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Hubble snaps images of a nebula within a cluster: The unique planetary nebula NGC 2818 is nested inside the open star cluster NGC 2818A. Both the cluster and the nebula reside over 10 000 light-years away, in the southern constellation Pyxis (the Compass). NGC 2818 is one of very few planetary nebulae in our galaxy located within an open cluster. Open clusters, in general, are loosely bound and they disperse over hundreds of millions of years. Stars that form planetary nebulae typically live for billions of years. Hence, it is rare that an open cluster survives long enough for one of its members to form a planetary nebula. This open cluster is particularly ancient, estimated to be nearly one billion years old. The spectacular structure of NGC 2818 (also known as PLN 261+8.1) contains the outer layers of a sun-like star that were sent off into interstellar space during the star' s final stages of life. These glowing gaseous shrouds were shed by the star after it ran out of fuel to sustain the nuclear reactions in its core. Planetary nebulae can have extremely varied structures. NGC 2818 has a complex shape that is difficult to interpret. However, because of its location within the cluster, astronomers have access to information about the nebula, such as its age and distance, that might not otherwise be known. Planetary nebulae fade away gradually over tens of thousands of years. The hot, remnant stellar core of NGC 2818 will eventually cool off for billions of years as a white dwarf. Our own Sun will undergo a similar process, but not for another 5 billion years or so. This Hubble image was taken in November 2008 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. The colours in the image represent a range of emissions coming from the clouds of the nebula: red represents nitrogen, green represents hydrogen, and blue represents oxygen. | ann0901a | Hubble snaps images of a nebula within a cluster | The unique planetary nebula NGC 2818 is nested inside the open star cluster NGC 2818A. Both the cluster and the nebula reside over 10 000 light-years away, in the southern constellation Pyxis (the Compass). NGC 2818 is one of very few planetary nebulae in our galaxy located within an open cluster. Open clusters, in general, are loosely bound and they disperse over hundreds of millions of years. Stars that form planetary nebulae typically live for billions of years. Hence, it is rare that an open cluster survives long enough for one of its members to form a planetary nebula. This open cluster is particularly ancient, estimated to be nearly one billion years old. The spectacular structure of NGC 2818 (also known as PLN 261+8.1) contains the outer layers of a sun-like star that were sent off into interstellar space during the star' s final stages of life. These glowing gaseous shrouds were shed by the star after it ran out of fuel to sustain the nuclear reactions in its core. Planetary nebulae can have extremely varied structures. NGC 2818 has a complex shape that is difficult to interpret. However, because of its location within the cluster, astronomers have access to information about the nebula, such as its age and distance, that might not otherwise be known. Planetary nebulae fade away gradually over tens of thousands of years. The hot, remnant stellar core of NGC 2818 will eventually cool off for billions of years as a white dwarf. Our own Sun will undergo a similar process, but not for another 5 billion years or so. This Hubble image was taken in November 2008 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. The colours in the image represent a range of emissions coming from the clouds of the nebula: red represents nitrogen, green represents hydrogen, and blue represents oxygen. | NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) | https://esahubble.org/images/ann0901a/ | ann0901a | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : OpenMilky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary | 16 January 2009, 16:00 | null | 2145 x 1213 px | NGC 2818, NGC 2818a | 7500 light years | Pyxis | Nebulae | 9 16 1.34 | -36° 37' 39.17" | 2.14 x 1.21 arcminutes | North is 15.2° left of vertical | 2,145 | 1,213 | 7,805,655 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann0901 |
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Hubble celebrates the International Year of Astronomy 2009 with the galaxy triplet Arp 274: In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope photographed the winning target in the Space Telescope Science Institute's "You Decide" competition. The image of the winner, a group of interacting galaxies called Arp 274, was revealed during ESO's "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" webcast. The striking object received 67,021 votes out of the nearly 140,000 votes cast for the six candidate targets. On 1-2 April Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 captured Arp 274 (also known as NGC 5679). Arp 274 is a system of three galaxies that appear to be partially overlapping in the image, although they may be at somewhat different distances. The spiral shapes of two of these galaxies appear mostly intact. The third galaxy (far left) is more compact, but shows evidence of star formation. Two of the three galaxies are forming new stars at a high rate. This is evident in the bright blue knots of star formation that are strung along the arms of the galaxy on the right and along the small galaxy on the left. The largest component is located in the middle of the three. It appears as a spiral galaxy, which may be barred. The entire system resides at about 400 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo. Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 was used to image Arp 274. Blue, yellow and infrared filters were combined with a filter that isolates hydrogen emission. The colours in this image reflect the intrinsic colour of the different stellar populations that make up the galaxies. Yellowish older stars can be seen in the central bulge of each galaxy. A bright central cluster of stars pinpoint each nucleus. Younger blue stars trace the spiral arms, along with pinkish nebulae that are illuminated by new star formation. Interstellar dust is silhouetted against the starry population. The pair of foreground stars on the right are inside our own Milky Way. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first observations with a telescope. People around the world are coming together to participate in the IYA's 100 Hours of Astronomy, 2 April to 5 April. This global astronomy event is geared toward encouraging as many people as possible to experience the night sky. Credit: NASA, ESA and M. Livio and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) STScI is an International Year of Astronomy 2009 programme partner. The IYA2009 secretariat is located at ESO headquarters in Garching, Germany. | ann0904a | Hubble celebrates the International Year of Astronomy 2009 with the galaxy triplet Arp 274 | In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope photographed the winning target in the Space Telescope Science Institute's "You Decide" competition. The image of the winner, a group of interacting galaxies called Arp 274, was revealed during ESO's "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" webcast. The striking object received 67,021 votes out of the nearly 140,000 votes cast for the six candidate targets. On 1-2 April Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 captured Arp 274 (also known as NGC 5679). Arp 274 is a system of three galaxies that appear to be partially overlapping in the image, although they may be at somewhat different distances. The spiral shapes of two of these galaxies appear mostly intact. The third galaxy (far left) is more compact, but shows evidence of star formation. Two of the three galaxies are forming new stars at a high rate. This is evident in the bright blue knots of star formation that are strung along the arms of the galaxy on the right and along the small galaxy on the left. The largest component is located in the middle of the three. It appears as a spiral galaxy, which may be barred. The entire system resides at about 400 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo. Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 was used to image Arp 274. Blue, yellow and infrared filters were combined with a filter that isolates hydrogen emission. The colours in this image reflect the intrinsic colour of the different stellar populations that make up the galaxies. Yellowish older stars can be seen in the central bulge of each galaxy. A bright central cluster of stars pinpoint each nucleus. Younger blue stars trace the spiral arms, along with pinkish nebulae that are illuminated by new star formation. Interstellar dust is silhouetted against the starry population. The pair of foreground stars on the right are inside our own Milky Way. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first observations with a telescope. People around the world are coming together to participate in the IYA's 100 Hours of Astronomy, 2 April to 5 April. This global astronomy event is geared toward encouraging as many people as possible to experience the night sky. Credit: NASA, ESA and M. Livio and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) STScI is an International Year of Astronomy 2009 programme partner. The IYA2009 secretariat is located at ESO headquarters in Garching, Germany. | NASA & ESA | https://esahubble.org/images/ann0904a/ | ann0904a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting | 3 April 2009, 19:00 | null | 2238 x 1295 px | Arp 274, NGC 5679 | null | Virgo | AnniversaryGalaxies | 14 35 8.17 | 5° 21' 29.55" | 1.87 x 1.08 arcminutes | North is 3.8° right of vertical | 2,238 | 1,295 | 8,694,630 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann0904 |
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Bubbles and baby stars: This image is a screen shot from Hubblecast 37 featuring a spectacular new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image — one of the largest ever released of a star-forming region. It highlights N11, part of a complex network of gas clouds and star clusters within our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This region of energetic star formation is one of the most active in the nearby Universe. Read more about it in the press release heic1011. | ann1006a | Bubbles and baby stars | This image is a screen shot from Hubblecast 37 featuring a spectacular new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image — one of the largest ever released of a star-forming region. It highlights N11, part of a complex network of gas clouds and star clusters within our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This region of energetic star formation is one of the most active in the nearby Universe. Read more about it in the press release heic1011. | NASA, ESA and Jesús Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain) | https://esahubble.org/images/ann1006a/ | ann1006a | Local Universe : Nebula : Type : Star Formation | 22 June 2010, 11:00 | null | 1280 x 720 px | LHA 120-N 11, N11 | 170000 light years | Dorado | Nebulae | 4 56 55.17 | -66° 24' 51.68" | 3.20 x 1.80 arcminutes | North is 2.6° right of vertical | 1,280 | 720 | 2,764,800 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann1006 |
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Hubble pinpoints source of mysterious outburst: The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has pinpointed the source of one of the most puzzling blast of high-energy radiation ever observed. It is at the very center of a small, distant galaxy. The galaxy appears as a bright blob at the centre of the Hubble picture. Astronomers say it is likely that a supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy has gravitationally torn apart and swallowed a bypassing star. As the star’s gas falls onto the black hole, X-ray and gamma radiation is ejected along a narrow beam towards Earth. If confirmed, this would be the first time this phenomenon has been observed. | ann1108a | Hubble pinpoints source of mysterious outburst | The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has pinpointed the source of one of the most puzzling blast of high-energy radiation ever observed. It is at the very center of a small, distant galaxy. The galaxy appears as a bright blob at the centre of the Hubble picture. Astronomers say it is likely that a supermassive black hole at the core of the galaxy has gravitationally torn apart and swallowed a bypassing star. As the star’s gas falls onto the black hole, X-ray and gamma radiation is ejected along a narrow beam towards Earth. If confirmed, this would be the first time this phenomenon has been observed. | NASA, ESA and A. Fruchter (STScI) | https://esahubble.org/images/ann1108a/ | ann1108a | Early Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Gamma Ray Burst | 7 April 2011, 15:00 | null | 1200 x 900 px | GRB 110328A | 4 billion light years | Draco | Cosmology | 16 44 50.02 | 57° 34' 59.32" | 0.40 x 0.30 arcminutes | North is 0.2° left of vertical | 1,200 | 900 | 3,240,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann1108 |
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Hubble’s cepheid in the Andromeda Galaxy: The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged the star field around the Cepheid variable V1 in M31. This image shows individually resolved stars in the outer disk of the Andromeda Galaxy. The soft, brown swirls are dust lanes are obscuring light from stars farther away from our line of sight. The blue cluster towards the upper right of the image contains massive young stars that are emitting intense ultraviolet light. The Cepheid variable, V1, the first Cepheid ever found outside of our own galaxy, is a moderate looking star in the lower left of the image. | ann1110a | Hubble’s cepheid in the Andromeda Galaxy | The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged the star field around the Cepheid variable V1 in M31. This image shows individually resolved stars in the outer disk of the Andromeda Galaxy. The soft, brown swirls are dust lanes are obscuring light from stars farther away from our line of sight. The blue cluster towards the upper right of the image contains massive young stars that are emitting intense ultraviolet light. The Cepheid variable, V1, the first Cepheid ever found outside of our own galaxy, is a moderate looking star in the lower left of the image. | NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) | https://esahubble.org/images/ann1110a/ | ann1110a | Local Universe : Star : Type : Variable | 23 May 2011, 20:00 | null | 7908 x 7910 px | Hubble's Cepheid, V1 | 2 million light years | Andromeda | Stars | 0 41 22.77 | 41° 9' 35.08" | 2.64 x 2.64 arcminutes | North is 75.2° left of vertical | 7,908 | 7,910 | 187,656,840 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann1110 |
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Active galaxy Markarian 509: This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy Markarian 509. The bright object at the centre of the galaxy, which appears like a star, is an active galactic nucleus. This is a bright celestial phenomenon caused by matter glowing as it falls into a supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy.The surroundings of the black hole in Markarian 509 have been studied in a major campaign which includes the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, as well as other telescopes in space and on the ground. | ann1121a | Active galaxy Markarian 509 | This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy Markarian 509. The bright object at the centre of the galaxy, which appears like a star, is an active galactic nucleus. This is a bright celestial phenomenon caused by matter glowing as it falls into a supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy.The surroundings of the black hole in Markarian 509 have been studied in a major campaign which includes the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, as well as other telescopes in space and on the ground. | NASA, ESA, J. Kriss (STScI) and J. de Plaa (SRON) | https://esahubble.org/images/ann1121a/ | ann1121a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Seyfert | 29 September 2011, 14:10 | null | 1500 x 1500 px | Mrk 509 | 500 million light years | Aquarius | Galaxies | 20 44 9.73 | -10° 43' 24.17" | 0.17 x 0.17 arcminutes | North is 56.6° left of vertical | 1,500 | 1,500 | 6,750,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann1121 |
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Hubble view of M 106: This image combines Hubble observations of M 106 with additional information captured by amateur astronomers Robert Gendler and Jay GaBany. Gendler combined Hubble data with his own observations to produce this stunning colour image. M 106 is a relatively nearby spiral galaxy, a little over 20 million light-years away. | ann1301a | Hubble view of M 106 | This image combines Hubble observations of M 106 with additional information captured by amateur astronomers Robert Gendler and Jay GaBany. Gendler combined Hubble data with his own observations to produce this stunning colour image. M 106 is a relatively nearby spiral galaxy, a little over 20 million light-years away. | NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and R. Gendler (for the Hubble Heritage Team). Acknowledgment: J. GaBany, A van der Hoeven | https://esahubble.org/images/ann1301a/ | ann1301a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral | 5 February 2013, 16:00 | null | 7910 x 6178 px | null | null | Canes Venatici | Galaxies | 12 18 56.97 | 47° 18' 40.73" | 6.59 x 5.15 arcminutes | North is 34.4° right of vertical | 7,910 | 6,178 | 146,603,940 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann1301 |
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Screenshot of Hubblecast 69: Screenshot of Hubblecast 69: What has Hubble learned from star clusters?. | ann1311a | Screenshot of Hubblecast 69 | Screenshot of Hubblecast 69: What has Hubble learned from star clusters?. | NASA & ESA | https://esahubble.org/images/ann1311a/ | ann1311a | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular | 14 November 2013, 16:00 | null | 1920 x 1080 px | M 15, Messier 15 | null | Pegasus | Star Clusters | 21 29 58.18 | 12° 9' 57.30" | 2.22 x 1.25 arcminutes | North is 9.8° right of vertical | 1,920 | 1,080 | 6,220,800 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann1311 |
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Screenshot of Hubblecast 76: Screenshot of Hubblecast 76: Merging galaxies and droplets of starbirth. | ann1409a | Screenshot of Hubblecast 76 | Screenshot of Hubblecast 76: Merging galaxies and droplets of starbirth. | NASA & ESA | https://esahubble.org/images/ann1409a/ | ann1409a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting | 10 July 2014, 16:00 | null | 1920 x 1080 px | HUBBLEcast | null | Corona Borealis | Illustrations | 15 31 10.60 | 34° 14' 24.72" | 2.06 x 1.16 arcminutes | North is 53.2° right of vertical | 1,920 | 1,080 | 6,220,800 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann1409 |
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Still from Hubblecast 107: The meaningful colours of NGC 3344: This is a still from Hubblecast 107, which explains the meaning of the colours in the spiral galaxy NGC 3344. | ann1802a | Still from Hubblecast 107: The meaningful colours of NGC 3344 | This is a still from Hubblecast 107, which explains the meaning of the colours in the spiral galaxy NGC 3344. | ESA/Hubble | https://esahubble.org/images/ann1802a/ | ann1802a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral | 14 February 2018, 16:00 | null | 1920 x 1080 px | NGC 3344 | null | Leo Minor | Illustrations | 10 43 31.20 | 24° 55' 21.21" | 2.52 x 1.42 arcminutes | North is 22.8° right of vertical | 1,920 | 1,080 | 6,220,800 | 0 | 0 | false | null | ann1802 |
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Cygnus X-1 (ground-based image): Wide-field, ground-based image showing the visible light component of Cygnus X-1 (centre), a rich source of X-rays in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan. | dsscygx | Cygnus X-1 (ground-based image) | Wide-field, ground-based image showing the visible light component of Cygnus X-1 (centre), a rich source of X-rays in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan. | NASA, ESA, and the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble) | https://esahubble.org/images/dsscygx/ | dsscygx | Local Universe : Star : Type : Variable : X-Ray Binary (Star) | 1 January 2002 | null | 2337 x 2354 px | Cygnus X-1 | null | null | MiscellaneousStars | null | null | null | null | 2,337 | 2,354 | 16,503,894 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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The active galaxy Markarian 1018: The mystery of a rare change in the behaviour of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the distant galaxy Markarian 1018 has been solved by an international team of astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope along with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The image was taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The faint loops of light around the galaxy are a result of its interaction and merger with another galaxy in the recent past. | eso1631a | The active galaxy Markarian 1018 | The mystery of a rare change in the behaviour of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the distant galaxy Markarian 1018 has been solved by an international team of astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope along with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The image was taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The faint loops of light around the galaxy are a result of its interaction and merger with another galaxy in the recent past. | ESO/CARS survey | https://esahubble.org/images/eso1631a/ | eso1631a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Seyfert | 16 September 2016, 13:11 | null | 800 x 800 px | Markarian 1018 | 600 million light years | Cetus | Galaxies | 2 6 15.99 | 0° 17' 29.20" | 2.64 x 2.64 arcminutes | North is 90.0° right of vertical | 800 | 800 | 1,920,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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The Galaxy NGC 4450 is Host to a Supermassive Black Hole: The nearby spiral galaxy NGC 4450 is one of the galaxies in which Hans-Walter Rix and collaborators have identified a supermassive black hole. The picture reveals nothing unusual in the galaxy centre. Yet, the group of astronomers have measured wildly rotating gas in a disk around the centre of the galaxy with the STIS instrument onboard Hubble. | heic0002b | The Galaxy NGC 4450 is Host to a Supermassive Black Hole | The nearby spiral galaxy NGC 4450 is one of the galaxies in which Hans-Walter Rix and collaborators have identified a supermassive black hole. The picture reveals nothing unusual in the galaxy centre. Yet, the group of astronomers have measured wildly rotating gas in a disk around the centre of the galaxy with the STIS instrument onboard Hubble. | ESA HEIC/Hans-Walter Rix | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0002b/ | heic0002b | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole | 5 June 2000, 15:00 | heic0002 | 1478 x 1506 px | NGC 4450 | 55 million light years | Coma Berenices | Galaxies | 12 28 28.21 | 17° 5' 20.77" | 2.45 x 2.50 arcminutes | North is 84.2° right of vertical | 1,478 | 1,506 | 6,677,604 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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First close look at gamma-ray burst host galaxy ESO 184-G82: The galaxy ESO 184-G82 was host to a combined gamma-ray burst and supernova explosion seen first time in 25 April 1998. The galaxy is a barred spiral of type SBbc which is a loosely wound spiral galaxy with a central bar. These galaxies are typically star-forming, and this galaxy is no exception. In its spiral arms large clumps of star-forming regions are visible. This Hubble observation was carried out 12 June 2000. The field of view of the image is 45 x 35 arcseconds. | heic0003b | First close look at gamma-ray burst host galaxy ESO 184-G82 | The galaxy ESO 184-G82 was host to a combined gamma-ray burst and supernova explosion seen first time in 25 April 1998. The galaxy is a barred spiral of type SBbc which is a loosely wound spiral galaxy with a central bar. These galaxies are typically star-forming, and this galaxy is no exception. In its spiral arms large clumps of star-forming regions are visible. This Hubble observation was carried out 12 June 2000. The field of view of the image is 45 x 35 arcseconds. | ESA, Stephen Holland (Danish Centre for Astrophysics with the HST), Jens Hjorth, Johan Fynbo (University of Copenhagen) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0003b/ | heic0003b | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 27 June 2000, 15:00 | heic0003 | 1875 x 1387 px | ESO 184- 82 | 120 million light years | Telescopium | Galaxies | 19 35 4.11 | -52° 50' 42.80" | 0.79 x 0.59 arcminutes | North is 98.2° left of vertical | 1,875 | 1,387 | 7,801,875 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Blow-up of area around GRB 980425: This is an enlargement of a combined image obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope through a clear filter (shown in blue) and a red filter (shown in red). The region shows the star-formation taking place around the gamma-ray burst region in the galaxy ESO 184-G82. Clearly seen is an underlying hydrogen gas complex is overlaid with several bright red giant stars. The Hubble observations were carried out 12 June 2000. This colour composite was constructed from two exposures combined in chromatic order: 1240 seconds through the clear filter (in blue), and 1185 seconds through a red filter (in red). The field of view of the image measures 13 x 7 arcseconds. | heic0003c | Blow-up of area around GRB 980425 | This is an enlargement of a combined image obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope through a clear filter (shown in blue) and a red filter (shown in red). The region shows the star-formation taking place around the gamma-ray burst region in the galaxy ESO 184-G82. Clearly seen is an underlying hydrogen gas complex is overlaid with several bright red giant stars. The Hubble observations were carried out 12 June 2000. This colour composite was constructed from two exposures combined in chromatic order: 1240 seconds through the clear filter (in blue), and 1185 seconds through a red filter (in red). The field of view of the image measures 13 x 7 arcseconds. | ESA, Stephen Holland (Danish Centre for Astrophysics with the HST), Jens Hjorth, Johan Fynbo (University of Copenhagen) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0003c/ | heic0003c | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Gamma Ray BurstLocal Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Supernova | 27 June 2000, 15:00 | heic0003 | 516 x 291 px | ESO 184-82, GRB 980425, SN 1998bw | 120 million light years | Telescopium | Galaxies | 19 35 3.17 | -52° 50' 44.89" | 0.22 x 0.12 arcminutes | North is 98.3° left of vertical | 516 | 291 | 450,468 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Stellar cocoon CRL 618: This image comes from the large archive of scientific observations performed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Currently more than 250, 000 scientific Hubble observations are contained in this highly valuable archive and more are added all the time. In this image singly ionised sulphur is shown in red, green represents neutral hydrogen, the blue-green colour comes from neutral oxygen and blue light is continuum light seen through a so-called Strvmgren y filter. The full extent of the nebula is 12 arcseconds from tip to tip. The original Hubble observations were obtained in 1998 by Susan R. Trammell from University of North Carolina, and were turned into a colour image by the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre at European Southern Observatory, Munich and A.G.G.M. Tielens from the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute in the Netherlands. | heic0004a | Stellar cocoon CRL 618 | This image comes from the large archive of scientific observations performed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Currently more than 250, 000 scientific Hubble observations are contained in this highly valuable archive and more are added all the time. In this image singly ionised sulphur is shown in red, green represents neutral hydrogen, the blue-green colour comes from neutral oxygen and blue light is continuum light seen through a so-called Strvmgren y filter. The full extent of the nebula is 12 arcseconds from tip to tip. The original Hubble observations were obtained in 1998 by Susan R. Trammell from University of North Carolina, and were turned into a colour image by the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre at European Southern Observatory, Munich and A.G.G.M. Tielens from the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute in the Netherlands. | ESA & A.G.G.M. Tielens (SRON/Kapteyn Astronomical Institute) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0004a/ | heic0004a | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary | 31 August 2000, 15:00 | heic0004 | 902 x 902 px | CRL 618, Westbrook Nebula | 3000 light years | Auriga | Nebulae | 4 42 53.54 | 36° 6' 53.31" | 0.34 x 0.34 arcminutes | North is 23.4° right of vertical | 902 | 902 | 2,440,812 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Galaxy Cluster Abell 1835: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image was taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) in red light. The two hour exposure spans 2.5 arcminutes. The image shows an overview of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1835 (right) which is acting as a gravitational telescope enhancing the light from background galaxies. The galaxy cluster is at a distance of 3.5 billion light years and numerous gravitational arcs can be seen in the image. In the centre of the cluster a massive giant elliptical galaxy is surrounded by several smaller ellipticals. The box indicates the galaxy SMM J14011+0252, also called J1/J2, which was first observed with the SCUBA (Sub-millimetre Common User Bolometer Array) instrument on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii. For further information, please click the news release link below. | heic0005b | Galaxy Cluster Abell 1835 | This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image was taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) in red light. The two hour exposure spans 2.5 arcminutes. The image shows an overview of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1835 (right) which is acting as a gravitational telescope enhancing the light from background galaxies. The galaxy cluster is at a distance of 3.5 billion light years and numerous gravitational arcs can be seen in the image. In the centre of the cluster a massive giant elliptical galaxy is surrounded by several smaller ellipticals. The box indicates the galaxy SMM J14011+0252, also called J1/J2, which was first observed with the SCUBA (Sub-millimetre Common User Bolometer Array) instrument on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii. For further information, please click the news release link below. | ESA & Jean-Paul Kneib (Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0005b/ | heic0005b | Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : StarburstEarly Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster | 6 September 2000, 15:00 | heic0005 | 2970 x 3008 px | Abell 1835, J1/J2, SMM J14011+0252 | z=2.565 (redshift) | Virgo | Galaxies | 14 1 1.42 | 2° 52' 18.21" | 2.46 x 2.49 arcminutes | North is 94.3° right of vertical | 2,970 | 3,008 | 26,801,280 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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A Tantalising Veil: This delicate Hubble Space Telescope image shows a tiny portion of the Cygnus loop, a supernova remnant in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan. Measurements on this super-detailed image of a cosmic veil shows that the original supernova explosion took place only 5000 years ago. | heic0006a | A Tantalising Veil | This delicate Hubble Space Telescope image shows a tiny portion of the Cygnus loop, a supernova remnant in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan. Measurements on this super-detailed image of a cosmic veil shows that the original supernova explosion took place only 5000 years ago. | ESA & Digitized Sky Survey (Caltech) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0006a/ | heic0006a | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant | 10 October 2000, 15:00 | heic0006 | 3000 x 2164 px | Cygnus Loop, Veil Nebula | 1500 light years | null | Quasars and Black Holes | null | null | null | null | 3,000 | 2,164 | 19,476,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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A tantalising veil: This image shows a small portion of a nebula called the Cygnus Loop. Covering a region on the sky six times the diameter of the full Moon, the Cygnus Loop is actually the expanding blastwave from a stellar cataclysm - a supernova explosion - which occurred about 15,000 years ago. This delicate Hubble Space Telescope image shows a tiny portion of the Cygnus loop, a supernova remnant in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan. Measurements on this super-detailed image of a cosmic veil shows that the original supernova explosion took place only 5, 000 years ago. | heic0006b | A tantalising veil | This image shows a small portion of a nebula called the Cygnus Loop. Covering a region on the sky six times the diameter of the full Moon, the Cygnus Loop is actually the expanding blastwave from a stellar cataclysm - a supernova explosion - which occurred about 15,000 years ago. This delicate Hubble Space Telescope image shows a tiny portion of the Cygnus loop, a supernova remnant in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan. Measurements on this super-detailed image of a cosmic veil shows that the original supernova explosion took place only 5, 000 years ago. | ESA & Digitized Sky Survey (Caltech) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0006b/ | heic0006b | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant | 10 October 2000, 15:00 | heic0006 | 1500 x 746 px | Cygnus Loop, Veil Nebula | 1500 light years | Cygnus | Nebulae | 20 56 4.43 | 31° 56' 27.78" | 2.48 x 1.23 arcminutes | North is 29.4° right of vertical | 1,500 | 746 | 3,357,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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A Tantalising Veil (ground-based image): This ground-based image of the Cygnus Loop measures 3 x 2 degrees and was taken with the Oschin Schmidt Telescope and scanned as part of the Digitized Sky Survey. | heic0006c | A Tantalising Veil (ground-based image) | This ground-based image of the Cygnus Loop measures 3 x 2 degrees and was taken with the Oschin Schmidt Telescope and scanned as part of the Digitized Sky Survey. | ESA & Digitized Sky Survey (Caltech) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0006c/ | heic0006c | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant | 10 October 2000, 15:00 | heic0006 | 4000 x 2782 px | Cygnus Loop, Veil Nebula | 1500 light years | Cygnus | Nebulae | 20 51 18.02 | 31° 12' 43.29" | 176.92 x 123.05 arcminutes | North is 2.0° left of vertical | 4,000 | 2,782 | 33,384,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Stephan's Quintet - A Mammoth Cosmic Collision (composite): This spectacular new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the group of galaxies called Stephan's Quintet has provided a detailed view of one of the most exciting star forming regions in the local Universe. Stephan's Quintet is a favoured object for amateur astronomers and has earned a reputation as a challenging target for good hobby telescopes. The quintet is a prototype of a class of objects known as compact groups of galaxies and has been studied intensively for decades. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a close-up view of the central part of Stephan's Quintet, giving a magnificent view of a gigantic cosmic collision. Weird, highly distorted features, dust lanes crossing between galaxies and long filaments of stars and gas extending far beyond the central regions all suggest galaxies twisted by violent encounters. The galaxies float through space, distorted shapes moulded by tidal interactions, weaving together in the intricate figures of an immense cosmic dance, choreographed by gravity. The ground-based view to the left provides an overview of Stephan's Quintet. | heic0007a | Stephan's Quintet - A Mammoth Cosmic Collision (composite) | This spectacular new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the group of galaxies called Stephan's Quintet has provided a detailed view of one of the most exciting star forming regions in the local Universe. Stephan's Quintet is a favoured object for amateur astronomers and has earned a reputation as a challenging target for good hobby telescopes. The quintet is a prototype of a class of objects known as compact groups of galaxies and has been studied intensively for decades. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a close-up view of the central part of Stephan's Quintet, giving a magnificent view of a gigantic cosmic collision. Weird, highly distorted features, dust lanes crossing between galaxies and long filaments of stars and gas extending far beyond the central regions all suggest galaxies twisted by violent encounters. The galaxies float through space, distorted shapes moulded by tidal interactions, weaving together in the intricate figures of an immense cosmic dance, choreographed by gravity. The ground-based view to the left provides an overview of Stephan's Quintet. | ESA & NOAO | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0007a/ | heic0007a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster | 25 October 2000, 15:00 | heic0007 | 2882 x 1946 px | Stephan's Quintet | 300 million light years | null | Galaxies | null | null | null | null | 2,882 | 1,946 | 16,825,116 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Stephan's Quintet - A mammoth cosmic collision (Hubble view): This spectacular new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the group of galaxies called Stephan's Quintet has provided a detailed view of one of the most exciting star forming regions in the local Universe. Stephan's Quintet is a favoured object for amateur astronomers and has earned a reputation as a challenging target for good hobby telescopes. The quintet is a prototype of a class of objects known as compact groups of galaxies and has been studied intensively for decades. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a close-up view of the central part of Stephan's Quintet, giving a magnificent view of a gigantic cosmic collision. Weird, highly distorted features, dust lanes crossing between galaxies and long filaments of stars and gas extending far beyond the central regions all suggest galaxies twisted by violent encounters. The galaxies float through space, distorted shapes moulded by tidal interactions, weaving together in the intricate figures of an immense cosmic dance, choreographed by gravity. This image comes from the large archive of scientific observations performed with the Hubble Space Telescope. It is a mosaic of two pointings with the WFPC2 instrument made in December 1998 and June 1999. The natural-colour composite has been constructed by the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre from individual exposures in red light (814W filter, 2000 seconds), in green light (569W filter, 3200 seconds) and in blue light (450W filter, 6800 seconds). The image measures 3.7 x 2.5 arc-minute | heic0007b | Stephan's Quintet - A mammoth cosmic collision (Hubble view) | This spectacular new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the group of galaxies called Stephan's Quintet has provided a detailed view of one of the most exciting star forming regions in the local Universe. Stephan's Quintet is a favoured object for amateur astronomers and has earned a reputation as a challenging target for good hobby telescopes. The quintet is a prototype of a class of objects known as compact groups of galaxies and has been studied intensively for decades. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a close-up view of the central part of Stephan's Quintet, giving a magnificent view of a gigantic cosmic collision. Weird, highly distorted features, dust lanes crossing between galaxies and long filaments of stars and gas extending far beyond the central regions all suggest galaxies twisted by violent encounters. The galaxies float through space, distorted shapes moulded by tidal interactions, weaving together in the intricate figures of an immense cosmic dance, choreographed by gravity. This image comes from the large archive of scientific observations performed with the Hubble Space Telescope. It is a mosaic of two pointings with the WFPC2 instrument made in December 1998 and June 1999. The natural-colour composite has been constructed by the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre from individual exposures in red light (814W filter, 2000 seconds), in green light (569W filter, 3200 seconds) and in blue light (450W filter, 6800 seconds). The image measures 3.7 x 2.5 arc-minute | ESA | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0007b/ | heic0007b | Local Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster | 25 October 2000, 15:00 | heic0007 | 2241 x 1548 px | Stephan's Quintet | 300 million light years | Pegasus | Galaxies | 22 36 4.86 | 33° 58' 13.82" | 3.61 x 2.50 arcminutes | North is 11.3° right of vertical | 2,241 | 1,548 | 10,407,204 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Stephan's Quintet - A Mammoth Cosmic Collision (Ground-based view): Ground-based overview of Stephan's Quintet taken at the Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9-meter telescope in October of 1998 by Nigel Sharp. North is up, east is to the left. | heic0007c | Stephan's Quintet - A Mammoth Cosmic Collision (Ground-based view) | Ground-based overview of Stephan's Quintet taken at the Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9-meter telescope in October of 1998 by Nigel Sharp. North is up, east is to the left. | N.A.Sharp/AURA/NOAO/NSF | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0007c/ | heic0007c | Local Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster | 25 October 2000, 15:00 | heic0007 | 1086 x 730 px | Stephan's Quintet | 300 million light years | Pegasus | Galaxies | 22 36 5.85 | 33° 57' 54.76" | 6.59 x 4.43 arcminutes | North is 12.7° right of vertical | 1,086 | 730 | 2,378,340 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Ants in space?: From ground-based telescopes, the so-called "ant nebula" (Menzel 3, or Mz 3) resembles the head and thorax of a garden-variety ant. This dramatic NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, showing 10 times more detail, reveals the "ant's" body as a pair of fiery lobes protruding from a dying, Sun-like star. The Hubble images directly challenge old ideas about the last stages in the lives of stars. By observing Sun-like stars as they approach their deaths, the Hubble Heritage image of Mz 3 - along with pictures of other planetary nebulae - shows that our Sun's fate probably will be more interesting, complex, and striking than astronomers imagined just a few years ago. | heic0101a | Ants in space? | From ground-based telescopes, the so-called "ant nebula" (Menzel 3, or Mz 3) resembles the head and thorax of a garden-variety ant. This dramatic NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, showing 10 times more detail, reveals the "ant's" body as a pair of fiery lobes protruding from a dying, Sun-like star. The Hubble images directly challenge old ideas about the last stages in the lives of stars. By observing Sun-like stars as they approach their deaths, the Hubble Heritage image of Mz 3 - along with pictures of other planetary nebulae - shows that our Sun's fate probably will be more interesting, complex, and striking than astronomers imagined just a few years ago. | NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0101a/ | heic0101a | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary | 1 February 2001, 15:00 | heic0101 | 1072 x 708 px | Ant Nebula, Menzel 3, PN Mz 3 | 8000 light years | Norma | Nebulae | 16 17 13.36 | -51° 59' 10.10" | 1.78 x 1.17 arcminutes | North is 100.1° right of vertical | 1,072 | 708 | 2,276,928 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Bar in spiral galaxy NGC 2903 (WFPC2): This colourful image, obtained by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a close-up of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903. The galaxy bears a close resemblance to our Milky Way, which is also believed to be a barred spiral galaxy. Huge dust lanes appearing dark in the image and lots of young stars gathered in hot blue clusters, are sprinkled all over the spiral arms. Barred spirals are excellent laboratories with which to study the processes that trigger star formation. An international group of astronomers has used Hubble to study how the galaxys bar (seen as the reddish glow running diagonally through the image) feeds material to form new stars near the centre. The newly born stars show up partly in a so-called circumnuclear ring around the bright yellowish core of the galaxy and partly as bright star clusters (white knots in the circumnuclear ring). The image was combined from three separate exposures in visible light lasting 820 seconds. The red part of the image was exposed through a 820 nm filter, the green through a 520 nm filter and the blue through a 331 nm filter. Acknowledgements: The data that went into this Hubble image were originally obtained by: John Trauger (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), John Hoessel (University of Wisconsin Madison), Richard Griffiths (Carnegie Mellon University), Dave Crisp (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), John Clarke (University of Michigan), Christopher Burrows (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Westphal (California Institute of Technology), Jeff Hester (Arizona State University), Jeremy Mould (National Optical Astronomy Observatories, AURA) and Jon Holtzman (New Mexico State University). | heic0102a | Bar in spiral galaxy NGC 2903 (WFPC2) | This colourful image, obtained by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a close-up of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903. The galaxy bears a close resemblance to our Milky Way, which is also believed to be a barred spiral galaxy. Huge dust lanes appearing dark in the image and lots of young stars gathered in hot blue clusters, are sprinkled all over the spiral arms. Barred spirals are excellent laboratories with which to study the processes that trigger star formation. An international group of astronomers has used Hubble to study how the galaxys bar (seen as the reddish glow running diagonally through the image) feeds material to form new stars near the centre. The newly born stars show up partly in a so-called circumnuclear ring around the bright yellowish core of the galaxy and partly as bright star clusters (white knots in the circumnuclear ring). The image was combined from three separate exposures in visible light lasting 820 seconds. The red part of the image was exposed through a 820 nm filter, the green through a 520 nm filter and the blue through a 331 nm filter. Acknowledgements: The data that went into this Hubble image were originally obtained by: John Trauger (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), John Hoessel (University of Wisconsin Madison), Richard Griffiths (Carnegie Mellon University), Dave Crisp (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), John Clarke (University of Michigan), Christopher Burrows (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Westphal (California Institute of Technology), Jeff Hester (Arizona State University), Jeremy Mould (National Optical Astronomy Observatories, AURA) and Jon Holtzman (New Mexico State University). | ESA & NASA | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0102a/ | heic0102a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 27 February 2001, 15:00 | heic0102 | 1478 x 1502 px | IRAS 09293+2143, NGC 2903 | 30 million light years | Leo | Galaxies | 9 32 11.42 | 21° 29' 56.32" | 2.45 x 2.49 arcminutes | North is 120.4° left of vertical | 1,478 | 1,502 | 6,659,868 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Star Clusters and Circumnuclear Ring in the Centre of NGC 2903 (NICMOS): This image was obtained with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph (NICMOS) onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It shows the region around the core of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903. Several bright star clusters (white knots) are seen as well as the circumnuclear ring around the core. The reddish areas are regions of ionised hydrogen and regions where large amounts of dust partly obscure our view. The image was constructed from two infrared NICMOS exposures: 704 seconds through an 1870 nm filter (shown as red) and 192 seconds through a 1600 nm filter (shown as blue). The green colour in the image is a combination of these two exposures. Acknowledgement: The data that went into this Hubble image were originally obtained by William Sparks (Space Telescope Science Institute). | heic0102b | Star Clusters and Circumnuclear Ring in the Centre of NGC 2903 (NICMOS) | This image was obtained with the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph (NICMOS) onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It shows the region around the core of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903. Several bright star clusters (white knots) are seen as well as the circumnuclear ring around the core. The reddish areas are regions of ionised hydrogen and regions where large amounts of dust partly obscure our view. The image was constructed from two infrared NICMOS exposures: 704 seconds through an 1870 nm filter (shown as red) and 192 seconds through a 1600 nm filter (shown as blue). The green colour in the image is a combination of these two exposures. Acknowledgement: The data that went into this Hubble image were originally obtained by William Sparks (Space Telescope Science Institute). | ESA & NASA | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0102b/ | heic0102b | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 27 February 2001, 15:00 | heic0102 | 512 x 512 px | IRAS 09293+2143, NGC 2903 | 30 million light years | Leo | Galaxies | 9 32 9.85 | 21° 29' 58.31" | 0.87 x 0.87 arcminutes | North is 120.2° left of vertical | 512 | 512 | 786,432 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Overview of NGC 2903 (ground-based): This ground-based overview image of NGC 2903 was taken with a 40 cm telescope (16 inch), and shows why this spiral galaxy is a favourite among amateur astronomers. The area viewed in detail by Hubble's WFPC2 camera is shown as an outline. Massive spiral arms are connected to the spiral's bar. The image is combined from 4 exposures totalling 88 minutes. | heic0102c | Overview of NGC 2903 (ground-based) | This ground-based overview image of NGC 2903 was taken with a 40 cm telescope (16 inch), and shows why this spiral galaxy is a favourite among amateur astronomers. The area viewed in detail by Hubble's WFPC2 camera is shown as an outline. Massive spiral arms are connected to the spiral's bar. The image is combined from 4 exposures totalling 88 minutes. | Ryan Branch and Robin Milner/Adam Block/AURA/NOAO/NSF | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0102c/ | heic0102c | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 27 February 2001, 15:00 | heic0102 | 618 x 627 px | IRAS 09293+2143, NGC 2903 | 30 million light years | null | Galaxies | null | null | null | null | 618 | 627 | 1,162,458 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter: This stunningly beautiful image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the heart of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. The ongoing violent star formation due to an ancient encounter with its large galactic neighbour, M81, gives this galaxy its disturbed appearance. In the image, taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the huge lanes of dust that crisscross M82's disk are another telltale sign of the flurry of star formation. Below the centre and to the right, a strong galactic wind is spewing knotty filaments of hydrogen and nitrogen gas. More than 100 super star clusters - very bright, compact groupings of about 100, 000 stars - are seen in this detailed Hubble picture as white dots sprinkled throughout M82's central region. The dark region just above the centre of the picture is a huge dust cloud. A collaboration of European and American scientists used these clusters to date the ancient interaction between M82 and M81. About 600 million years ago, a region called 'M82 B' (the bright area just below and to the left of the central dust cloud) exploded with new stars. Scientists have discovered that this ancient starburst was triggered by the violent encounter with M81. M82 is a bright (eighth magnitude), nearby (12 million light-years from Earth) galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). The Hubble picture was taken on September 15, 1997. The natural-colour composite was constructed from three Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 exposures, which were combined in chromatic order: 4, 250 seconds through a blue filter (428 nm); 2, 800 seconds through a green filter (520 nm); and 2, 200 seconds through a red (820 nm) filter. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0103a | Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter | This stunningly beautiful image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the heart of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. The ongoing violent star formation due to an ancient encounter with its large galactic neighbour, M81, gives this galaxy its disturbed appearance. In the image, taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the huge lanes of dust that crisscross M82's disk are another telltale sign of the flurry of star formation. Below the centre and to the right, a strong galactic wind is spewing knotty filaments of hydrogen and nitrogen gas. More than 100 super star clusters - very bright, compact groupings of about 100, 000 stars - are seen in this detailed Hubble picture as white dots sprinkled throughout M82's central region. The dark region just above the centre of the picture is a huge dust cloud. A collaboration of European and American scientists used these clusters to date the ancient interaction between M82 and M81. About 600 million years ago, a region called 'M82 B' (the bright area just below and to the left of the central dust cloud) exploded with new stars. Scientists have discovered that this ancient starburst was triggered by the violent encounter with M81. M82 is a bright (eighth magnitude), nearby (12 million light-years from Earth) galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). The Hubble picture was taken on September 15, 1997. The natural-colour composite was constructed from three Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 exposures, which were combined in chromatic order: 4, 250 seconds through a blue filter (428 nm); 2, 800 seconds through a green filter (520 nm); and 2, 200 seconds through a red (820 nm) filter. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA & R. de Grijs (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0103a/ | heic0103a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst | 7 March 2001, 15:00 | heic0103 | 1487 x 1522 px | Messier 82, NGC 3034 | 13 million light years | Ursa Major | Galaxies | 9 55 59.42 | 69° 40' 46.00" | 2.47 x 2.53 arcminutes | North is 71.5° left of vertical | 1,487 | 1,522 | 6,789,642 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter: This stunningly beautiful image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the heart of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. The ongoing violent star formation due to an ancient encounter with its large galactic neighbour, M81, gives this galaxy its disturbed appearance. The smaller ground-based picture at upper left shows the entire galaxy. The image was taken by Robert Gendler with a 12 inch telescope from a suburb outside Hartford, Connecticut. Hubble's view is represented by the white outline in the centre. In the Hubble image, taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the huge lanes of dust that crisscross M82's disk are another telltale sign of the flurry of star formation. Below the centre and to the right, a strong galactic wind is spewing knotty filaments of hydrogen and nitrogen gas. More than 100 super star clusters - very bright, compact groupings of about 100, 000 stars - are seen in this detailed Hubble picture as white dots sprinkled throughout M82's central region. The dark region just above the centre of the picture is a huge dust cloud. A collaboration of European and American scientists used these clusters to date the ancient interaction between M82 and M81. About 600 million years ago, a region called 'M82 B' (the bright area just below and to the left of the central dust cloud) exploded with new stars. Scientists have discovered that this ancient starburst was triggered by the violent encounter with M81. M82 is a bright (eighth magnitude), nearby (12 million light-years from Earth) galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). The Hubble picture was taken on September 15, 1997. The natural-colour composite was constructed from three Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 exposures, which were combined in chromatic order: 4, 250 seconds through a blue filter (428 nm); 2, 800 seconds through a green filter (520 nm); and 2, 200 seconds through a red (820 nm) filter. Credits for Hubble image: NASA, ESA, R. de Grijs (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK) This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0103b | Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter | This stunningly beautiful image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the heart of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. The ongoing violent star formation due to an ancient encounter with its large galactic neighbour, M81, gives this galaxy its disturbed appearance. The smaller ground-based picture at upper left shows the entire galaxy. The image was taken by Robert Gendler with a 12 inch telescope from a suburb outside Hartford, Connecticut. Hubble's view is represented by the white outline in the centre. In the Hubble image, taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the huge lanes of dust that crisscross M82's disk are another telltale sign of the flurry of star formation. Below the centre and to the right, a strong galactic wind is spewing knotty filaments of hydrogen and nitrogen gas. More than 100 super star clusters - very bright, compact groupings of about 100, 000 stars - are seen in this detailed Hubble picture as white dots sprinkled throughout M82's central region. The dark region just above the centre of the picture is a huge dust cloud. A collaboration of European and American scientists used these clusters to date the ancient interaction between M82 and M81. About 600 million years ago, a region called 'M82 B' (the bright area just below and to the left of the central dust cloud) exploded with new stars. Scientists have discovered that this ancient starburst was triggered by the violent encounter with M81. M82 is a bright (eighth magnitude), nearby (12 million light-years from Earth) galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). The Hubble picture was taken on September 15, 1997. The natural-colour composite was constructed from three Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 exposures, which were combined in chromatic order: 4, 250 seconds through a blue filter (428 nm); 2, 800 seconds through a green filter (520 nm); and 2, 200 seconds through a red (820 nm) filter. Credits for Hubble image: NASA, ESA, R. de Grijs (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK) This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, R. de Grijs (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0103b/ | heic0103b | Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst | 7 March 2001, 15:00 | heic0103 | 3000 x 2121 px | Messier 82, NGC 3034 | 13 million light years | null | Galaxies | null | null | null | null | 3,000 | 2,121 | 19,089,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter: These two views of the heart of the galaxy M82 were snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The image on the left was taken in visible light with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2); the picture on the right, in infrared light. In the infrared view, the telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) peered through thick dust lanes to find some of the galaxy's more than 100 super star clusters. The clusters are the larger white dots scattered throughout the picture. They were formed during a violent encounter with the galaxy M81 about 600 million years ago. The thousands of stars in the galactic background belong to a population of red giant stars in M82. In the lower right corner the full WFPC2 image is shown. The white outline indicates the field of the NICMOS image. The galaxy is 12 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. The NICMOS and WFPC2 pictures were taken on September 15, 1997. Two images each composed of eight exposures were combined for the NICMOS mosaic: 768 seconds in J (1.1 micron - here coloured blue) and 768 seconds in H (1.6 micron - here coloured red) in total. Green is constructed from a mix of J and H. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0103c | Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter | These two views of the heart of the galaxy M82 were snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The image on the left was taken in visible light with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2); the picture on the right, in infrared light. In the infrared view, the telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) peered through thick dust lanes to find some of the galaxy's more than 100 super star clusters. The clusters are the larger white dots scattered throughout the picture. They were formed during a violent encounter with the galaxy M81 about 600 million years ago. The thousands of stars in the galactic background belong to a population of red giant stars in M82. In the lower right corner the full WFPC2 image is shown. The white outline indicates the field of the NICMOS image. The galaxy is 12 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. The NICMOS and WFPC2 pictures were taken on September 15, 1997. Two images each composed of eight exposures were combined for the NICMOS mosaic: 768 seconds in J (1.1 micron - here coloured blue) and 768 seconds in H (1.6 micron - here coloured red) in total. Green is constructed from a mix of J and H. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, R. de Grijs (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0103c/ | heic0103c | Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst | 7 March 2001, 15:00 | heic0103 | 3000 x 3000 px | Messier 82, NGC 3034 | 13 million light years | null | Galaxies | null | null | null | null | 3,000 | 3,000 | 27,000,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Ground-based view of two galaxy neighbours: M81 and M82: This ground-based image of M81 (left) and M82 (right) was taken by Robert Gendler with a 12 inch telescope from a suburb outside Hartford, Connecticut. The distance between the two popular galaxies is 37 arc-minutes (approximately a moon diameter). Credit: Robert Gendler | heic0103d | Ground-based view of two galaxy neighbours: M81 and M82 | This ground-based image of M81 (left) and M82 (right) was taken by Robert Gendler with a 12 inch telescope from a suburb outside Hartford, Connecticut. The distance between the two popular galaxies is 37 arc-minutes (approximately a moon diameter). Credit: Robert Gendler | Robert Gendler | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0103d/ | heic0103d | Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst | 7 March 2001, 15:00 | heic0103 | 3000 x 2002 px | Messier 81, Messier 82, NGC 3031, NGC 3034 | null | Ursa Major | Galaxies | 9 55 19.67 | 69° 19' 50.10" | 62.95 x 42.01 arcminutes | North is 87.5° right of vertical | 3,000 | 2,002 | 18,018,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter: The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope snapped this view of the heart of the galaxy M82. The image was taken in infrared light with the telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). Hubble peered through thick dust lanes to find some of the galaxy's more than 100 super star clusters. The clusters are the larger white dots scattered throughout the picture. They were formed during a violent encounter with the galaxy M81 about 600 million years ago. The thousands of stars in the galactic background belong to a population of red giant stars in M82. The galaxy is 12 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. The pictures were taken on September 15, 1997. Two images each composed of eight exposures were combined for the NICMOS mosaic: 768 seconds in J (1.1 micron - here coloured blue) and 768 seconds in H (1.6 micron - here coloured red) in total. Green is constructed from a mix of J and H. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0103e | Hubble spies huge clusters of stars formed by ancient encounter | The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope snapped this view of the heart of the galaxy M82. The image was taken in infrared light with the telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). Hubble peered through thick dust lanes to find some of the galaxy's more than 100 super star clusters. The clusters are the larger white dots scattered throughout the picture. They were formed during a violent encounter with the galaxy M81 about 600 million years ago. The thousands of stars in the galactic background belong to a population of red giant stars in M82. The galaxy is 12 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. The pictures were taken on September 15, 1997. Two images each composed of eight exposures were combined for the NICMOS mosaic: 768 seconds in J (1.1 micron - here coloured blue) and 768 seconds in H (1.6 micron - here coloured red) in total. Green is constructed from a mix of J and H. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, R. de Grijs (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0103e/ | heic0103e | Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst | 7 March 2001, 15:00 | heic0103 | 984 x 1297 px | Messier 82, NGC 3034 | 13 million light years | Ursa Major | Galaxies | 9 55 59.79 | 69° 41' 9.98" | 0.74 x 0.98 arcminutes | North is 71.1° left of vertical | 984 | 1,297 | 3,828,744 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Ground-based close-up view of M82: This ground-based image of M82 was taken by Robert Gendler with a 12 inch telescope from a suburb outside Hartford, Connecticut. Credit: Robert Gendler | heic0103f | Ground-based close-up view of M82 | This ground-based image of M82 was taken by Robert Gendler with a 12 inch telescope from a suburb outside Hartford, Connecticut. Credit: Robert Gendler | Robert Gendler | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0103f/ | heic0103f | Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst | 7 March 2001, 15:00 | heic0103 | 728 x 728 px | Messier 82, NGC 3034 | 13 million light years | Ursa Major | Galaxies | 9 55 57.09 | 69° 40' 44.43" | 7.77 x 7.77 arcminutes | North is 70.7° left of vertical | 728 | 728 | 1,589,952 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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N83B - massive infant stars rock their cradle: Extremely intense radiation from newly born, ultra-bright stars has blown a glowing spherical bubble in the nebula N83B, also known as NGC 1748. A new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image has helped to decipher the complex interplay of gas and radiation of a star-forming region in a nearby galaxy. The image graphically illustrates just how these massive stars sculpt their environment by generating powerful winds that alter the shape of the parent gaseous nebula. These processes are also seen in our Milky Way in regions like the Orion Nebula. The Hubble telescope is famous for its contribution to our knowledge about star formation in very distant galaxies. Although most of the stars in the Universe were born several billions of years ago, when the Universe was young, star formation still continues today. This new Hubble image shows a very compact star-forming region in a small part of one of our neighboring galaxies - the Large Magellanic Cloud. This galaxy lies only 165,000 light-years from our Milky Way and can easily be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. | heic0104a | N83B - massive infant stars rock their cradle | Extremely intense radiation from newly born, ultra-bright stars has blown a glowing spherical bubble in the nebula N83B, also known as NGC 1748. A new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image has helped to decipher the complex interplay of gas and radiation of a star-forming region in a nearby galaxy. The image graphically illustrates just how these massive stars sculpt their environment by generating powerful winds that alter the shape of the parent gaseous nebula. These processes are also seen in our Milky Way in regions like the Orion Nebula. The Hubble telescope is famous for its contribution to our knowledge about star formation in very distant galaxies. Although most of the stars in the Universe were born several billions of years ago, when the Universe was young, star formation still continues today. This new Hubble image shows a very compact star-forming region in a small part of one of our neighboring galaxies - the Large Magellanic Cloud. This galaxy lies only 165,000 light-years from our Milky Way and can easily be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. | ESA, NASA & Mohammad Heydari-Malayeri (Observatoire de Paris, France) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0104a/ | heic0104a | Local Universe : Nebula : Type : Star Formation | 28 March 2001, 15:00 | heic0104 | 1464 x 738 px | N 83B, NGC 1748 | 170000 light years | Dorado | Nebulae | 4 54 28.95 | -69° 10' 28.63" | 2.43 x 1.23 arcminutes | North is 119.4° right of vertical | 1,464 | 738 | 3,241,296 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Eleven years in orbit: Hubble observes the popular Horsehead nebula: Rising from a sea of dust and gas like a giant sea horse, the Horsehead Nebula, located in the constellation of Orion, is a cold, dark cloud of gas and dust. The bright area at the top left-hand edge is a young star still embedded in its nursery of gas and dust. Radiation from this hot star is eroding its gaseous birthplace. A massive star located outside Hubble's view is sculpting the top of the Horsehead itself in a similar way. Rising from a sea of dust and gas like a giant seahorse, the Horsehead nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the sky. NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope took a close-up look at this heavenly icon, revealing the cloud's intricate structure. This detailed view of the horse's head is being released to celebrate the orbiting observatory's eleventh anniversary. Produced by the Hubble Heritage Project, this picture is a testament to the Horsehead's popularity. Internet voters selected this object for the orbiting telescope to view. The Horsehead, also known as Barnard 33, is a cold, dark cloud of gas and dust, silhouetted against the bright nebula, IC 434. The bright area at the top left edge is a young star still embedded in its nursery of gas and dust. But radiation from this hot star is eroding the stellar nursery. The top of the nebula also is being sculpted by radiation from a massive star located out of Hubble's field of view. | heic0105a | Eleven years in orbit: Hubble observes the popular Horsehead nebula | Rising from a sea of dust and gas like a giant sea horse, the Horsehead Nebula, located in the constellation of Orion, is a cold, dark cloud of gas and dust. The bright area at the top left-hand edge is a young star still embedded in its nursery of gas and dust. Radiation from this hot star is eroding its gaseous birthplace. A massive star located outside Hubble's view is sculpting the top of the Horsehead itself in a similar way. Rising from a sea of dust and gas like a giant seahorse, the Horsehead nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the sky. NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope took a close-up look at this heavenly icon, revealing the cloud's intricate structure. This detailed view of the horse's head is being released to celebrate the orbiting observatory's eleventh anniversary. Produced by the Hubble Heritage Project, this picture is a testament to the Horsehead's popularity. Internet voters selected this object for the orbiting telescope to view. The Horsehead, also known as Barnard 33, is a cold, dark cloud of gas and dust, silhouetted against the bright nebula, IC 434. The bright area at the top left edge is a young star still embedded in its nursery of gas and dust. But radiation from this hot star is eroding the stellar nursery. The top of the nebula also is being sculpted by radiation from a massive star located out of Hubble's field of view. | NASA, NOAO, ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0105a/ | heic0105a | Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Dark | 24 April 2001, 15:00 | heic0105 | 2839 x 2065 px | Barnard 33, Horsehead Nebula | 1400 light years | Orion | AnniversaryNebulae | 5 40 56.93 | -2° 27' 11.37" | 4.71 x 3.43 arcminutes | North is 104.1° left of vertical | 2,839 | 2,065 | 17,587,605 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Composite ultraviolet-visible-infrared image of NGC 1512: This picture is a multi-wavelength composite made by seven individual exposures made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. These exposures were taken by the Faint Object Camera (FOC), Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106b | Composite ultraviolet-visible-infrared image of NGC 1512 | This picture is a multi-wavelength composite made by seven individual exposures made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. These exposures were taken by the Faint Object Camera (FOC), Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and Columbia University, USA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106b/ | heic0106b | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 564 x 573 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 54.19 | -43° 20' 55.63" | 0.43 x 0.44 arcminutes | North is 140.3° right of vertical | 564 | 573 | 969,516 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Individual colour images - 1 (FOC, 220 nm): This is the first in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Faint Object Camera (built by the European Space Agency, ESA). The colour purple (220 nm) represents ultraviolet light, which cannot be seen by the human eye. The image was taken on 18 July, 1993, and has an exposure time of 596 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106c | Individual colour images - 1 (FOC, 220 nm) | This is the first in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Faint Object Camera (built by the European Space Agency, ESA). The colour purple (220 nm) represents ultraviolet light, which cannot be seen by the human eye. The image was taken on 18 July, 1993, and has an exposure time of 596 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and Columbia University, USA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106c/ | heic0106c | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 580 x 580 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 54.20 | -43° 20' 55.69" | 0.44 x 0.44 arcminutes | North is 140.2° right of vertical | 580 | 580 | 1,009,200 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Individual colour images - 2 (WFPC2, 338 nm): This is the second in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2). The blue colour (338 nm) denotes the ultraviolet region of the spectrum. The image was taken on 5 March, 1999, and has an exposure time of 2500 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106d | Individual colour images - 2 (WFPC2, 338 nm) | This is the second in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2). The blue colour (338 nm) denotes the ultraviolet region of the spectrum. The image was taken on 5 March, 1999, and has an exposure time of 2500 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and Columbia University, USA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106d/ | heic0106d | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 580 x 580 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 54.20 | -43° 20' 55.69" | 0.44 x 0.44 arcminutes | North is 140.2° right of vertical | 580 | 580 | 1,009,200 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Individual colour images - 3 (WFPC2, 545 nm): This is the third in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble Space Telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2). The green colour (545 nm) represents visible light. The image was taken on 5 March, 1999, and has an exposure time of 900 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106e | Individual colour images - 3 (WFPC2, 545 nm) | This is the third in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble Space Telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2). The green colour (545 nm) represents visible light. The image was taken on 5 March, 1999, and has an exposure time of 900 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and Columbia University, USA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106e/ | heic0106e | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 580 x 580 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 54.20 | -43° 20' 55.69" | 0.44 x 0.44 arcminutes | North is 140.2° right of vertical | 580 | 580 | 1,009,200 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Individual colour images - 4 (WFPC2, 659 nm): This is the fourth in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2). The yellow colour (659 nm) represents visible light from (redshifted) ionised hydrogen (H-alpha). The image was taken on 5 March, 1999, and has an exposure time of 5200 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106f | Individual colour images - 4 (WFPC2, 659 nm) | This is the fourth in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2). The yellow colour (659 nm) represents visible light from (redshifted) ionised hydrogen (H-alpha). The image was taken on 5 March, 1999, and has an exposure time of 5200 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and Columbia University, USA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106f/ | heic0106f | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 580 x 580 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 54.20 | -43° 20' 55.69" | 0.44 x 0.44 arcminutes | North is 140.2° right of vertical | 580 | 580 | 1,009,200 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Individual colour images - 5 (WFPC2, 827 nm): This is the fifth in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2). The orange colour (827 nm) depicts infrared light, which cannot be seen by the human eye. The image was taken on 5 March, 1999, and has an exposure time of 1100 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106g | Individual colour images - 5 (WFPC2, 827 nm) | This is the fifth in a sequence of seven images which demonstrate the Hubble telescope's wavelength range, starting in the far ultraviolet and stretching all the way to the infrared. This image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2). The orange colour (827 nm) depicts infrared light, which cannot be seen by the human eye. The image was taken on 5 March, 1999, and has an exposure time of 1100 s. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and Columbia University, USA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106g/ | heic0106g | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 580 x 580 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 54.20 | -43° 20' 55.69" | 0.44 x 0.44 arcminutes | North is 140.2° right of vertical | 580 | 580 | 1,009,200 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Wide view of NGC 1512: The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 snapped this wide view of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512. NGC 1512 is in the southern constellation of Horologium at a distance of 9.2 million parsec or 30 million light years). The galaxy is 70 000 light years across and the circumnuclear starburst ring (at the very centre) is 2400 light years wide. A wispy bar of material can barely be seen slicing horizontally through the galaxy. This bar is funnelling gas into the heart of the galaxy, fuelling a ring of star birth. Blue stars and red star-forming clouds of glowing hydrogen trace the grand spiral arms along the galaxy's outer edge. The image was taken on 18 July, 1993, and has a total exposure time of 9700 s distributed on four filters represented by the colours blue (338 nm), green (545 nm), orange (659 nm) and red (827 nm). This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106j | Wide view of NGC 1512 | The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 snapped this wide view of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512. NGC 1512 is in the southern constellation of Horologium at a distance of 9.2 million parsec or 30 million light years). The galaxy is 70 000 light years across and the circumnuclear starburst ring (at the very centre) is 2400 light years wide. A wispy bar of material can barely be seen slicing horizontally through the galaxy. This bar is funnelling gas into the heart of the galaxy, fuelling a ring of star birth. Blue stars and red star-forming clouds of glowing hydrogen trace the grand spiral arms along the galaxy's outer edge. The image was taken on 18 July, 1993, and has a total exposure time of 9700 s distributed on four filters represented by the colours blue (338 nm), green (545 nm), orange (659 nm) and red (827 nm). This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and Columbia University, USA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106j/ | heic0106j | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 1517 x 1491 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 52.02 | -43° 20' 55.14" | 2.52 x 2.48 arcminutes | North is 220.4° left of vertical | 1,517 | 1,491 | 6,785,541 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Ground-based view of NGC 1512 (WFPC2 overlay): This ground-based image is 0.15 degrees wide and shows where Hubble pointed its cameras. The horizontal bar in this spiral galaxy is visible and so is an outer ring of star formation. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106k | Ground-based view of NGC 1512 (WFPC2 overlay) | This ground-based image is 0.15 degrees wide and shows where Hubble pointed its cameras. The horizontal bar in this spiral galaxy is visible and so is an outer ring of star formation. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | NASA, ESA, Dan Maoz (Tel-Aviv University, Israel, and Columbia University, USA) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106k/ | heic0106k | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 831 x 831 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 53.33 | -43° 20' 55.30" | 10.48 x 10.48 arcminutes | North is 140.0° right of vertical | 831 | 831 | 2,071,683 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Ground-based view of NGC 1512: This ground-based image is 0.15 degrees wide and shows a ground-based view of the galaxy NGC 1512. The image is from the Digitized Sky Survey II. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | heic0106l | Ground-based view of NGC 1512 | This ground-based image is 0.15 degrees wide and shows a ground-based view of the galaxy NGC 1512. The image is from the Digitized Sky Survey II. This image is issued jointly by NASA and ESA. | Digitized Sky Survey. | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0106l/ | heic0106l | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 31 May 2001, 15:00 | heic0106 | 856 x 802 px | IRAS 04022-4329, NGC 1512 | 40 million light years | Horologium | Galaxies | 4 3 53.86 | -43° 21' 0.93" | 10.73 x 10.05 arcminutes | North is 140.8° right of vertical | 856 | 802 | 2,059,536 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hint of planet-sized drifters bewilders Hubble scientists (WFPC2 view): This image shows the globular cluster M22 as seen with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's workhorse instrument, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. A team of American and European astronomers has studied the cluster in search for traces of short-lived brightening, due to an effect called microlensing, of faint stars in the background (too faint to be seen in this representation). Seven microlensing events were seen: one 'normal' event where a dwarf star in M22 passed in front of a background star, and six short events strongly suggesting the existence of 'free-floating' planet-sized objects in M22. If confirmed these planets would be the smallest detected which are not orbiting any star. M22, also known as NGC 6656, is the brightest globular cluster visible from the Northern hemisphere and it is an easy naked eye object. The 12 to 14 billion year old cluster is about 8, 500 light years distant and about 65 light years across. Its angular diameter is 24 arc minutes or almost the size of the full Moon. This Hubble view measures about 3 light years across. | heic0107b | Hint of planet-sized drifters bewilders Hubble scientists (WFPC2 view) | This image shows the globular cluster M22 as seen with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's workhorse instrument, the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. A team of American and European astronomers has studied the cluster in search for traces of short-lived brightening, due to an effect called microlensing, of faint stars in the background (too faint to be seen in this representation). Seven microlensing events were seen: one 'normal' event where a dwarf star in M22 passed in front of a background star, and six short events strongly suggesting the existence of 'free-floating' planet-sized objects in M22. If confirmed these planets would be the smallest detected which are not orbiting any star. M22, also known as NGC 6656, is the brightest globular cluster visible from the Northern hemisphere and it is an easy naked eye object. The 12 to 14 billion year old cluster is about 8, 500 light years distant and about 65 light years across. Its angular diameter is 24 arc minutes or almost the size of the full Moon. This Hubble view measures about 3 light years across. | NASA, ESA & K. Sahu (STScI) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0107b/ | heic0107b | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular | 27 June 2001, 15:00 | heic0107 | 800 x 880 px | Messier 22, NGC 6656 | 10000 light years | Sagittarius | Star Clusters | 18 36 22.68 | -23° 53' 52.63" | 1.32 x 1.46 arcminutes | North is 49.7° left of vertical | 800 | 880 | 2,112,000 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hint of planet-sized drifters bewilders Hubble scientists (ground-based view): This is a ground-based view of the globular cluster M22 made from CCD images taken in June 1995 at the Burrell Schmidt telescope of the Warner and Swasey Observatory of the Case Western Reserve University, located on Kitt Peak in Southwestern Arizona, USA. | heic0107c | Hint of planet-sized drifters bewilders Hubble scientists (ground-based view) | This is a ground-based view of the globular cluster M22 made from CCD images taken in June 1995 at the Burrell Schmidt telescope of the Warner and Swasey Observatory of the Case Western Reserve University, located on Kitt Peak in Southwestern Arizona, USA. | N.A.Sharp, REU program/AURA/NOAO/NSF | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0107c/ | heic0107c | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular | 27 June 2001, 15:00 | heic0107 | 1024 x 768 px | Messier 22, NGC 6656 | 10000 light years | Sagittarius | Star Clusters | 18 36 23.94 | -23° 54' 11.79" | 34.68 x 26.01 arcminutes | North is 1.9° left of vertical | 1,024 | 768 | 2,359,296 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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The constellation Sagittarius (Annotated ground-based view): The constellation Sagittarius (the Archer), home to the globular cluster M22, is one of the best known constellations in the sky. Sagittarius contains a large number of famous nebulae and star clusters due to the presence of some of the richest star fields of the Milky Way. The very centre of the Milky Way lies in the direction of Sagittarius. Some of the brighter stars in Sagittarius are known as the Teapot, the shape of which is indicated by the lines here (handle to the left, spout to the right). | heic0107d | The constellation Sagittarius (Annotated ground-based view) | The constellation Sagittarius (the Archer), home to the globular cluster M22, is one of the best known constellations in the sky. Sagittarius contains a large number of famous nebulae and star clusters due to the presence of some of the richest star fields of the Milky Way. The very centre of the Milky Way lies in the direction of Sagittarius. Some of the brighter stars in Sagittarius are known as the Teapot, the shape of which is indicated by the lines here (handle to the left, spout to the right). | ESA, NASA & Akira Fujii | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0107d/ | heic0107d | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : GlobularMilky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Constellation | 27 June 2001, 15:00 | heic0107 | 1063 x 927 px | Constellation Sagittarius, Messier 22 | 10000 light years | null | Stars | null | null | null | null | 1,063 | 927 | 2,956,203 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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The constellation Sagittarius (ground-based image): The constellation Sagittarius (the Archer), home to the globular cluster M22, is one of the best known constellations in the sky. Sagittarius contains a large number of famous nebulae and star clusters due to the presence of some of the richest star fields of the Milky Way. The very centre of the Milky Way lies in the direction of Sagittarius. Some of the brighter stars in Sagittarius are known as the Teapot, the shape of which is indicated by the lines here (handle to the left, spout to the right). The constellation Sagittarius (the Archer), home to the globular cluster M22 (in the centre), is one of the best known constellations in the sky. Sagittarius contains a large number of famous nebulae and star clusters due to the presence of some of the richest star fields of the Milky Way. The very centre of the Milky Way lies in the direction of Sagittarius. Some of the brighter stars in Sagittarius are known as the Teapot. | heic0107e | The constellation Sagittarius (ground-based image) | The constellation Sagittarius (the Archer), home to the globular cluster M22, is one of the best known constellations in the sky. Sagittarius contains a large number of famous nebulae and star clusters due to the presence of some of the richest star fields of the Milky Way. The very centre of the Milky Way lies in the direction of Sagittarius. Some of the brighter stars in Sagittarius are known as the Teapot, the shape of which is indicated by the lines here (handle to the left, spout to the right). The constellation Sagittarius (the Archer), home to the globular cluster M22 (in the centre), is one of the best known constellations in the sky. Sagittarius contains a large number of famous nebulae and star clusters due to the presence of some of the richest star fields of the Milky Way. The very centre of the Milky Way lies in the direction of Sagittarius. Some of the brighter stars in Sagittarius are known as the Teapot. | ESA, NASA & Akira Fujii | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0107e/ | heic0107e | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : GlobularMilky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : Constellation | 27 June 2001, 15:00 | heic0107 | 1063 x 927 px | Messier 22, Sagittarius Region | 10000 light years | null | Star Clusters | null | null | null | null | 1,063 | 927 | 2,956,203 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble images remarkable double cluster: Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of our neighbouring dwarf galaxies, this young globular-like star cluster is surrounded by a pattern of filamentary nebulosity that is thought to have been created during supernova blasts. It consists of a main globular cluster in the centre and a younger, smaller cluster, seen below and to the right, composed of extremely hot, blue stars and fainter, red T-Tauri stars. This wide variety of stars allows a thorough study of star formation processes. | heic0108a | Hubble images remarkable double cluster | Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of our neighbouring dwarf galaxies, this young globular-like star cluster is surrounded by a pattern of filamentary nebulosity that is thought to have been created during supernova blasts. It consists of a main globular cluster in the centre and a younger, smaller cluster, seen below and to the right, composed of extremely hot, blue stars and fainter, red T-Tauri stars. This wide variety of stars allows a thorough study of star formation processes. | ESA, NASA and Martino Romaniello (European Southern Observatory, Germany) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0108a/ | heic0108a | Local Universe : Star : Grouping : Cluster | 10 July 2001, 15:00 | heic0108 | 2210 x 1546 px | NGC 1850 | 180000 light years | Dorado | NebulaeStar Clusters | 5 8 46.94 | -68° 45' 49.51" | 1.83 x 1.27 arcminutes | North is 47.9° right of vertical | 2,210 | 1,546 | 10,249,980 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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The Red Spider Nebula: surfing in Sagittarius - not for the faint-hearted!: Huge waves are sculpted in this two-lobed nebula some 3000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. This warm planetary nebula harbours one of the hottest stars known and its powerful stellar winds generate waves 100 billion kilometres high. The waves are caused by supersonic shocks, formed when the local gas is compressed and heated in front of the rapidly expanding lobes. The atoms caught in the shock emit the spectacular radiation seen in this image. | heic0109a | The Red Spider Nebula: surfing in Sagittarius - not for the faint-hearted! | Huge waves are sculpted in this two-lobed nebula some 3000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. This warm planetary nebula harbours one of the hottest stars known and its powerful stellar winds generate waves 100 billion kilometres high. The waves are caused by supersonic shocks, formed when the local gas is compressed and heated in front of the rapidly expanding lobes. The atoms caught in the shock emit the spectacular radiation seen in this image. | ESA & Garrelt Mellema (Leiden University, the Netherlands) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0109a/ | heic0109a | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary | 24 July 2001, 15:00 | heic0109 | 3206 x 1785 px | NGC 6537, Red Spider Nebula | 6000 light years | Sagittarius | Nebulae | 18 5 13.39 | -19° 50' 32.56" | 2.18 x 1.21 arcminutes | North is 50.1° left of vertical | 3,206 | 1,785 | 17,168,130 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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2001 KX76 - the record-breaking asteroid observed with Astrovirtel: This image is a colour composite image, based on three exposures with the Wide Field Imager (WFI) at the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at the La Silla Observatory. The exposures were made through V, R and I-band filters. On the image another (closer) asteroid reveals itself - the coloured dots to the left reveal that this object moved between the three exposures. | heic0110a | 2001 KX76 - the record-breaking asteroid observed with Astrovirtel | This image is a colour composite image, based on three exposures with the Wide Field Imager (WFI) at the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at the La Silla Observatory. The exposures were made through V, R and I-band filters. On the image another (closer) asteroid reveals itself - the coloured dots to the left reveal that this object moved between the three exposures. | ESA, ESO, Astrovirtel & Gerhard Hahn (German Aerospace Center, DLR) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0110a/ | heic0110a | Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Asteroid | 23 August 2001, 15:00 | heic0110 | 1569 x 1211 px | Asteroid 2001 KX76 | null | null | Solar System | null | null | null | null | 1,569 | 1,211 | 5,700,177 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble reveals previously unseen shocks: This new, detailed, Hubble image shows a planetary nebula in the making of a proto-planetary nebula. A dying star (hidden behind dust and gas in the centre of the nebula) has ejected massive amounts of gas. Parts of the gas have reached tremendous velocities of up to one-and-a-half million kilometres per hour. Shown in blue is light from hydrogen and ionised nitrogen arising from supersonic shocks where the gas stream rams into the surrounding material. The image shows for the first time these complex gas structures which are predicted by theory. The Hubble image was taken shortly before Christmas 2000 with the WFPC2 instrument (Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2) in four different filters. Here, light from 791 nm is displayed in red (exposure time 900 s), 675 nm in green (900 s), while combined light from hydrogen (656 nm) and ionised nitrogen atoms (658 nm) are shown as blue (14, 700 s). | heic0111a | Hubble reveals previously unseen shocks | This new, detailed, Hubble image shows a planetary nebula in the making of a proto-planetary nebula. A dying star (hidden behind dust and gas in the centre of the nebula) has ejected massive amounts of gas. Parts of the gas have reached tremendous velocities of up to one-and-a-half million kilometres per hour. Shown in blue is light from hydrogen and ionised nitrogen arising from supersonic shocks where the gas stream rams into the surrounding material. The image shows for the first time these complex gas structures which are predicted by theory. The Hubble image was taken shortly before Christmas 2000 with the WFPC2 instrument (Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2) in four different filters. Here, light from 791 nm is displayed in red (exposure time 900 s), 675 nm in green (900 s), while combined light from hydrogen (656 nm) and ionised nitrogen atoms (658 nm) are shown as blue (14, 700 s). | ESA & Valentin Bujarrabal (Observatorio Astronomico Nacional, Spain) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0111a/ | heic0111a | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary | 24 August 2001, 15:00 | heic0111 | 843 x 794 px | Calabash Nebula, OH 231.8+4.2 | 4500 light years | Puppis | Nebulae | 7 42 16.37 | -14° 42' 55.46" | 1.40 x 1.32 arcminutes | North is 95.8° left of vertical | 843 | 794 | 2,008,026 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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The Calabash Nebula and its surroundings (ground-based image): This image is from the Digitized Sky Survey II and shows half a degree of sky centred on the Calabash Nebula (indicated by the circle) also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula. The nebula is lying in the star cluster Messier 46 - seen in the lower right corner of the image. The astronomers are investigating if the Calabash Nebula may be interacting with the stars in the cluster. Also seen in the image is another planetary nebula (which appears as a dense white circle to the lower right of the Calabash Nebula). This nebula is unrelated to the Calabash Nebula. | heic0111b | The Calabash Nebula and its surroundings (ground-based image) | This image is from the Digitized Sky Survey II and shows half a degree of sky centred on the Calabash Nebula (indicated by the circle) also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula. The nebula is lying in the star cluster Messier 46 - seen in the lower right corner of the image. The astronomers are investigating if the Calabash Nebula may be interacting with the stars in the cluster. Also seen in the image is another planetary nebula (which appears as a dense white circle to the lower right of the Calabash Nebula). This nebula is unrelated to the Calabash Nebula. | ESA, Valentin Bujarrabal (Observatorio Astronomico Nacional, Spain) and Digitized Sky Survey. | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0111b/ | heic0111b | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : OpenMilky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary | 24 August 2001, 15:00 | heic0111 | 1782 x 1786 px | Calabash Nebula, Messier 46, NGC 2437, OH 231.8+4.2 | 4500 light years | null | Nebulae | null | null | null | null | 1,782 | 1,786 | 9,547,956 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble and Keck discover galaxy building block: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a newly discovered very small, faint galaxy 'building block' found via a unique collaboration between ground- and space-based telescopes. Hubble and the 10 metre Keck Telescopes in Hawaii joined forces using a galaxy cluster which acts as a gravitational lens to detect what scientists believe is one of the smallest and most distant objects ever found. The galaxy cluster Abell 2218 was used by a team of European and American astronomers led by Richard Ellis (Caltech, USA) in their systematic search for intrinsically faint distant star-forming systems. Without the help from this cluster's magnifying power (it magnifies by around 30 times) the galaxy building block would have been undetectable with present facilities. In the image to the right, the object is seen distorted into two nearly identical, very red 'images' by the gravitational lens. The image pair represents the magnified result of a single background object gravitationally lensed by Abell 2218 and viewed at a distance of 13.4 billion light-years. The intriguing object contains only one million stars, far fewer than a mature galaxy, and Ellis and co-workers believe it is very young. Such young star-forming systems of low mass at early cosmic times are likely to be the objects from which the mature galaxies around us today have formed. In the image to the left, the full overview of the galaxy cluster Abell 2218 is seen. This image was taken by Hubble in 1999 during the Early Release Observations made immediately after the Hubble Servicing Mission 3A. | heic0113a | Hubble and Keck discover galaxy building block | This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a newly discovered very small, faint galaxy 'building block' found via a unique collaboration between ground- and space-based telescopes. Hubble and the 10 metre Keck Telescopes in Hawaii joined forces using a galaxy cluster which acts as a gravitational lens to detect what scientists believe is one of the smallest and most distant objects ever found. The galaxy cluster Abell 2218 was used by a team of European and American astronomers led by Richard Ellis (Caltech, USA) in their systematic search for intrinsically faint distant star-forming systems. Without the help from this cluster's magnifying power (it magnifies by around 30 times) the galaxy building block would have been undetectable with present facilities. In the image to the right, the object is seen distorted into two nearly identical, very red 'images' by the gravitational lens. The image pair represents the magnified result of a single background object gravitationally lensed by Abell 2218 and viewed at a distance of 13.4 billion light-years. The intriguing object contains only one million stars, far fewer than a mature galaxy, and Ellis and co-workers believe it is very young. Such young star-forming systems of low mass at early cosmic times are likely to be the objects from which the mature galaxies around us today have formed. In the image to the left, the full overview of the galaxy cluster Abell 2218 is seen. This image was taken by Hubble in 1999 during the Early Release Observations made immediately after the Hubble Servicing Mission 3A. | ESA, NASA, Richard Ellis (Caltech, USA) and Jean-Paul Kneib (Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, France) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0113a/ | heic0113a | Early Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster | 5 October 2001, 15:00 | heic0113 | 3507 x 2120 px | Abell 2218 | z=0.17 (redshift) | null | Galaxies | null | null | null | null | 3,507 | 2,120 | 22,304,520 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble and Keck's newly discovered galaxy 'building block': This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a newly discovered very small, faint galaxy 'building block' found via a unique collaboration between ground- and space-based telescopes. Hubble and the 10 metre Keck Telescopes in Hawaii joined forces using a galaxy cluster which acts as a gravitational lens to detect what scientists believe is one of the smallest and most distant objects ever found. The galaxy cluster Abell 2218 was used by a team of European and American astronomers led by Richard Ellis (Caltech, USA) in their systematic search for intrinsically faint distant star-forming systems. Without the help from this cluster's magnifying power (it magnifies by around 30 times) the galaxy building block would have been undetectable with present facilities. The object is seen distorted into two nearly identical, very red 'images' by the gravitational lens. The image pair represents the magnified result of a single background object gravitationally lensed by Abell 2218 and viewed at a distance of 13.4 billion light-years. The intriguing object contains only one million stars, far fewer than a mature galaxy, and Ellis and co-workers believe it is very young. Such young star-forming systems of low mass at early cosmic times are likely to be the objects from which the mature galaxies around us today have formed. | heic0113b | Hubble and Keck's newly discovered galaxy 'building block' | This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a newly discovered very small, faint galaxy 'building block' found via a unique collaboration between ground- and space-based telescopes. Hubble and the 10 metre Keck Telescopes in Hawaii joined forces using a galaxy cluster which acts as a gravitational lens to detect what scientists believe is one of the smallest and most distant objects ever found. The galaxy cluster Abell 2218 was used by a team of European and American astronomers led by Richard Ellis (Caltech, USA) in their systematic search for intrinsically faint distant star-forming systems. Without the help from this cluster's magnifying power (it magnifies by around 30 times) the galaxy building block would have been undetectable with present facilities. The object is seen distorted into two nearly identical, very red 'images' by the gravitational lens. The image pair represents the magnified result of a single background object gravitationally lensed by Abell 2218 and viewed at a distance of 13.4 billion light-years. The intriguing object contains only one million stars, far fewer than a mature galaxy, and Ellis and co-workers believe it is very young. Such young star-forming systems of low mass at early cosmic times are likely to be the objects from which the mature galaxies around us today have formed. | ESA, NASA, Richard Ellis (Caltech, USA) and Jean-Paul Kneib (Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, France) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0113b/ | heic0113b | Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Gravitationally LensedEarly Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster | 5 October 2001, 15:00 | heic0113 | 1216 x 1212 px | Abell 2218 | z=0.17 (redshift) | null | Galaxies | null | null | null | null | 1,216 | 1,212 | 4,421,376 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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The galaxy cluster Abell 2218: This image shows the full overview of the galaxy cluster Abell 2218 and its gravitational lenses. This image was taken by Hubble in 1999 during the Early Release Observations made immediately after the Hubble Servicing Mission 3A. | heic0113c | The galaxy cluster Abell 2218 | This image shows the full overview of the galaxy cluster Abell 2218 and its gravitational lenses. This image was taken by Hubble in 1999 during the Early Release Observations made immediately after the Hubble Servicing Mission 3A. | NASA, ESA, A. Fruchter and the ERO Team (STScI, ST-ECF ) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0113c/ | heic0113c | Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Gravitationally LensedEarly Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster | 5 October 2001, 15:00 | heic0113 | 3109 x 1587 px | Abell 2218 | z=0.17 (redshift) | Draco | Galaxies | 16 35 53.45 | 66° 12' 26.49" | 2.58 x 1.32 arcminutes | North is 160.4° left of vertical | 3,109 | 1,587 | 14,801,949 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Nebula NGC 2080, nicknamed the 'Ghost Head Nebula': The 'Ghost Head Nebula' is one of a chain of star-forming regions lying south of the 30 Doradus nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Two bright regions (the 'eyes of the ghost'), named A1 (left) and A2 (right), are very hot, glowing 'blobs' of hydrogen and oxygen. The bubble in A1 is produced by the hot, intense radiation and powerful stellar wind from a single massive star. A2 has a more complex appearance due to the presence of more dust, and it contains several hidden, massive stars. The massive stars in A1 and A2 must have formed within the last 10 000 years since their natal gas shrouds are not yet disrupted by the powerful radiation of the newly born stars. | heic0114a | Nebula NGC 2080, nicknamed the 'Ghost Head Nebula' | The 'Ghost Head Nebula' is one of a chain of star-forming regions lying south of the 30 Doradus nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Two bright regions (the 'eyes of the ghost'), named A1 (left) and A2 (right), are very hot, glowing 'blobs' of hydrogen and oxygen. The bubble in A1 is produced by the hot, intense radiation and powerful stellar wind from a single massive star. A2 has a more complex appearance due to the presence of more dust, and it contains several hidden, massive stars. The massive stars in A1 and A2 must have formed within the last 10 000 years since their natal gas shrouds are not yet disrupted by the powerful radiation of the newly born stars. | ESA, NASA, & Mohammad Heydari-Malayeri (Observatoire de Paris, France) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0114a/ | heic0114a | Local Universe : Nebula : Type : Star Formation | 18 October 2001, 15:00 | heic0114 | 1348 x 1348 px | Ghost Head Nebula, NGC 2080 | 170000 light years | Dorado | Nebulae | 5 39 43.45 | -69° 38' 44.39" | 1.12 x 1.12 arcminutes | North is 147.0° right of vertical | 1,348 | 1,348 | 5,451,312 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Artist's impression of millisecond pulsar and companion: The artist's impression shows the pulsar (seen in blue with two radiation beams) and its bloated red companion star in the globular cluster NGC 6397. Scientists believe that the best explanation for seeing a bloated red star instead of a 'quiet' white dwarf in the system is that the pulsar only recently has been spun up to its current rotation speed of 274 times per second by the gases transferred by the red star. It is the first time such a system has been observed. | heic0201b | Artist's impression of millisecond pulsar and companion | The artist's impression shows the pulsar (seen in blue with two radiation beams) and its bloated red companion star in the globular cluster NGC 6397. Scientists believe that the best explanation for seeing a bloated red star instead of a 'quiet' white dwarf in the system is that the pulsar only recently has been spun up to its current rotation speed of 274 times per second by the gases transferred by the red star. It is the first time such a system has been observed. | European Space Agency & Francesco Ferraro (Bologna Astronomical Observatory) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0201b/ | heic0201b | Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Neutron Star : PulsarMilky Way : Star : Grouping : Binary | 13 February 2002, 15:00 | heic0201 | 2560 x 2048 px | PSR J1740-5340 | 7000 light years | null | Stars | null | null | null | null | 2,560 | 2,048 | 15,728,640 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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The globular cluster NGC 6397: This ESA/NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 image shows the globular cluster NGC 6397 in the constellation Ara (the Altar). It is composed of six exposures through different filters: violet/indigo (Strvmgren u, 345 nm, 15080 seconds), blue (B, 418 nm, 8580 seconds), dark green (V, 515 nm, 978 seconds), light green (H-alpha, 656 nm, 24180 seconds), red-orange (R, 678 nm, 1538 seconds), and red (I, 839 nm, 978 seconds). The cluster is home to a highly unusual system consisting of a fast spinning pulsar and a bloated red companion star. | heic0201c | The globular cluster NGC 6397 | This ESA/NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 image shows the globular cluster NGC 6397 in the constellation Ara (the Altar). It is composed of six exposures through different filters: violet/indigo (Strvmgren u, 345 nm, 15080 seconds), blue (B, 418 nm, 8580 seconds), dark green (V, 515 nm, 978 seconds), light green (H-alpha, 656 nm, 24180 seconds), red-orange (R, 678 nm, 1538 seconds), and red (I, 839 nm, 978 seconds). The cluster is home to a highly unusual system consisting of a fast spinning pulsar and a bloated red companion star. | European Space Agency & Francesco Ferraro (Bologna Astronomical Observatory) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0201c/ | heic0201c | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular | 13 February 2002, 15:00 | heic0201 | 1416 x 1493 px | NGC 6397 | 7000 light years | Ara | Star Clusters | 17 40 44.94 | -53° 40' 19.45" | 2.35 x 2.48 arcminutes | North is 138.0° left of vertical | 1,416 | 1,493 | 6,342,264 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hyperactive galaxy NGC 7673: The galaxy NGC 7673 is located in the constellation of Pegasus at an approximate distance of 150 million light-years. This picture is composed of three images obtained with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on 15 October 1996 and 11 October 1997. The three images were taken through a red filter (800 seconds), a green filter (1200 seconds) and an ultraviolet filter (2300 seconds) - shown in blue. Telltale patches of blue light are signs of the formation of millions of new stars in the tangled spiral galaxy NGC 7673. Each of the bluish areas in this image consists of immense star clusters containing thousands of young stars. These clusters lie on the spiral arms of NGC 7673 and so emphasise its somewhat ragged look. this image, taken form Earth orbit by the ESA/NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 1996 and 1997, also shows two other galaxies seen in the background of the image, to the left and right of NGC 7673. these galaxies are further away and so appear redder, due to their higher redshift, an effect caused by the expansion of the Universe. The youngest blue stars in NGC 7673 are blazing with intense ultraviolet radiation. Each star cluster radiates 100 times more ultraviolet light than the famous Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus), the largest star-forming region known in the local group of galaxies. | heic0205a | Hyperactive galaxy NGC 7673 | The galaxy NGC 7673 is located in the constellation of Pegasus at an approximate distance of 150 million light-years. This picture is composed of three images obtained with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on 15 October 1996 and 11 October 1997. The three images were taken through a red filter (800 seconds), a green filter (1200 seconds) and an ultraviolet filter (2300 seconds) - shown in blue. Telltale patches of blue light are signs of the formation of millions of new stars in the tangled spiral galaxy NGC 7673. Each of the bluish areas in this image consists of immense star clusters containing thousands of young stars. These clusters lie on the spiral arms of NGC 7673 and so emphasise its somewhat ragged look. this image, taken form Earth orbit by the ESA/NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 1996 and 1997, also shows two other galaxies seen in the background of the image, to the left and right of NGC 7673. these galaxies are further away and so appear redder, due to their higher redshift, an effect caused by the expansion of the Universe. The youngest blue stars in NGC 7673 are blazing with intense ultraviolet radiation. Each star cluster radiates 100 times more ultraviolet light than the famous Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus), the largest star-forming region known in the local group of galaxies. | European Space Agency & Nicole Homeier (European Southern Observatory and University of Wisconsin-Madison) | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0205a/ | heic0205a | Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral | 25 March 2002, 15:00 | heic0205 | 1594 x 1248 px | IRAS F23251+2318, NGC 7673 | 150 million light years | Pegasus | Galaxies | 23 27 41.19 | 23° 35' 27.05" | 1.32 x 1.04 arcminutes | North is 67.7° right of vertical | 1,594 | 1,248 | 5,967,936 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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A 'wallpaper' of distant galaxies is a stunning backdrop for a runaway galaxy: Against a stunning backdrop of thousands of galaxies, this odd-looking galaxy with the long streamer of stars appears to be racing through space, like a runaway pinwheel firework. This picture of the galaxy UGC 10214 was taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which was installed aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in March during Servicing Mission 3B. Dubbed the 'Tadpole', this spiral galaxy is unlike the textbook images of stately galaxies. Its distorted shape was caused by a small interloper, a very blue, compact, galaxy visible in the upper left corner of the more massive Tadpole. The Tadpole resides about 420 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. Seen shining through the Tadpole's disc, the tiny intruder is likely a hit and run galaxy that is now leaving the scene of the accident. Strong gravitational forces from the interaction created the long tail of stars and gas stretching out more than 280 000 light-years. Numerous young blue stars and star clusters, spawned by the galaxy collision, are seen in the spiral arms, as well as in the long 'tidal' tail of stars. Each of these clusters represents the formation of up to about a million stars. Their colour is blue because they contain very massive stars, which are 10 times hotter and 1 million times brighter than our Sun. Once formed, the star clusters become redder with age as the most massive and bluest stars exhaust their fuel and burn out. These clusters will eventually become old globular clusters similar to those found in essentially all halos of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. Two prominent clumps of young bright blue stars are visible in the tidal tale and separated by a gap. These clumps of stars will likely become dwarf galaxies that orbit in the Tadpole's halo. Behind the galactic carnage and torrent of star birth is another compelling picture: a 'wallpaper pattern' of about 3000 faint galaxies. These galaxies represent twice the number of those found in the legendary Hubble Deep Field, the orbiting observatory's 'deepest' view of the heavens, taken in 1995 by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The galaxies in the ACS picture, like those in the Hubble Deep Field, stretch back to nearly the beginning of time. They are a myriad of shapes and represent fossil samples of the Universe's 13-billion-year evolution. The ACS picture was taken in one-twelfth the time it took to observe the Hubble Deep Field. In blue light, ACS discovered even fainter objects than those in the 'deep field'. The camera's vision is so sharp that astronomers can identify distant colliding galaxies, the 'building blocks' of galaxies, an exquisite 'Whitman's Sampler' of normal galaxies, and presumably extremely faraway galaxies. ACS made this observation on 1 and 9 April 2002. The colour image is constructed from three separate images taken in near-infrared, orange, and blue filters. Image credit: NASA, the ACS Science Team (H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff) and ESA | heic0206a | A 'wallpaper' of distant galaxies is a stunning backdrop for a runaway galaxy | Against a stunning backdrop of thousands of galaxies, this odd-looking galaxy with the long streamer of stars appears to be racing through space, like a runaway pinwheel firework. This picture of the galaxy UGC 10214 was taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which was installed aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in March during Servicing Mission 3B. Dubbed the 'Tadpole', this spiral galaxy is unlike the textbook images of stately galaxies. Its distorted shape was caused by a small interloper, a very blue, compact, galaxy visible in the upper left corner of the more massive Tadpole. The Tadpole resides about 420 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. Seen shining through the Tadpole's disc, the tiny intruder is likely a hit and run galaxy that is now leaving the scene of the accident. Strong gravitational forces from the interaction created the long tail of stars and gas stretching out more than 280 000 light-years. Numerous young blue stars and star clusters, spawned by the galaxy collision, are seen in the spiral arms, as well as in the long 'tidal' tail of stars. Each of these clusters represents the formation of up to about a million stars. Their colour is blue because they contain very massive stars, which are 10 times hotter and 1 million times brighter than our Sun. Once formed, the star clusters become redder with age as the most massive and bluest stars exhaust their fuel and burn out. These clusters will eventually become old globular clusters similar to those found in essentially all halos of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. Two prominent clumps of young bright blue stars are visible in the tidal tale and separated by a gap. These clumps of stars will likely become dwarf galaxies that orbit in the Tadpole's halo. Behind the galactic carnage and torrent of star birth is another compelling picture: a 'wallpaper pattern' of about 3000 faint galaxies. These galaxies represent twice the number of those found in the legendary Hubble Deep Field, the orbiting observatory's 'deepest' view of the heavens, taken in 1995 by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The galaxies in the ACS picture, like those in the Hubble Deep Field, stretch back to nearly the beginning of time. They are a myriad of shapes and represent fossil samples of the Universe's 13-billion-year evolution. The ACS picture was taken in one-twelfth the time it took to observe the Hubble Deep Field. In blue light, ACS discovered even fainter objects than those in the 'deep field'. The camera's vision is so sharp that astronomers can identify distant colliding galaxies, the 'building blocks' of galaxies, an exquisite 'Whitman's Sampler' of normal galaxies, and presumably extremely faraway galaxies. ACS made this observation on 1 and 9 April 2002. The colour image is constructed from three separate images taken in near-infrared, orange, and blue filters. Image credit: NASA, the ACS Science Team (H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff) and ESA | NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0206a/ | heic0206a | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 30 April 2002, 15:00 | heic0206 | 4360 x 3798 px | Arp 188, Tadpole Galaxy, UGC 10214 | 400 million light years | Draco | Galaxies | 16 6 11.89 | 55° 25' 51.61" | 3.61 x 3.15 arcminutes | North is 144.7° left of vertical | 4,360 | 3,798 | 49,677,840 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble's newest camera takes a deep look at two merging galaxies: Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), the newest camera on NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, has captured a spectacular pair of galaxies engaged in a celestial dance of cat and mouse or, in this case, mouse and mouse. Located 300 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices, the colliding galaxies have been nicknamed "The Mice" because of the long tails of stars and gas emanating from each galaxy. Otherwise known as NGC 4676, the pair will eventually merge into a single giant galaxy. | heic0206b | Hubble's newest camera takes a deep look at two merging galaxies | Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), the newest camera on NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, has captured a spectacular pair of galaxies engaged in a celestial dance of cat and mouse or, in this case, mouse and mouse. Located 300 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices, the colliding galaxies have been nicknamed "The Mice" because of the long tails of stars and gas emanating from each galaxy. Otherwise known as NGC 4676, the pair will eventually merge into a single giant galaxy. | NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0206b/ | heic0206b | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting | 30 April 2002, 15:00 | heic0206 | 3857 x 2893 px | Mice Galaxies, NGC 4676 | 300 million light years | Coma Berenices | Galaxies | 12 46 10.40 | 30° 43' 38.77" | 3.21 x 2.41 arcminutes | North is 64.6° right of vertical | 3,857 | 2,893 | 33,474,903 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble's newest camera images ghostly star-forming pillar of gas and dust: Resembling a nightmarish beast rearing its head from a crimson sea, this celestial object is actually just a pillar of gas and dust. Called the Cone Nebula (in NGC 2264) - so named because in ground-based images it has a conical shape - this monstrous pillar resides in a turbulent star-forming region. This picture, taken by the newly installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the upper 2.5 light-years of the Cone, a height that equals 23 million roundtrips to the Moon. The entire pillar is seven light-years long. Radiation from hot, young stars (located beyond the top of the image) has slowly eroded the nebula over millions of years. Ultraviolet light heats the edges of the dark cloud, releasing gas into the relatively empty region of surrounding space. There, additional ultraviolet radiation causes the hydrogen gas to glow, which produces the red halo of light seen around the pillar. A similar process occurs on a much smaller scale to gas surrounding a single star, forming the bow-shaped arc seen near the upper left side of the Cone. This arc, seen previously with the Hubble telescope, is 65 times larger than the diameter of our Solar System. The blue-white light from surrounding stars is reflected by dust. Background stars can be seen peeking through the evaporating tendrils of gas, while the turbulent base is pockmarked with stars reddened by dust. Over time, only the densest regions of the Cone will be left. But inside these regions, stars and planets may form. The Cone Nebula resides 2500 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros. The Cone is a cousin of the M16 pillars, which the Hubble telescope imaged in 1995. Consisting mainly of cold gas, the pillars in both regions resist being eroded away by the blistering ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars. Pillars like the Cone and M16 are common in large regions of star birth. Astronomers believe that these pillars may be incubators for developing stars. The ACS made this observation on 2 April 2002. The colour image is constructed from three separate images taken in blue, near-infrared, and hydrogen-alpha filters. Image credit: NASA, the ACS Science Team (H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff) and ESA | heic0206c | Hubble's newest camera images ghostly star-forming pillar of gas and dust | Resembling a nightmarish beast rearing its head from a crimson sea, this celestial object is actually just a pillar of gas and dust. Called the Cone Nebula (in NGC 2264) - so named because in ground-based images it has a conical shape - this monstrous pillar resides in a turbulent star-forming region. This picture, taken by the newly installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the upper 2.5 light-years of the Cone, a height that equals 23 million roundtrips to the Moon. The entire pillar is seven light-years long. Radiation from hot, young stars (located beyond the top of the image) has slowly eroded the nebula over millions of years. Ultraviolet light heats the edges of the dark cloud, releasing gas into the relatively empty region of surrounding space. There, additional ultraviolet radiation causes the hydrogen gas to glow, which produces the red halo of light seen around the pillar. A similar process occurs on a much smaller scale to gas surrounding a single star, forming the bow-shaped arc seen near the upper left side of the Cone. This arc, seen previously with the Hubble telescope, is 65 times larger than the diameter of our Solar System. The blue-white light from surrounding stars is reflected by dust. Background stars can be seen peeking through the evaporating tendrils of gas, while the turbulent base is pockmarked with stars reddened by dust. Over time, only the densest regions of the Cone will be left. But inside these regions, stars and planets may form. The Cone Nebula resides 2500 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros. The Cone is a cousin of the M16 pillars, which the Hubble telescope imaged in 1995. Consisting mainly of cold gas, the pillars in both regions resist being eroded away by the blistering ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars. Pillars like the Cone and M16 are common in large regions of star birth. Astronomers believe that these pillars may be incubators for developing stars. The ACS made this observation on 2 April 2002. The colour image is constructed from three separate images taken in blue, near-infrared, and hydrogen-alpha filters. Image credit: NASA, the ACS Science Team (H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff) and ESA | NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0206c/ | heic0206c | Milky Way : Nebula | 30 April 2002, 15:00 | heic0206 | 4136 x 3102 px | Cone Nebula, NGC 2264 | 3000 light years | Monoceros | Nebulae | 6 41 12.38 | 9° 25' 36.59" | 3.43 x 2.58 arcminutes | North is 4.2° right of vertical | 4,136 | 3,102 | 38,489,616 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Hubble's newest camera eyes hotbed of star formation: A watercolour fantasyland? No. It's actually a photograph of the centre of the Swan Nebula, or M17, a hotbed of newly born stars wrapped in colourful blankets of glowing gas and cradled in an enormous cold, dark hydrogen cloud. This stunning picture was taken by the newly installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The region of the nebula shown in this picture is about 3500 times wider than our Solar System. The area also represents about 60 percent of the total view captured by ACS. The nebula resides 5500 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Like its famous cousin in Orion, the Swan Nebula is illuminated by ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars - each about six times hotter and 30 times more massive than the Sun - located just beyond the upper right corner of the image. The powerful radiation from these stars evaporates and erodes the dense cloud of cold gas within which the stars formed. The blistered walls of the hollow cloud shine primarily in the blue, green, and red light emitted by excited atoms of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. Particularly striking is the rose-like feature, seen to the right of centre, which glows in the red light emitted by hydrogen and sulphur. As the infant stars evaporate the surrounding cloud, they expose dense pockets of gas that may contain developing stars. Because these dense pockets are more resistant to the withering radiation than the surrounding cloud, they appear as sculptures in the walls of the cloud or as isolated islands in a sea of glowing gas. One isolated pocket is seen at the centre of the brightest region of the nebula and is about 10 times larger than our Solar System. Other dense pockets of gas have formed the remarkable feature jutting inward from the left edge of the image, which resembles the famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion. The ACS made this observation on 1 and 2 April 2002. The colour image is constructed from four separate images taken in these filters: blue, near infrared, hydrogen alpha, and doubly ionised oxygen. Image credit: NASA, the ACS Science Team (H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff) and ESA | heic0206d | Hubble's newest camera eyes hotbed of star formation | A watercolour fantasyland? No. It's actually a photograph of the centre of the Swan Nebula, or M17, a hotbed of newly born stars wrapped in colourful blankets of glowing gas and cradled in an enormous cold, dark hydrogen cloud. This stunning picture was taken by the newly installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The region of the nebula shown in this picture is about 3500 times wider than our Solar System. The area also represents about 60 percent of the total view captured by ACS. The nebula resides 5500 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Like its famous cousin in Orion, the Swan Nebula is illuminated by ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars - each about six times hotter and 30 times more massive than the Sun - located just beyond the upper right corner of the image. The powerful radiation from these stars evaporates and erodes the dense cloud of cold gas within which the stars formed. The blistered walls of the hollow cloud shine primarily in the blue, green, and red light emitted by excited atoms of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. Particularly striking is the rose-like feature, seen to the right of centre, which glows in the red light emitted by hydrogen and sulphur. As the infant stars evaporate the surrounding cloud, they expose dense pockets of gas that may contain developing stars. Because these dense pockets are more resistant to the withering radiation than the surrounding cloud, they appear as sculptures in the walls of the cloud or as isolated islands in a sea of glowing gas. One isolated pocket is seen at the centre of the brightest region of the nebula and is about 10 times larger than our Solar System. Other dense pockets of gas have formed the remarkable feature jutting inward from the left edge of the image, which resembles the famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion. The ACS made this observation on 1 and 2 April 2002. The colour image is constructed from four separate images taken in these filters: blue, near infrared, hydrogen alpha, and doubly ionised oxygen. Image credit: NASA, the ACS Science Team (H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff) and ESA | NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0206d/ | heic0206d | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation | 30 April 2002, 15:00 | heic0206 | 3220 x 2415 px | Messier 17, Omega Nebula, Swan Nebula | 5500 light years | Sagittarius | Nebulae | 18 20 37.37 | -16° 9' 3.42" | 2.67 x 2.00 arcminutes | North is 95.6° left of vertical | 3,220 | 2,415 | 23,328,900 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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UGC 10214 (ACS Full Field Image): A colliding galaxy dubbed the "Tadpole" (catalog name UGC10214) is set against a rich tapestry of 6,000 galaxies. The Tadpole, with its long tail of stars, looks like a runaway pinwheel firework, unlike the textbook images of stately spiral galaxies. Its distorted shape was caused by a small interloper, a very blue, compact galaxy visible near the more massive Tadpole. The Tadpole resides about 420 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. Seen shining through the Tadpole's disk, the tiny intruder is likely a hit-and-run galaxy that is now leaving the scene of the accident. Strong gravitational forces from the interaction created the long tail of debris, consisting of stars and gas that stretch out more than 280,000 light-years. | heic0206e | UGC 10214 (ACS Full Field Image) | A colliding galaxy dubbed the "Tadpole" (catalog name UGC10214) is set against a rich tapestry of 6,000 galaxies. The Tadpole, with its long tail of stars, looks like a runaway pinwheel firework, unlike the textbook images of stately spiral galaxies. Its distorted shape was caused by a small interloper, a very blue, compact galaxy visible near the more massive Tadpole. The Tadpole resides about 420 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. Seen shining through the Tadpole's disk, the tiny intruder is likely a hit-and-run galaxy that is now leaving the scene of the accident. Strong gravitational forces from the interaction created the long tail of debris, consisting of stars and gas that stretch out more than 280,000 light-years. | NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESAThe ACS Science Team: H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff. | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0206e/ | heic0206e | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred | 30 April 2002, 15:00 | heic2202, heic0206 | 4678 x 5062 px | Tadpole Galaxy, UGC 10214 | 400 million light years | Draco | Galaxies | 16 6 12.08 | 55° 25' 54.39" | 3.88 x 4.19 arcminutes | North is 142.0° left of vertical | 4,678 | 5,062 | 71,040,108 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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Cone Nebula/NGC 2264 (ACS Full Field Image): Resembling a nightmarish beast rearing its head from a crimson sea, this monstrous object is actually an innocuous pillar of gas and dust. Called the Cone Nebula (and cataloged NGC 2264) is so named because, in ground-based images, it has a conical shape. This giant pillar resides in a turbulent star-forming region. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope imaged the "Cone Nebula," a nebula close to home. It exhibits a craggy-looking mountaintop of cold gas and dust that is a cousin to Hubble's iconic "pillars of creation" in the Eagle Nebula, photographed in 1995. | heic0206f | Cone Nebula/NGC 2264 (ACS Full Field Image) | Resembling a nightmarish beast rearing its head from a crimson sea, this monstrous object is actually an innocuous pillar of gas and dust. Called the Cone Nebula (and cataloged NGC 2264) is so named because, in ground-based images, it has a conical shape. This giant pillar resides in a turbulent star-forming region. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope imaged the "Cone Nebula," a nebula close to home. It exhibits a craggy-looking mountaintop of cold gas and dust that is a cousin to Hubble's iconic "pillars of creation" in the Eagle Nebula, photographed in 1995. | NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESAThe ACS Science Team: H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff. | https://esahubble.org/images/heic0206f/ | heic0206f | Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region | 30 April 2002, 15:00 | heic0206 | 4427 x 4257 px | Cone Nebula, NGC 2264 | 3000 light years | Monoceros | Nebulae | 6 41 12.18 | 9° 25' 14.07" | 3.68 x 3.54 arcminutes | North is 4.7° right of vertical | 4,427 | 4,257 | 56,537,217 | 0 | 0 | false | null | null |
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