Galaxy Cluster Abell 1689 Details: The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has here used a natural "zoom lens" in space to peer straight through the center of one of the most massive galaxy clusters known, called Abell 1689. Some of the faintest objects in this picture are probably more than 13 billion light-years away.

Name: Abell 1689
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Supercluster
Category: Galaxies
Constellation: Virgo
Distance: z=0.183 (redshift)
Release date: 7 January 2003, 18:20
Credit: NASA, N. Benitez (JHU), T. Broadhurst (The Hebrew University), H. Ford (JHU), M. Clampin(STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), G. Illingworth (UCO/Lick Observatory), the ACS Science Team and ESA

HD141569 circumstellar disk: The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's  Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) has given astronomers their clearest view yet of the dust disk around a young, 5-million-year-old star. Such disks are expected to be the birthplace of planets. The star, called HD 141569A, lies 320 light-years away in the constellation Libra and appears to be a member of a triple-star system. The image portrays the system if astronomers could view it from above.

Name: HD 141569A, IRAS 15473-0346
Type: Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Disk
Category: MiscellaneousSolar System
Distance: 300 light years
Release date: 6 January 2003, 19:00
Credit: NASA, M. Clampin (STScI), H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCO/Lick), J. Krist (STScI), D. Ardila (JHU), D. Golimowski (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA

HD141569 Circumstellar Disk: NASA Hubble Space Telescope's new Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) has given astronomers their clearest view yet of the dust disk around a young, 5-million-year-old star. Such disks are expected to be the birthplace of planets. The star, called HD 141569A, lies 320 light-years away in the constellation Libra and appears to be a member of a triple-star system. The image at left shows the star and disk as it appears in space. The system is slightly tilted when viewed from Earth. This photo at portrays the system if astronomers could view it from above.

Name: HD 141569A, IRAS 15473-0346
Type: Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Disk
Category: Stars
Distance: 300 light years
Release date: 6 January 2003, 19:00
Credit: NASA, M. Clampin (STScI), H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth(UCO/Lick), J. Krist (STScI), D. Ardila (JHU), D. Golimowski (JHU) the ACS Science Team and ESA

Quasar 3C 273: The Hubble Space Telescope's new Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) has provided the clearest view yet in visible light of the nearby quasar, 3C 273.

Name: 3C 273, IRAS 12265+0219, QSO B1226+023
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Quasar
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Constellation: Virgo
Distance: z=0.158 (redshift)
Release date: 9 January 2003, 18:19
Credit: NASA, M. Clampin (STScI), H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCO/Lick Observatory), J. Krist (STScI), D. Ardila (JHU), D. Golimowski (JHU), the ACS Science Team, J. Bahcall (IAS) and ESA

Wide View of 0313-192: Giant jets of subatomic particles moving at nearly the speed of light have been found coming from thousands of galaxies across the Universe, but always from elliptical galaxies or galaxies in the process of merging. However, using the combined power of NASA's  Hubble Space Telescope, the Very Large Array (radio observatory) and the 8-meter Gemini-South Telescope, astronomers discovered a huge jet coming from a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way. Composite images show the galaxy, called 0313-192, which is the first spiral galaxy known to be producing a giant radio-emitting jet.

Name: Radio Galaxy 0313-192
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Seyfert
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Constellation: Eridanus
Distance: z=0.067 (redshift)
Release date: 8 January 2003, 18:20
Credit: NASA/ESA, NRAO/AUI/NSF and W. Keel (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)

Good bye dark age: Researchers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope believe they are seeing the conclusion of the cosmic epoch where the young galaxies started to shine in significant numbers. This marks a time when the so-called 'Dark Ages' of the universe was completed, about 13 billion years ago (based on an estimate of 14 billion years for the current age of the universe).

Name: Galaxies
Type: Early Universe : Cosmology : Morphology : Deep Field
Category: Cosmology
Distance: z=6.0 (redshift)
Release date: 9 January 2003, 18:20
Credit: NASA/ESA, H.-J. Yan, R. Windhorst and S. Cohen (Arizona State University)

Close-up of M27, the Dumbbell Nebula: An aging star's last hurrah is creating a flurry of glowing knots of gas that appear to be streaking through space in this close-up image of the Dumbbell Nebula, taken with NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The Dumbbell, a nearby planetary nebula residing more than 1,200 light-years away, is the result of an old star that has shed its outer layers in a glowing display of colour. The nebula, also known as Messier 27 (M27), was the first planetary nebula ever discovered. French astronomer Charles Messier spotted it in 1764.

Name: Dumbbell Nebula, Messier 27
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Vulpecula
Distance: 1200 light years
Release date: 10 February 2003, 15:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

WIYN Emission Line Image of Dumbbell Nebula (ground-based image): Ground-based image of Dumbbell taken with KPNO WIYN 3.5mtelescope in H-alpha, [O III], and [O I] filters. WIYN Dumbbell Nebula Photo Page

Name: Dumbbell Nebula, IRAS 19574+2234, M 27, Messier 27, NGC 6853
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Vulpecula
Distance: 1200 light years
Release date: 10 February 2003, 15:00
Credit: G. Jacoby, WIYN/NOAO/NSF

Hubble's Full WFPC2 Image of Dumbbell Nebula: An aging star's last hurrah is creating a flurry of glowing knots of gas that appear to be streaking through space in this close-up image of the Dumbbell Nebula, taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The Dumbbell, a nearby planetary nebula residing more than 1,200 light-years away, is the result of an old star that has shed its outer layers in a glowing display of color. The nebula, also known as Messier 27 (M27), was the first planetary nebula ever discovered. French astronomer Charles Messier spotted it in 1764.

Name: Dumbbell Nebula, Messier 27, NGC 6853
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Vulpecula
Distance: 1200 light years
Release date: 10 February 2003, 15:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Rainbow image of a dusty star: Resembling a rippling pool illuminated by underwater lights, the Egg Nebula offers astronomers a special look at the normally invisible dust shells swaddling an aging star. These dust layers, extending over one-tenth of a light-year from the star, have an onionskin structure that forms concentric rings around the star. A thicker dust belt, running almost vertically through the image, blocks off light from the central star. Twin beams of light radiate from the hidden star and illuminate the pitch-black dust, like a shining flashlight in a smoky room. The Egg Nebula is located 3, 000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. This image was taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in September and October 2002.

Name: Egg Nebula, V1610 Cyg
Type: Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary
Category: Nebulae
Constellation: Cygnus
Distance: 1400 light years
Release date: 3 April 2003, 16:00
Credit: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA )