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NGC 7456
A galaxy with lots to see
While it may appear unassuming at first glance, just another spiral galaxy among thousands in the Universe, this subject of the ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week has plenty to study. NGC 7456 is its name, located over 51 million light-years away in the constellation Grus (the Crane). In this image...
LMC N44C
Cloudy cluster
This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a cloudy starscape from an impressive star cluster. This scene is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy situated about 160 000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. With a mass equal to...
GRB 250702BDE
GRB 250702B, an unusually long and repeating gamma-ray burst
The orange dot at the centre of this image is a powerful explosion that repeated several times over the course of a day, an event unlike anything ever witnessed before. The image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), allowed astronomers to determine that the explosion didn’t take place...
IC 4212
IC 4212
IC 4212 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is situated close to the celestial equator, meaning it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year.
NGC 520
NGC 520
A galactic collision of two galaxies which began more than 300 million years ago, NGC 520 is actually made up of two disk galaxies which will eventually merge together to form one larger, more massive system. NGC 520 was discovered by William Herschel in 1784 and is one of the largest and...
Infinity Galaxy
Chandra Joins In Discovery of Infinity Galaxy and Possible Newborn Black Hole
Scientists have discovered an oddly-shaped galaxy that may contain the first newborn supermassive black hole ever spotted.
NGC 2276
Spiral galaxy NGC 2276
his is a combination of several exposures taken on the night of October 11th 1994 (UT of observation 12/10/94:10:43 to 11:00) with the 1k detector. Images were taken through three different filters approximating red (three exposures for a total of six minutes), blue (two, total 140 seconds) and...
NGC 1097
NGC 1097 at J
A Seyfert galaxy revealing its bright and active nucleus. This false-color image was made from several J-band (1.25 micron) observations and has a final FWHM of 0.5 arc seconds. This image was obtained with the Abu thermal infrared camera built by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, on...
NGC 1232
NGC 1232 in Eridanus
NGC1232, an almost face-on spiral galaxy of type Sc in the constellation Eridanus, is about 50 million light-years away and about 100000 light-years across. This true-color picture was created from eleven images taken in the BVR pass-bands at the Kitt Peak National Observatory's 2.1-meter...
M109
M109, NGC 3992
M109 is a type SBc barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. M109 is around 40 to 50 million light-years away in a loose galaxy grouping which includes M108 and possibly M106. This picture was created from observations using the T2KA CCD camera at the Kitt Peak National...
M110
M110, NGC 205
M110 is the second small companion (along with M32) to our sister galaxy, M31, the Andromeda Nebula. It is classified as type E5 or E6, often with the additional "p" for peculiar because of the structure clearly visible in this short exposure image, which is probably due to dust clouds. Because...
M108
M108, NGC 3556
M108 is a type Sc spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. Almost edge-on, it shows little or no bulge and no noticeably strong center, being a motley collection of features often referred to, in classic understatement, as very dusty. The spiral structure is not very clearly delineated,...
M101
M101, NGC 5457
The giant pinwheel galaxy, M101, in the constellation Ursa Major. Of type Sc, and quite similar to our own Galaxy, it is seen almost face-on, showing the spiral arms and the intervening dust lanes (dark filaments) with great clarity in this 1975 image from the Kitt Peak 4-meter Mayall...
M88
M88, NGC 4501
None M88, a symmetrical type Sc spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. This picture is from the KPNO 0.9-meter telescope. The Virgo cluster also includes Messier galaxies M49, M58, M59, M60, M61, M84, M85, M86, M87, M89, M90, M91, M98,...
M96
M96, NGC 3368
The Sa spiral galaxy M96 is the second brightest member of the Leo I galaxy grouping, which includes M95 and M105, as well as various NGC and other galaxies. At a distance of about 38 million light-years, the faint outer regions just visible at the top and (particularly) the bottom of this...
M82
M82, NGC 3034
M82, an irregular galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. This composite color image was created from CCD observations made at the Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9-meter telescope in late December 1994.
M74
M74, NGC 628
None A face-on type Sc spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces, M74 is about 30 million light-years away and about 80000 light-years across. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
M49
M49, NGC 4472
None An elliptical galaxy of type E4 in the constellation Virgo, M49 is one of the many members of the Virgo Cluster. This short exposure picture shows the smooth mostly featureless structure typical of elliptical galaxies. This picture was taken in December 1996 at the KPNO 0.9-meter telescope:...
M60
M60, NGC 4649
M60 is a large elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo, being about 120000 light-years across. It stands out in even small telescopes due to the proximity of the late-type spiral NGC4647 (to the NW), but such apertures may only see the central brighter regions, making M60 look considerably...
M61
M61, NGC 4303
The SABbc spiral galaxy M61 is one of the larger galaxies in the Virgo cluster, with a core dimension some 100000 light-years (6 arc minutes) across, comparable to the size of our own Galaxy. This picture was taken in February 1996 at the KPNO 0.9-meter telescope. The Virgo cluster also...
NGC 598
M33, NGC 598
The Triangulum Galaxy, M33, a type Sc spiral, was imaged by the KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope in 1975. A member of our Local Group of galaxies, it is just visible with the naked eye.
M31
A piece of M31
Part of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, seen through a narrow filter near, but not at, the H-alpha emission line of ionized hydrogen.
LMC
The Large Magellanic Cloud
A nearby irregular galaxy, the LMC is visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere and is a satellite to our own Galaxy. The large gaseous nebula is 30 Doradus, the Tarantula Nebula. From the CTIO Curtis Schmidt telescope, 1975.
Abell 2151
Cluster of galaxies in Hercules
None Abell 2151, the Hercules cluster, is a small, irregular cluster, with a core membership of fewer than 100 galaxies, and no strongly dominant central galaxy. It is more than 360 million light-years away and probably contains 1000 billion solar masses of sundry materials. It contains the two...
NGC 536
NGC 536: Hickson 10
This group of four galaxies is around 220 million light years away. The collection of spiral galaxies on the left side of the image include: (from top to bottom) NGC 542, NGC 536 and NGC 531. The warped arms of the latter two galaxies strongly suggests they are interacting with one another. NGC...
SN 2002ic
SN2002ic
This image of Supernova 2002ic was taken at the Swope 1-meter telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile on January 7, 2003. The supernova is the bright point of light in the center, at the intersection of two background galaxies. The host galaxy of the supernova is extremely faint and is...
Abel 370
SAM images gravitational arcs in the Abel 370 cluster of galaxies
Nearly every "star" in this image is actually a galaxy. The SOAR Adaptive Module (SAM), built by CTIO/NOAO-S, is mounted on the SOAR 4.1 meter telescope: it creates an artificial laser guide star which enables the exquisite resolution seen here. The dark shadow on the left ( as seen in the full...
NGC 3842
NGC 3842
This collection of galaxies is part of a much larger cluster of galaxies (Abell 1367). From bottom left to top right the diagonal of galaxies includes NGC 3837, NGC 3842 (the large elliptical), NGC 3841, NGC 3845, NGC 3844, and NGC 3840 (the spiral at the very top right). All of these galaxies...
NGC 4088
NGC 4088
This spiral galaxy is located about 50 million lightyears away in the constellation Ursa Major. It had the third brightest supernova to be detected in 2009. It is part of a group of up to 50 other galaxies. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak...
Milky Way
Galactic Center at 4 microns
This image shows the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy in the infrared at 4.05 microns, centered around the Brackett Alpha emission line. Despite being a combination of 42 separate frames, each separately calibrated for sky emission, the final picture still has a mean FWHM averaged over 24...
NGC 6140
NGC 6140
This spiral galaxy is located in the constellation Draco. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 5907
NGC 5907
NGC 5907 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 50 million lightyears away from Earth in the constellation Draco. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 6027
NGC 6027
This group of six galaxies has a controversial background that is similar to another famous group - Stephan's Quintet. In this example, five of the six galaxies show recessional velocities (redshifts) that are approximately equivalent. However the small spiral galaxy has a retreating velocity...
NGC 428
NGC 428
NGC 428 is approximately 70 million light years away. Its distorted shape leads astronomers to think that this galaxy may have absorbed another galaxy in its recent history. The many starforming regions and bright blue star clusters hint at the activity present in the disk of this galaxy. The...
NGC 6745
Interacting galaxies NGC 6745
This is a Hubble Heritage image created by current and former NOAO staff members. The text is modified from the STScI press release, number STScI-PRC00-34 (Heritage). NGC6745 in the constellation of Lyra is a striking example of a galaxy-galaxy collision. A large spiral galaxy, with its nucleus...
NGC 5216
NGC 5216 and NGC 5218
In most pictures galaxies seem to be rather organized and substantial if not "solid-like" objects. However, no process better shows the ethereal and delicate nature of galaxies than when they collide. Unlike dancers on a dance floor, a galactic tango will strip stars and gas in a mutual...
NGC 4216
NGC 4216
NGC 4216 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located not far from the center of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. If the redshift of this galaxy was used to calculate the distance, it would be much smaller than expected. This is due to the internal motions of galaxies inside the Virgo Cluster. The entire...
NGC 5775
NGC 5775
This pair of galaxies is one of the most distinctive pairs of spiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster. NGC 5775 shows us its thin figure, while NGC 5774 displays its spiral arms face-on. These two galaxies are interacting. Close inspection reveals a very dim luminous chain which connects these...
NGC 4939
NGC 4939
NGC 4939 is a very pretty example of a spiral galaxy. The arms of this galaxy are unusually thin and long. There are many starforming regions dotting the spiral arms- but at a distance of 130 million light years away the majority of them are quite dim. If this galaxy was viewed face-on it would...
NGC 1365
NGC 1365 with JWST
In the MIRI observations of NGC 1365, clumps of dust and gas in the interstellar medium have absorbed the light from forming stars and emitted it back out in the infrared, lighting up an intricate network of cavernous bubbles and filamentary shells influenced by young stars releasing energy...
M29
M29, NGC 6913
M29 is an open cluster in the constellation Cygnus. Coarser and less impressive than some others, it is in a crowded area of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Its distance is uncertain, being somewhere between 4000 and 6000 light-years, due to rather strong and poorly known absorption by intervening...
NGC 7317
Stephan's Quintet (NGC 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B, NGC 7319, NGC 7320)
Stephan's Quintet, as its name implies, is a group of five galaxies (NGC7317, 7318A, 7318B, 7319 and 7320) in the constellation Pegasus. This unusual system has often been used as proof that the redshift is not truly a distance indicator, which would completely overturn current cosmology,...
Pisces Galaxy Cluster
Cluster of galaxies in Pisces
None Another distant cluster of galaxies. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
SMC
Small Magellanic Cloud
The Small Magellanic Cloud is an irregular dwarf galaxy in the constellation Tucana, and is a satellite of our own Milky Way Galaxy. The SMC is visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere. CTIO Curtis Schmidt telescope photograph.
Arp 217
The Bow and Arrow Galaxy
None This image was made by combining three CCD frames, taken at the Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9-meter telescope in April of 1987. By using different filters in front of the monochrome detector, corresponding approximately to the primary colors red, green and blue, it is possible to...
M87
M87, NGC 4486
A giant elliptical galaxy (E0) in the Virgo Cluster, M87 is a strong radio source, known as 3C274 or Virgo A. This image was taken at the KPNO 0.9-meter telescope in December 1996, and shows the inner regions of the galaxy, including the well-known jet. The full extent of the galaxy can be...
M85
M85, NGC 4382
A lenticular galaxy of type S0, M85 is the northernmost member of the Virgo Cluster, and is therefore situated in the constellation Coma Berenices. M85 is very similar to M84. This picture was made from observations taken at KPNO's 0.9-meter telescope in December 1996. The Virgo cluster also...
M84
M84, NGC 4374
M84 is an elliptical galaxy of type E1 and a member of the large Virgo Cluster of galaxies. There are also some suggestions that it is actually a face-on lenticular galaxy. Lenticulars, type S0, are mostly smooth and featureless, like elliptical galaxies, but have a significant amount of dust...
NGC 6015
NGC 6015
This spiral galaxy is located in the constellation Draco. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 4656
NGC 4656: The Hockey Stick
NGC 4656 is the "disturbed" neighbor to NGC 4631. The gravitational tug-of-war warps the disk of this galaxy. The nearness of the galaxy (perhaps 25 million light years away) allows small knotted star forming regions to be resolved. There are also quite a few background galaxies in the picture....
NGC 4725
NGC 4725
This barred spiral galaxy is located about 40 million lightyears away in the constellation Coma Berenices. This galaxy most likely contains a supermassive black hole at the center. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 2541
NGC 2541
At a distance of 24 million light years away, NGC 2541 is close enough to see the many HII regions that glow in the dim disk of this loose spiral. This particular galaxy is not alone in the sky towards the constellation of Lynx. Like our own Local Group of galaxies, NGC 2541 is part of a group...
NGC 578
NGC 578
At 70 million light years away, NGC 578 floats majestically amid many other far away galaxies. Small blue and pink regions hint at the sparkle and stellar life being created in this galaxy. One background galaxy (right of the center) is almost eclipsed by NGC 578- and seems to protrude from the...
Green Bean Galaxy
The Green Bean galaxy J2240
CFHT color image, taken in g,r, and i filters, of J2240. The very strong [OIII] emission leads to the peculiar green color of the galaxy near the center of the field. In this object the ultra-luminous narrow-line region (NLR) is as large as the entire object, 130,000 light-years across. The...
NGC 6070
NGC 6070
This spiral galaxy is located about 100 million lightyears away in the constellation Serpens. Back in 1998, this galaxy made APOD as one of the first-light images collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak...
NGC 5792
NGC 5792
This spiral galaxy is located about 83 million lightyears away in the constellation Libra. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 3198
NGC 3198
This barred spiral galaxy is located in the constellation Ursa Major. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
Eagle Nebula
The Eagle Nebula, M16
The Eagle Nebula, Messier object 16 (M16), NGC 6611, as seen by the Kitt Peak 4-meter Mayall telescope in 1973. This picture shows an interesting emission nebula and its associated galactic star cluster in the constellation of Serpens (the Serpent). The star cluster was discovered in 1746 by...
M51
Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument’s Lenses See First Light
On April 1, the Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak emerged from hibernation—its dome reopened to the night sky, and starlight poured through the six large lenses of its powerful new research tool: the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). Early next year, DESI will begin the greatest cosmic...
NGC 5965
NGC 5965
NGC 5965 is the edge-on spiral galaxy to the left, while the galaxy to the upper right is NGC 5963. Both located in the constellation Draco, NGC 5965 is about 150 million lightyears away and NGC 5963 is only around 40 million lightyears away. Back in 2006, these two galaxies made APOD. This...
NGC 4941
NGC 4941
This barred spiral galaxy is located about 64 million lightyears away in the constellation Virgo. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 4889
NGC 488
At an estimated distance of 90 million light years away NGC 488 is an intriguing galaxy despite its distance from us. This galaxy displays subtle and tightly wound blue spiral arms with a yellowish core. Astronomers that have recently observed this galaxy note that the stars in the disk are...
NGC 613
NGC 613
NGC 613 seems like a good southern counterpart to the more famous barred spiral galaxy, NGC 7479. Astronomers studying this galaxy are interested in the processes that take place along the bar of the galaxy. One recent paper suggests that this galaxy could have two bar-like structures in its...
Hubble Space Telescope
HST imaging of the core of PG1426+015
Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 optical image of PG1426. The SDSS image in Figure 1 shows more of the host galaxy structure. However, in the SDSS image the core of the source is saturated. Here we see the central few arcseconds of the system where the central supermassive black hole powering the...
NGC 4565
Edge-on spiral NGC 4565
NGC4565 is an edge-on spiral galaxy of type Sb in the constellation Coma Berenices. KPNO 2.1-meter telescope, 1973.
NGC 1275
NGC 1275 in Perseus
This Seyfert galaxy is a source of radio noise as well as a strong X-ray source. An extensive system of long filaments is material exploding outwards into space at 1500 miles per second. Also known as Perseus A and 3C84, NGC1275 is in the constellation Perseus. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope.
M19
M19, NGC 6273
M19 is a globular cluster in the constellation of Ophiuchus, located about nine degrees above (north) of the galactic plane and slightly west of the line of sight from Earth to the galactic center. It's actually on the opposite side of the galactic center from Earth, so despite being over 28000...
NGC 2685
NGC 2685 in Ursa Major
NGC2685 is an unusual lenticular galaxy of type S0(pec), in the constellation Ursa Major. It shows two axes of symmetry as well as an encircling ring. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
M51
M51, the Whirlpool Nebula, NGC 5194/5195
The Whirlpool Nebula in the constellation Canes Venatici was the first in which spiral structure was clearly seen. It is actually a pair of interacting galaxies. Kitt Peak 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
Arp 29
NGC 6946 in Cygnus
NGC6946 (Arp 29) is a face-on SAB(rs)cd galaxy in the constellation Cygnus. This classification refers to the presence of a small core with multiple well-defined arms (cd), with a poorly-developed bar across the middle (AB) and an inner confused ring (rs). Nearly twenty million light-years from...
NGC 6744
NGC 6744 in Pavo
Probably the largest known barred spiral galaxy (type SBc), NGC6744 in the constellation Pavo was imaged by the CTIO 4-meter Blanco telescope in 1975.
NGC 5364
NGC 5364 in Virgo
The type Sb/Sc peculiar spiral galaxy NGC5364, in the constellation Virgo, was imaged by the KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope in 1975.
NGC 4935
NGC 4935
This spiral galaxy is located in the constellation Coma Berenices. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.
NGC 2146
NGC 2146 in Camelopardalis
NGC2146 is a peculiar spiral galaxy, type Sab(pec), in the constellation Camelopardalis. This picture from the KPNO 2.1-meter telescope shows the galaxy's distorted spiral arms.
M79
M79, NGC 1904
M79, an attractive globular cluster in the constellation Lepus, is rare, in that it is one of the few globulars further out in the Galaxy than our own Sun's location. This picture is from the KPNO 0.9-meter telescope.
M15
Globular cluster M15 (NGC 7078)
This is a thirty-second exposure taken on the night of September 1st 1994 (UT of observation 02/09/94:05:47) with the 1k detector on the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope. This photograph shows a region 200 arc seconds square which has been compressed in brightness (approximately a double logarithm) to...
M5
M5, NGC 5904
M5, or NGC5904, a globular cluster in the constellation Serpens, as seen by the KPNO 4-m telescope in 1975. This large cluster is amongst the most massive in orbit around our Galaxy, at about two million times the mass of the Sun. At a distance of about 26000 light-years, M5 is about 13 billion...
Arp 281
NGC 4631, Arp 281
NGC4631, a type Sc spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici, as seen by the KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope in 1975. The small companion galaxy is NGC4627.
NGC 4753
NGC 4753 in Virgo
NGC4753 is an unusual lenticular galaxy of type S0(pec), in the constellation Virgo. Although the underlying galaxy is smooth and nearly elliptical, the irregular dust lanes are not common. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
NGC 3077
NGC 3077 in Ursa Major
This type II irregular galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major has dust lanes that do not follow the usual spiral pattern. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
NGC 3718
NGC 3718 in Ursa Major
NGC3718 is an unusual lenticular galaxy of type S0(pec), in the constellation Ursa Major. It has a number of unusual absorption features. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
M104
M104, NGC 4594
The Sombrero Galaxy, of type Sa/Sb in the constellation Virgo, as seen by the KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope in 1974.
M94
M94, NGC 4736
M94, a type Sb spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici, as seen by the KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope in 1975.
M86
M86, NGC 4406
M86 is a lenticular galaxy, although some prefer to call it an elliptical, and a member of the large Virgo Cluster of galaxies, in the constellation Virgo. M86 is about 60 million light-years away, maybe 25000 light-years across, and was imaged by the KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope in 1975. We...
Black Eye Galaxy
M64, NGC 4826
M64, or NGC4826, also known as the `Black Eye' galaxy, is a type Sa/Sb spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
M49
M49, NGC 4472
An elliptical galaxy of type E1 in the constellation Virgo, M49 is a perhaps less well known member of the Virgo Cluster, which contains M87, M86 and M84, amongst others. Nearly spherical, it has almost no gas or dust between its stars and shows no evidence of recent star formation. It is about...
NGC 6522
NGC 6522 and NGC 6528
Two globular clusters seen through the dense star field in the direction towards the center of our Galaxy, in the constellation Sagittarius. These systems are relatively young for globular clusters, being only about 10 million years old. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975.
RXJ0152.7-1357
Central part of the galaxy cluster RXJ0152.7-1357
The central part of the galaxy cluster RXJ0152.7-1357, which lies at a redshift of 0.83, is shown in this HST/ACS archival data view. The image covers 75 × 45 arcseconds, which corresponds to about 0.6 × 0.35 megaparsecs. Most of the galaxies in the cluster appear as yellow/orange objects in...
NGC 925
Cosmic Fireworks
The spiral galaxy NGC 925 reveals cosmic pyrotechnics in its spiral arms where bursts of star formation are taking place in the red, glowing clouds scattered throughout it.
NGC 925
Cosmic Fireworks (wide angle)
The spiral galaxy NGC 925 reveals cosmic pyrotechnics in its spiral arms where bursts of star formation are taking place in the red, glowing clouds scattered throughout it.
Abell 3827
Excerpt of main image with lensing map
Galaxy clusters are massive conglomerations of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies, bound together by their mutual gravitational attraction.
Abell 3827
Main image without lensing map
This image is a snapshot from the Local Volume Complete Cluster Survey (LoVoCCS), a survey program investigating 107 nearby galaxy clusters.
FRB 180916.J0158+65
Fast Radio Burst 180916 Host Galaxy (unannotated)
Image of the host galaxy of FRB 180916 (center) acquired with the 8-meter Gemini-North telescope of NOIRLab on Hawaii’s Maunakea. Images acquired in SDSS g’, r’, and z’ filters are used for the blue, green, and red colors, respectively.
Centaurus A
Centaurus A captured by the Dark Energy Camera
The galaxy Centaurus A, which lies over 12 million light-years away in the direction of the southern-hemisphere constellation Centaurus (The Centaur), is the leading light of this striking image. This image provides a spectacular view of the luminous glow of stars and dark tendrils of dust that...
NGC 2685
NGC 2685: A Helix in the Sky
The very unusual galaxy NGC 2685, also known as the Helix Galaxy, is located about 40 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. This image was captured by the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF NOIRLab which is funded by the...
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...
NGC 5394
Galactic Dance
Image of the interacting galaxy pair NGC 5394/5 obtained with NSF NOIRLab's Gemini North 8-meter telescope on Hawai'i's Maunakea using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph in imaging mode. This four-color composite image has a total exposure time of 42 minutes
Andromeda Galaxy
The ultra-faint dwarf galaxy Pegasus V
A unique ultra-faint dwarf galaxy has been discovered in the outer fringes of the Andromeda Galaxy thanks to the sharp eyes of an amateur astronomer examining archival data from the US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo...
Barnard 86
NGC 6520 with Barnard 86
An image of the open star cluster NGC 6520 and nearby dust cloud Barnard 86, in the constellation Sagittarius, one of the densest parts of our Galaxy. This image was taken on June 24th, 2007 at the NSF's Blanco 4-m telescope in CTIO, with B (blue), V (green) , I (orange) and H-alpha (red)...
Zhúlóng: The most distant spiral galaxy
At the center of this image, placed subtly amongst the dense galactic field, is Zhúlóng, the most distant spiral galaxy discovered to date. It has remarkably well-defined spiral arms, a central old bulge, and a large star-forming disk, resembling the structure of the Milky Way. This galaxy was...
IC 1727
A (Galactic) Arm’s Length Away
The two galaxies in this image — NGC 672 (top right) and IC 1727 (bottom left) — appear to be so close that they are almost elbowing each other, like playful children. In fact, the galaxies shown in this beautifully detailed image taken at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, a program of NSF...
M83
Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, Messier 83
Nicknamed the Southern Pinwheel, Messier 83 (or NGC 5236) is a stunning face-on spiral galaxy located about 15 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Hydra. Its spiral arms are lined with dark lanes of dust and peppered with reddish, star-forming clouds of hydrogen gas. One...
NGC 474
Elliptical galaxy NGC 474 — excerpt from the Dark Energy Survey
Elliptical galaxies are generally characterized by their relatively smooth appearance when compared with spiral galaxies (one of which is to the left), which have more flocculent structures interwoven with dust lanes and spiral arms. NGC 474 is at a distance of about 100 million light-years in...
Abell 3667
DECam’s Deep View of Abell 3667
Abell 3667 — an actively merging galaxy cluster — is featured in this image assembled from over 28 hours of observations with the 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera, mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo...
Excerpt of the area around NGC 4261
A trail of celestial objects stretches across this excerpt from a First Look image captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The most prominent feature is NGC 4261, the large elliptical galaxy in the top half of the image. In the bottom-left of the image is the lenticular galaxy NGC 4281....
Zhúlóng: The most distant spiral galaxy
This image of Zhúlóng, the most distant spiral galaxy discovered to date, shows its remarkably well-defined spiral arms, a central old bulge, and a large star-forming disk, resembling the structure of the Milky Way. This galaxy was discovered as part of the PANORAMIC Survey — a wide-area...
MACS J0600.1-2008
Delimiting a Cosmic Magnifying Glass
The galaxy cluster MACS J0060.1-2008 (MACS0060) is well known for its strong gravitational lensing effect. This means the cluster is massive enough to curve the space-time around it and bend the path of light from more distant objects. The galaxy cluster acts like a giant magnifying glass,...
M86
Big Galaxy Collisions Can Stunt Star Formation
A deep new image of the Virgo cluster has revealed monumental tendrils of ionized hydrogen gas 400,000 light-years long connecting the elliptical galaxy M86 and the disturbed spiral galaxy NGC 4438.
Sculptor Galaxy
MUSE view of the Sculptor Galaxy
This image shows a detailed, thousand-colour image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Regions of pink light are spread throughout this whole galactic snapshot, which come from ionised hydrogen in star-forming regions. These areas have...
Sculptor Galaxy
MUSE view of ionised gas in the Sculptor Galaxy
This image shows the Sculptor Galaxy in a new light. This false-colour composition shows specific wavelengths of light released by hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen. These elements exist in gas form all over the galaxy, but the mechanisms causing this gas to glow can vary throughout the...
NGC 2835
Noteworthy nearby spiral
Today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week offers a closeup of a nearby spiral galaxy. The subject is NGC 2835, which lies 35 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra (The Water Snake). A previous Hubble image of this galaxy was released in 2020, and the NASA/ESA/CSA...
Messier 96
Taking a third look
Today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a galaxy whose asymmetric appearance may be the result of a galactic tug of war. Located 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo, the spiral galaxy Messier 96 is the brightest of the galaxies in its group. The...
Sagittarius A*
A view of the Milky Way supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* in polarised light
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, who produced the first ever image of our Milky Way black hole released in 2022, has captured a new view of the massive object at the centre of our Galaxy: how it looks in polarised light. This is the first time astronomers have been able to...
Milky Way Galactic Centre
First image of our black hole
This is the first image of Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. It’s the first direct visual evidence of the presence of this black hole. It was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an array which linked together eight existing radio observatories across...
Messier 87
A view of the M87 supermassive black hole in polarised light
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, who produced the first ever image of a black hole released in 2019, has today a new view of the massive object at the centre of the Messier 87 (M87) galaxy: how it looks in polarised light. This is the first time astronomers have been able to...
Messier 87
Messier 87 Captured by ESO’s Very Large Telescope
Messier 87 (M87) is an enormous elliptical galaxy located about 55 million light years from Earth, visible in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781, but not identified as a galaxy until 20th Century. At double the mass of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and...
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...
Black hole
First image of our black hole (with wider background)
This is the first image of Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, with an added black background to fit wider screens. It’s the first direct visual evidence of the presence of this black hole. It was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an array which linked...
Messier 87
The Halo of Galaxy Messier 87
The huge halo around giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 appears on this very deep image. An excess of light in the top-right part of this halo, and the motion of planetary nebulae in the galaxy, are the last remaining signs of a medium-sized galaxy that recently collided with Messier 87. The...
M 99
Hubble Sees Double in M99
The magnificent spiral galaxy M99 fills the frame in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. M99 — which lies roughly 42 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices — is a “grand design” spiral galaxy, so-called because of the well-defined, prominent spiral...
