Wide-field image showing the region of M81 and M82 (ground-based image): The spiral galaxy M81 and the neighbor galaxy M82 as seen in ground-based images from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The image is a colour composite from DSS2 images. The field of view is 2.8 degrees.

Name: Galaxies
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Ursa Major
Release date: 28 May 2007, 21:30
Credit: ESA/Hubble and Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgements: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)

Wide-field image of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (ground-based image): Wide-field image showing the Ursa Major constellation on lower right.

Name: Messier 81, Ursa Major
Type: Milky Way : Sky Phenomenon : Night Sky : ConstellationLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral
Category: Galaxies
Distance: 12 million light years
Release date: 28 May 2007, 21:30
Credit: A. Fujii

Stellar fireworks are ablaze in galaxy NGC 4449: Hundreds of thousands of vibrant blue and red stars are visible in this new image of galaxy NGC 4449 taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Hot bluish white clusters of massive stars are scattered throughout the galaxy, interspersed with numerous dustier reddish regions of current star formation. Massive dark clouds of gas and dust are silhouetted against the flaming starlight.

Name: NGC 4449
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Size : Dwarf
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Distance: 12 million light years
Release date: 3 July 2007, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), and The Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Uncovering the Veil Nebula: This image shows a small portion of the Veil Nebula - the shattered remains of a supernova that exploded some 5-10,000 years ago. The intertwined rope-like filaments of gas result from the enormous amounts of energy released as the fast-moving debris from the explosion ploughs into its surroundings and creates shock fronts. These shocks, driven by debris moving at 600,000 kilometres per hour, heat the gas to millions of degrees. It is the subsequent cooling of this material that produces the brilliantly coloured glows. This portion of the Veil Nebula is located in a magnificent part of the Veil known as the Witch's Broom Nebula to the east (to the right in the overview image). The entire structure spans about 3 degrees, corresponding to about 6 full moons. The bright blue star - dubbed 52 Cygni and unrelated to the supernova explosion - can be observed with the naked eye on a clear summer's night. The image was taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The colour is produced by composite of three different images. The different colours indicate emission from different kinds of atoms excited by the shock: blue shows oxygen, green shows sulphur, and red shows hydrogen.

Name: Cygnus Loop, NGC 6960, Veil Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Cygnus
Distance: 1500 light years
Release date: 31 July 2007, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgment: J. Hester (Arizona State University)

Uncovering the Veil Nebula: This image is a stunning close-up of the Veil Nebula - the shattered remains of a supernova that exploded some 5-10,000 years ago. The image provides a beautiful view of the delicate, wispy structure resulting from this cosmic explosion. Also known as Cygnus Loop, the Veil Nebula is located in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan, and is about 1,500 light-years away from Earth. This small portion of the Veil Nebula is located in the larger segment seen in its western part (the top left corner of the large ground-based overview image). The entire structure spans about 3 degrees, corresponding to about 6 full moons. The image was taken with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). The colour is produced by composite of three different images. The different colours indicate emission from different kinds of atoms excited by the shock: blue shows oxygen, green shows sulphur, and red shows hydrogen.

Name: Cygnus Loop, NGC 6960, Veil Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Cygnus
Distance: 1500 light years
Release date: 31 July 2007, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgment: J. Hester (Arizona State University)

Uncovering the Veil Nebula: This image shows a beautiful portion of the Veil Nebula - the shattered remains of a supernova that exploded some 5-10,000 years ago. The intertwined rope-like filaments of gas result from the enormous amounts of energy released as the fast-moving debris from the explosion ploughs into its surroundings and creates shock fronts. The image displays two characteristic features: sharp filaments and diffuse emission. These correspond to two different viewing geometries: sharp filaments correspond to an edge-on view of a shock front, and diffuse emission corresponds to a face-on view of it. This image is a small portion of the Veil located in the western part of the Veil (to the left in the overview image). The entire structure spans about 3 degrees, corresponding to about 6 full moons. The image was taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The colour is produced by composite of three different images. The different colours indicate emission from different kinds of atoms excited by the shock: blue shows oxygen, green shows sulphur, and red shows hydrogen.

Name: Cygnus Loop, NGC 6960, Veil Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Cygnus
Distance: 1500 light years
Release date: 31 July 2007, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgment: J. Hester (Arizona State University)

Wide-field ground-based astrophoto of the Veil Nebula, annotated: A wide-field image of the Veil Nebula, taken on the ground by the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The field of view is 4.2 x 4.4 degrees. The three areas imaged with Hubble are marked.

Name: Cygnus Loop, NGC 6960, Veil Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Nebulae
Distance: 1500 light years
Release date: 31 July 2007, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration,  and the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: J. Hester (Arizona State University)   and Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)

Uncovering the Veil Nebula: This image shows a small portion of the Veil Nebula known as the Witch's Broom Nebula. The highlighted portion is an image taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The colour is produced by composite of three different images. The different colours indicate emission from different kinds of atoms excited by the shock: blue shows oxygen, green shows sulphur, and red shows hydrogen.

Name: Cygnus Loop, NGC 6960, Veil Nebula
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Supernova Remnant
Category: Nebulae
Distance: 1500 light years
Release date: 31 July 2007, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: J. Hester (Arizona State University)   and Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)