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.

Name: ESO 184-82, GRB 980425, SN 1998bw
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Gamma Ray BurstLocal Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Supernova
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Telescopium
Distance: 120 million light years
Release date: 27 June 2000, 15:00
Credit: ESA, Stephen Holland (Danish Centre for Astrophysics with the HST), Jens Hjorth, Johan Fynbo (University of Copenhagen)

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.

Name: CRL 618, Westbrook Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Auriga
Distance: 3000 light years
Release date: 31 August 2000, 15:00
Credit: ESA & A.G.G.M. Tielens (SRON/Kapteyn Astronomical Institute)

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.

Name: Abell 1835, J1/J2, SMM J14011+0252
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : StarburstEarly Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Virgo
Distance: z=2.565 (redshift)
Release date: 6 September 2000, 15:00
Credit: ESA & Jean-Paul Kneib (Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées)

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.

Name: Cygnus Loop, Veil Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Distance: 1500 light years
Release date: 10 October 2000, 15:00
Credit: ESA & Digitized Sky Survey (Caltech)

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.

Name: Cygnus Loop, Veil Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Cygnus
Distance: 1500 light years
Release date: 10 October 2000, 15:00
Credit: ESA & Digitized Sky Survey (Caltech)

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.

Name: Cygnus Loop, Veil Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Cygnus
Distance: 1500 light years
Release date: 10 October 2000, 15:00
Credit: ESA & Digitized Sky Survey (Caltech)

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.

Name: Stephan's Quintet
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Cluster
Category: Galaxies
Distance: 300 million light years
Release date: 25 October 2000, 15:00
Credit: ESA & NOAO