Most of the Universe pictures shown on this page were taken by very powerful space telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST), etc. Some of these amazing pictures of the Universe were also taken by Voyager, Mars Exploration Rover, and other deep space probe apparatus.
This page is divided into the following four sections: -
Section I - Amazing Universe Pictures of Nebulae
Helix Nebula or "Eye of God" (NGC 7293)
The picture shown above is an infrared image of the Helix Nebula as seen through NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (SST). It is one of the most popular Universe pictures because it bears an uncanny resemblance to a giant eye in the sky.
On May 10, 2003
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day showed a picture of the Helix Nebula as seen through the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). That picture became one of the most shared Universe pictures of all times on the Internet and somebody on the net gave it the name, "The Eye of God". Many people still know it by the same name.
The Helix Nebula is located about 700 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Aquarius constellation. It is about 2.5 light years in length.
A
light year is the distance that light travels in one year. The speed of light is 1,86,282 miles per second (2,99,792 kilometers per second). That means one light year is equal to about 6 trillion miles (or 10 trillion kilometers). As a yardstick, the average distance of the Sun from the Earth is only 8 light-minutes and 20 light-seconds.
So, what is this mysterious eye in the heavens? To put it very simply, it is merely a dying star! The death of a star is a spectacular phenomenon which lasts for tens of thousands of years. When a star of a certain mass starts to die, its outer gaseous layers greatly expand to form an outer gas shell known as a "planetary nebula". The inner core of the star continues to remain extremely hot and emits radiation of high energy. The infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light waves from this central core make the outer gaseous layers shine as you can see in the infrared picture of the Helix Nebula shown above.
The Eagle Nebula Showing "The Pillars of Creation"
If the previous Universe picture of the Helix Nebula was about the death of a star, the Hubble Space Telescope image shown above is about the birth of new stars! Few Universe pictures have generated as much curiosity as the picture of a portion of the Eagle Nebula shown above. The Eagle Nebula is an interstellar region of gas, plasma and dust in which new stars are formed (hence the name, "Pillars of Creation"). The materials in this region continuously clump together to form larger and larger masses which ultimately become so big that they form stars.
The Eagle Nebula is located about 6,500 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Serpens constellation. It is about 20 light years in length. The towers of gas that form the emission nebula are trillions of miles in length.
"The Fairy" of The Eagle Nebula
When people take the Rorschach Inkblot Test, they tend to perceive something that is already in their minds. Perhaps something similar happens when we look at the pictures of nebulae. The Universe pictures of many nebulae show ambiguous, cloud-like shapes and most people tend to see some meaningful things within them.
Many Universe pictures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope show only a portion of a nebula. The above picture shows a portion of the Eagle Nebula titled, "The Fairy of Eagle Nebula". It was released by NASA in 2005, on the fifteenth anniversary celebration of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. Does it really look like a fairy? You might be surprised to know that this "fairy" is 10
light years tall!
Carina Nebula (HH 901 & HH 902)
The Carina Nebula is a large and bright nebula located about 7,500 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Carina constellation in the southern hemisphere. About 300 light years in length, this nebula is a tumultuous nursery of stars. Eta Carinae, a hyper-giant star located in the Carina Nebula is about four million times brighter than our Sun!
The picture shown above is one of the finest Universe pictures captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. It shows chaotic activity on a pillar of gas and dust of the Carina Nebula. Buried within this 3.5 light-year-tall pillar there are super-hot infant stars firing jets of gas. HH 901 and HH 902 are the names of two jets of gas and dust within which new starts are formed.
Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8)
Some Universe pictures can be spooky! The Universe picture shown above displays eerie whirlpool or twister like structures inside the Lagoon Nebula. The Lagoon Nebula is a giant cloud of interstellar matter containing regions in which new stars are born. It is located about 5,200 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Sagittarius constellation and spans about 140 light years. The twister-shaped structures shown in the above picture of the Universe are formed by extreme stellar winds.
Perseus Nebula
The picture of Perseus Nebula shown above is one of the finest infrared Universe pictures taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Perseus Nebula is located about 1,043 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Perseus constellation. The reddish-pink dots on the right of the Universe picture are new-born stars. In the right rim of the Perseus Nebula cosmic dust and gas collapse to form new stars. The pinkish-halos around the infant stars are the remnants of the cosmic dust and gas from which they were born. The presence of organic molecules called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are believed to be the reason for the greenish color in parts of the nebula.
Omega Nebula or Swan Nebula or Horseshoe Nebula (Messier 17, NGC 6618)
The Omega Nebula is located about 5,500 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Sagittarius constellation and is also called "Swan Nebula" or "Horseshoe Nebula". It spans about 40 light years. Like many Universe pictures of nebulae, the above picture makes people imagine many things within it. The image is a close-up of a small region of the Omega Nebula.
Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33)
The Horsehead or Bernard-33 Nebula shown above is one of the most famous Universe pictures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. It looks like a silhouette of a giant sea-horse rising from a sea of stardust and gas against IC-434, a bright nebula behind it. It is located about 1,500 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Orion constellation.
Crab Nebula (Messier 1, NGC 1952)
In 1054 A.D. a star located in the direction of the Taurus constellation exploded violently to form what is known as Crab Nebula today. The Chinese, Japanese, Arab, and Native American astronomers of those days observed this event and recorded that it was visible to the naked eye for 23 days in broad daylight and for 653 days in the night sky!
Few Universe pictures grab as much curiosity as the Hubble Space Telescope image of the Crab Nebula shown above. It shows the mess that is left behind when a star explodes. The filament like structures are the tattered remnants of the exploded star. The Crab Nebula is about 11 light years in length and is located about 6,500 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Taurus constellation. It is constantly expanding at a rate of 1,500 Kilometers or about 900 miles per second.
A neutron star which is only 12 miles or 19 kilometers across but as massive as our Sun lies in the center of the Crab Nebula. This neutron star is known as Crab Pulsar. It rotates about 30 times per second and emits gamma-rays, X-rays, and radio waves.
Heart and Soul Nebulae
One of the finest Universe pictures, the above infrared picture of the Heart and Soul Nebulae was taken by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) of NASA. Look at the picture above, do you find a heart shaped structure? The nebula on the right side of the image is called the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), and the nebula on the left side of the image is called the Soul Nebula (IC 1848 or W5).
The Heart and Soul Nebulae are about 580 light-years across and are located about 6,000 light-years away from the Earth in the direction of the Cassiopeia constellation.
Two galaxies, Maffei 1 and Maffei 2 are visible near the bottom of this astronomy picture as tiny bluish elliptical and spiral objects. These galaxies are about 10 million light-years away and contain billions of stars each.
California Nebula
Shown above is an infra-red picture of California Nebula taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). A vague resemblance to the map of California gives this nebula its name. This nebula stretches about 100 light-years, and it is located about 1,800 light-years away from the Earth in the direction of the Perseus constellation.
Menkhib, one of the brightest stars in the Perseus constellation is visible as a bright bluish-star in the astronomy picture shown above (on the left side near the red colored dust cloud). Menkhib blows a fast stellar wind which creates a shock wave and heats up the dust around it. This shows up as a red cloud as shown in the top left portion of the WISE picture above. Stars within the California Nebula ionize the nebula gas and this shows up as green and red colors in the infra-red WISE picture.
Wispy Star Forming Region (W5)
W5 or Wispy Star-Forming Region is a massive star-forming region located about 6,500 light-years away from the Earth in the direction of the Cassiopeia constellation. The large cavities within W5 were carved by radiation and stellar-winds from the region's most massive stars. New stars are formed when the gas that is pushed together ignites.
The infra-red astronomy picture shown above is one of the most intriguing Spitzer Space Telescope images because it shows several generations of stars. The blue colored dots within the hollow cavities are the oldest stars, the pink-colored dots near the rims of the cavities are the younger stars, while the whitish areas are regions where the youngest stars are forming. Heated dust within the cavities of the region shows up in red color. The dense stellar clouds show up in green color.
Butterfly Nebula or Bug Nebula (NGC 6302)
The above picture of NGC 6302 is one of the most peculiar Universe pictures. NGC 6302 is a bipolar planetary nebula located about 4,000 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Scorpius constellation. NGC 6302 is also known as the Butterfly Nebula, the Bug Nebula, or Caldwell 69. A dying star present in the center of this nebula has an extremely hot surface temperature of 200,000 degrees Kelvin. What look like the wings of a butterfly are actually hot and furious jets of gas traveling with a speed of 600,000 miles per hour (965,606 kilometers per hour). A rocket traveling with such a speed would cover the distance from the Earth to the Moon in just 24 minutes! The "wings" of the Butterfly Nebula are more than 2 light-years long. NASA's website has an
interesting article on NGC 6302.
Orion Nebula (Messier 42, NGC 1976)
Some Universe pictures can be framed and hung on the wall instead of abstract art paintings. There are dozens of pictures of the Orion Nebula, and each picture is very spectacular. The above picture of the Orion Nebula was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006.
The Orion Nebula is about 24 light years across and is located at a distance of about 1,500 light-years from the Earth. It is visible to the naked eye in the direction of the Orion constellation towards the south of its "Orion Belt" asterism. It is one of the most photogenic nebulae of the Universe and the closest star-formation region to the Earth. It provides one of the best opportunities to astronomers to study how new stars are born in the Universe, both due to its proximity and due to the relative absence of nebular dust and gas clouds that block the view of star forming regions in nebulae.
Ant Nebula (Menzel 3 or Mz 3)
Universe pictures of nebulae often resemble insects or bugs. The above picture of Ant Nebula (Menzel 3 or Mz 3) looks like the body of an ant. The Ant Nebula is a bipolar planetary nebula about 1 light-year in length, located about 8,000 light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Norma constellation. The fiery outflows or lobes of Menzel 3 protrude from a dying, Sun-like star. The jets of gases expelled by the violent explosion of the dying star have an estimated speed of 621 miles (1,000 Kilometers) per second! The cause of the intriguing ant-like shape is speculative -- the dying star might be spinning and a companion star might be orbiting close to the dying star and exerting strong gravitational forces that influence the out-flowing gas.
Section II - Amazing Universe Pictures of Galaxies
Sombrero Galaxy (Messier 104, NGC 4594)
The above telescope image of the Sombrero Galaxy is one of the most photogenic pictures of our Universe. The Sombrero Galaxy spans about 50,000 light years and lies about 28 million
light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Virgo constellation. This galaxy gets its name because its shape resembles a Mexican hat called a sombrero. The Sombrero Galaxy is an unbarred spiral galaxy. A large
black hole, a billion times more massive than our Sun is suspected to be present in the center of this galaxy.
Some Universe pictures are composite images formed by combining two or more telescopes images. The above image of the Sombrero Galaxy is a composite image consisting of visible-light and infrared-light images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope, respectively.
Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31)
In the Universe, the Andromeda galaxy is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. It spans about 200,000
light years and is located about 2.5 million light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Andromeda constellation. It is visible to the naked eye. One trillion stars are believed to be present in this galaxy. Many Universe pictures are taken as frames and then combined together to form the whole astronomy picture of the celestial object in question.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (NGC 1672)
A barred spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars. The above picture of our Universe is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the NGC 1672 barred spiral galaxy. Many Universe pictures of galaxies such as the one shown above reveal star-forming regions of interstellar clouds and dust. The NGC 1672 galaxy is located at a distance of 60 million light-years from the Earth in the direction of the Dorado constellation (southern hemisphere). It spans about 75,000 light years across. The Hubble Space Telescope image above reveals filaments of dust lanes, red emission nebulae, young clusters of stars, and a bright active nucleus which is thought to contain a black hole.
Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51, NGC 5194)
Classical Universe pictures of galaxies, such as the image of the Whirlpool Galaxy shown above fascinate sky gazers. The Whirlpool Galaxy is a
grand design spiral galaxy located about 31 million light years away from the Earth. This galaxy is estimated to have a length of about 65,000 light years. It is even visible through a good pair of binoculars in the direction of the Canes Venatici constellation from the Earth. The spectacular spiral shape of this galaxy is thought to be mainly due to its gravitational interaction with NGC 5195, a dwarf galaxy visible on the top right side of the above astronomy picture. A black hole surrounded by a ring of dust is believed to be in the center of the spiral. The knots in the spiral arms that appear in the pictures of this galaxy are regions of compression of hydrogen gas and the birth-places of new stars in the Universe.
NGC-2207 and IC-2163 Colliding Spiral Galaxies
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured many amazing Universe pictures such as the one shown above. The above picture shows the NGC-2207 spiral galaxy about to collide and merge with the IC-2163 spiral galaxy. However don't assume that this collision and merger will be over in the blink of an eye. It is estimated that the two spiral galaxies will take about 1 billion years to merge and form an elliptical galaxy! NGC-2207, the larger galaxy will pull out stars and other stellar material from IC-2163, the smaller galaxy. These two galaxies are about 80 million light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Canis Major constellation. Universe pictures of colliding galaxies attracted a lot of attention when they were first released.
NGC-3808A and NGC-3808B Interacting Galaxies
Some of the most amazing pictures of the Universe are those of nebulae and interacting galaxies. The above Universe picture shows NGC-3808A, the larger galaxy in the picture interacting with NGC-3808B, the smaller galaxy in the picture. The NGC-3808A and NGC-3808B galaxies are together known as
Arp 87. The Arp 87 pair of galaxies stretches for about 75,000 light years and is about 300 million light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Leo constellation. In interacting galaxy pairs, the gravity of the larger galaxy pulls out stars and other cosmic material from the smaller galaxy. This process is known as
tidal stripping. Such interactions of galaxies can occur for billions of years and ultimately both the galaxies merge together.
Section III - Amazing Universe Pictures of Star Outbursts
V838 Monocerotis
In January 2002, V838 Monocerotis, which had hitherto been a dull star, suddenly became 600,000 times more luminous than our Sun and its outer surface seemed to expand greatly making it the brightest star in the entire Milky Way Galaxy for several weeks! As the light from the flash traveled through the Universe, it progressively illuminated the previously invisible shells of dust surrounding the mysterious star. This created an illusion that the star itself was expanding. This phenomenon is called a
light echo.
In the case of V838 Monocerotis, the light echo produced was unprecedented. The above picture is one of the most amazing Universe pictures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. V838 Monocerotis is a red variable star located about 20,000
light years away from the Earth in the direction of the Monoceros (or Unicorn) constellation. This star has now faded back to obscurity. The reason for its outburst still continues to puzzle astronomers.
Section IV - Amazing Universe Pictures of Planets
Jupiter, Lo and Europa
The photograph shown above is one of the classical Universe pictures taken by Voyager 1 back in 1979. Lo and Europa, two of the 63 moons of Jupiter can be seen in this picture. Lo is on the left side of the image on top of the "Great Red Spot". The Voyager 1 spacecraft was about 12.4 million miles (20 million kilometers) away from Jupiter when it captured this picture.
The Stormy Atmosphere of Jupiter
Considered one of finest Universe pictures, the above picture is a "false-color" image showing the stormy atmosphere of Jupiter. It was captured by Voyager 1 in late 70s.
Jupiter is a gas giant with a turbulent atmosphere. The "Great Red Spot" that can be seen in the top right corner of the above picture is a persistent storm in its atmosphere, known to have existed at least since 1831. Some astronomers believe that the storm has existed since 1665. The diameter of this "Great Red Spot" (GRS) is about 3 times the diameter of Earth! The wind speeds around the edge of this storm reach about 268 miles (432 Kilometers) per hour.
Sunset on Mars
The above picture is one of the favorite Universe pictures of Mars lovers. It shows the Sun setting below the edge of the Gusev crater on Mars. This picture was captured by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (MER-A) on May 19, 2005
Earthrise on Moon
The above picture of Earthrise on Moon is one of the most historical Universe pictures of all time. It is the first photograph of the Earth taken by man from deep space. It was shot on Dec 24, 1968 by William Anders, the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 mission (the first manned lunar orbit mission). Environmentalists throughout the world are still inspired by this photograph and the famous quote of William Anders, "We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth".
The Earthrise on Moon photograph is featured in Life Magazine's 2003 book, "100 Photographs that Changed The World". Galen Avery Rowell, a noted wilderness photographer called it "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken".
Home Sweet Home -- The Rare Blue Marble of The Universe
The above is a photograph of the Earth, our one and only sweet home in the Universe. This photograph named, "The Blue Marble" was taken on Dec 7, 1972 from a distance of 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) by the crew of Apollo 17 spacecraft who were traveling toward the Moon. Among all Universe pictures, "The Blue Marble" is one of the most favorite pictures of environmentalists because our Earth is the only known place to support life.
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