June 2021.
Sagittarius A*
Stars around Sgr A* in May 2021
This image show stars orbiting very close to Sgr A* (centre), the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. They were obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the end of May 2021.
Sagittarius A*
Stars around Sgr A* in July 2021
This image show stars orbiting very close to Sgr A* (centre), the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. They were obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the end of July 2021.
Stephan's Quintet
Stephan's Quintet (NIRCam + MIRI Compass Image)
Image of Stephan's Quintet, HCG 92, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship...
