Messier 82: Cigar Galaxy in Multiple Wavelengths
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Massive burst of star formation in the core or M82 burst becomes clearer in infrared.
Optical: In visible light the edge-on disk highlights the geysers of hot gas shooting out of M82's core.
Infrared: Infrared light lets us see this galaxy's full disk of stars and reveals volumes of dust (shown in red) carried along with the hot gas.
X-ray: Chandra's X-ray image reveals gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by the violent outflow.
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This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast.

Hubble optical image of Messier 82
In visible light the edge-on disk highlights the geysers of hot gas shooting out of M82's core.

Spitzer Near-Infrared image of Messier 82
Infrared light lets us see this galaxy's full disk of stars and reveals volumes of dust (shown in red) carried along with the hot gas.

Chandra Far-Infrared image of Messier 82
Chandra's X-ray image reveals gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by the violent outflow.

Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra images combined
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:Video: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI) Image Credits:
- Optical: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: J. Gallagher (University of Wisconsin), M. Mountain (STScI), and P. Puxley (NSF) - Infrared: NASA, JPL-Caltech, C. Engelbracht (University of Arizona)
- X-ray: NASA, CXC, JHU, D. Strickland
Visualizer
- Greg Bacon (STScI)
Image processing
- Charles Engelbracht (The University of Arizona)
- Dave Strickland (Johns Hopkins University)
- Jay Gallagher (University of Wisconsin)
- Matt Mountain (STScI)
- Phil Puxley (NSF)
Technical support
- Leann Johnson (GST)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Datasets used in this visualization
Spitzer Space Telescope
Dataset can be found at: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/
See more visualizations using this data setChandra (Collected with the Telescope System sensor)
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.
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Kepler Supernova Remnant
June 25th, 2018
Read moreIn 1604, astronomer Johannes Kepler noted the appearance of a new bright object in the sky, visible to the naked eye for the next 18 months. Today we know that he was seeing the death of a star 20,000 light years from Earth. It was more than ten times the mass of our sun.Now, more than four hundred years later, several of NASA’s Great Observatories combined to produce a multi-wavelength image of the expanding remnant. Although the initial blast was caused by the implosion of the star core that rebounded to violently eject material. The supernova today can be seen as it impacts surrounding material that was likely ejected in previous episodes of losing mass into space. The multiple wavelengths show separated layers of emission that represent different portions of the impact. Infrared (Spitzer) traces the coolest material as it is heated by the ejecta. The optical emission (Hubble) traces hot (several thousand degree) gas that is excited by the collision. The lower energy X-ray (Chandra) represents much hotter gas - up to a few million degrees, Fahrenheit, similar to the hot corona of our sun. The highest energy X-ray emission can reach tens of millions of degrees. This emission is closest to the most powerful portions of the expanding blast wave. The observations reveal that Kepler's supernova was a "Type Ia" - a supernova caused by the transfer of material between two smaller dwarf stars. The added material brings the total mass of one of the stars beyond the critical threshold for supernova collapse. This animation shows the remnant of Kepler's Supernova, shown first in infrared, then visible, then low energy X-ray, then high-energy X-ray emission and finally in combination. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Infrared image of Supernova Remnant Optical image of Supernova Remnant Lo X-ray image of Supernova Remnant Hi X-ray image of Supernova Remnant Infrared, optical, lo X-ray, and hi X-ray images of Supernova Remnant combined Related pages
M101 (Pinwheel Galaxy)
June 18th, 2018
Read moreM101 is a comparable in size to the Milky Way. The disk is 100 billion solar masses, and the central bulge of about 3 billion solar masses. M101 is rich is pinkish star forming regions, many of which are very large and bright. Unlike most spiral galaxies, M101's spiral shape is notably asymmetrical. This is due to the tidal forces from interactions with its companion galaxies. These gravitational interactions compress interstellar hydrogen gas, which then triggers strong star formation activity in M101's spiral arms. This animation shows the Messier 101 (Pinwheel) Galaxy, with simulated rotation, in visible, then infrared, then X-ray, and finally all three combined. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Spitzer Infrared image of M101 Hubble Optical image of M101 Chandra X-ray image of M101 Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra images combined Related pages
30 Doradus: A Massive Star-Forming Region
June 11th, 2018
Read more30 Doradus (the Tarantula Nebula) is a very bright and active star-forming region outside of the Milky Way galaxy, at 160,000 light-years away. “30 Dor” is home to the central star cluster NGC 2070, including the most active region, R136, which appears in the central-right area of the image. R136 is a few million years old and contains many thousands of young stars, including several of the largest known. The visible (Hubble) bright blue stars shine out of the cleared cavity that is excavated by stellar winds. The redder stars are still partially embedded in the cloud material, seen in shadow except where illuminated by the cavity stars. In the infrared (Hubble) view the embedded stars shine more clearly through the intervening cloud material. This animation of the active star-forming region 30 Doradus showcases Hubble's entire wavelength range, from ultraviolet to infrared. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Infrared image of 30 Doradus Ultraviolet, Visible and Infrared image of 30 Doradus Related pages
Eagle Nebula: M16 Wide
June 4th, 2018
Read moreThe Pillars of Creation are revealed as the most persistent remnant of a once cocooned giant star forming nursery, although an even more slender pillar remains far to the left of the famous trio, and a massive promontory remains above them. All Pillars are aimed toward the massive star cluster to the upper right of the Pillars, most visible in X-ray (Chandra). These massive stars have blown open the nursery door. Their powerful stellar winds of charged particles blow away the gas and dust to create a window into the center of the cloud. In the visible (NOAO) image the cloud surface shines where the gas is illuminated, and is shadowed where the light source is blocked. The X-ray (Chandra+XMM) image shows exclusively the most massive stars, which generate the highest energy and powerful winds that excite the X-rays themselves.In sharp contrast, the mid-infrared image (Spitzer) reveals the cloud material. The blue color represents reflected starlight, while the green color is hydrogen gas, emitting directly from the depths of the cloud. The red haze is warm hydrocarbon dust, filling the cavity, heated by the ultraviolet light from the nearby massive stars. The far-infrared (Herschel) image shows very cold dust, at a chilly few hundred degrees below freezing. It represents cloud material that has yet to coalesce into stars or be blown away. This image most closely resembles the cavern in which the massive stars have carved out space. Finally, the visible (ESO) image shows where the stars illuminate portions of the cloud and leave shadows. This series of images shows the environment around the Pillars of Creation, the Eagle Nebula, Messier 16. The images reveal the nebula in optical, X-ray, mid-infrared, and far-infrared light. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Herschel Far-Infrared image of Eagle Nebula Spitzer Near-Infrared image of Eagle Nebula ESO Optical image of Eagle Nebula NOAO Optical image of Eagle Nebula Chandra/XMM X-ray image of Eagle Nebula Related pages
Milky Way Center in Multiple Wavelengths
June 4th, 2018
Read moreOur solar system and sun is located inside a pancake shaped galaxy. Imagine a scale model where the plane of the Milky Way is a DVD, and the central bulge is a ping pong ball glued in the center. It is this narrow plane that we see across the sky on a sufficiently dark night from Earth, from our vantage point inside it. Dust blocks much of our view. But at other wavelengths astronomers can probe the heart of our galaxy.The center of our Milky Way Galaxy, located 26,000 light-years away, houses a black hole as massive as a million suns, surrounded by very dense nest of stars and bright clouds. The density of stars in the innermost regions of the Milky Way is up to one million times greater than in our portion of the galaxy. This region contains extreme and unusual conditions that can influence the types of stars that reside there. The density of stars and clouds creates streaming patterns. There are large massive star clusters that cannot not be found outside that region. The radiation environment is intense in the galactic center. The near-infrared image (Hubble) shows the knots of cloud edges and emission that mark the plane of our galaxy. The mid-infrared image (Spitzer) highlights the clouds of gas and dust and star forming regions. The X-ray image (Chandra) tracks the most luminous and powerful stars in the area conspicuously revealing the galactic center region itself - including the million-solar mass black hole at the very hub of our galaxy. In addition, several other X-ray emitting locations can be seen, linked to massive star clusters. This animation reveals the center of our Milky Way galaxy, first in near-infrared, then mid-infrared, then X-ray light, and then all three in combination. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Spitzer Infrared image of the Milky Way Center Hubble Near-Infrared image of the Milky Way Center Chandra X-ray image of the Milky Way Center Infrared, Near-Infrared and X-ray images of the Milky Way Center Related pages
The Orion Nebula: Visible and Infrared Views
May 28th, 2018
Read moreThis sequence uses infrared (Spitzer) and visible (Hubble) images to reveal the formation of stars within a large cloud of hydrogen gas and dust. The warm gas lights up in the infrared view as red, and the hydrocarbon dust appears in green. The starlight from young stars appears in blue. The flood of starlight provides extra illumination throughout the dusty environment and in front of the cloud. The threads of gas, reminiscent of clouds on Earth, are compressed and pushed into knots by the winds from forming stars throughout the region. The clouds appear as shadows in this visible-light view. However, in areas where the gas has mostly been cleared or thinned, glowing cavities can be seen inside these cocoons. The combined view hints at the nebula’s complex three-dimensional structure. This animation showcases the Orion Nebula, first in infrared light (Spitzer), then in visible light (Hubble), and finally a blend of the two images in a multi-color mosaic. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Visible image of the Orion Nebula Infrared image of the Orion Nebula Visible and Infrared image of the Orion Nebula Related pages
The Whirlpool Galaxy: Visible and X-ray Views
May 21st, 2018
Read moreThis sequence uses visible (Hubble) and X-ray (Chandra) imagery to highlight different structures within the Whirlpool galaxy (Messier 51). As seen in visible light, the familiar whirlpool shape is traced out by glowing spiral arms. These arms are composed of billions of stars orbiting about the center of the galaxy over millions of years. The pink color is from hot hydrogen gas that permeates the galaxy and indicates sites of new star formation. Silhouetted in the bright arms are dark lanes of obscuring dust that blocks visible light. The stars farther away from the center orbit more slowly and fall behind, creating the signature spiral "winding" arm. A massive black hole lies at the galaxy’s center. The black hole can’t be seen directly, but its presence is hinted at by the dense star clusters at the center. A second smaller spiral galaxy can be seen in the upper-right portion of the image. The second image shows the X-ray view, highlighting the very hottest gas at millions of degrees Fahrenheit. The X-rays most closely match the visible pink hot gas in active star-forming regions and are particularly strong near the galactic centers of both galaxies. X-rays are also penetrating obscuring dust. This animation contrasts the visible-light (Hubble Space Telescope) and X-ray (Chandra X-ray Observatory) images of Messier 51, the majestic Whirlpool galaxy. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Visible image of the Whirlpool Galaxy X-ray image of the Whirlpool Galaxy Visible and X-ray image of the Whirlpool Galaxy Related pages
HH666: The Hidden Jet Launch
May 14th, 2018
Read moreHerbig Haro 666 is a young star that is shooting out narrow collimated jets in opposite directions. The jets are a byproduct of material falling onto to the star. The material is heated and then escapes along the star’s spin axis. Blazing across space at 200,000 miles per hour, the jets provide a way for the star to slow its spin by carrying off angular momentum. The star is hidden deep within the obscuring cloud of gas and dust shown in the Hubble visible-light image. In Hubble’s infrared view, the cloud mostly disappears, revealing the stars within. The jets will extend out to a light-year before dissipating. Jets are a dramatic example of the interaction between stars and the gas and dust that surrounds them. Herbig Haro 666, a young star driving bipolar jets within a pillar of gas and dust in the Carina Nebula, is shown in two Hubble Space Telescope images, first in visible light and then near-infrared light. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Visible image of Herbig Haro 666. Infrared image of Herbig Haro 666. Visible and infrared image of Herbig Haro 666. Related pages
Vision Across the Full Spectrum: The Crab Nebula, from Radio to X-ray
May 7th, 2018
Read moreThe Crab Nebula (Messier 1) is the remnant of a supernova that exploded in the year 1054 AD. This mysterious "new star," as early sky watchers called it, was observed around the world and most notably recorded by Chinese astronomers. The supernova was triggered when the progenitor star abruptly collapsed onto its iron core, and rebounded to expel most of its layers of gas into a blast wave. This wave is seen as an optical and infrared set of filaments that continues to impact surrounding material. This material was expelled from the dying red giant progenitor star 20,000 years prior to the supernova. The ultra-dense remnant core, called a neutron star, is crushed to the size of a city. Spinning furiously, the neutron star sends out twin beams of radiation, like a lighthouse. A lot of this energy comes from the neutron star’s intense magnetic fields.The initial radio image (from the Very Large Array) shows the cool gas and dust blown out by the supernova winds. The infrared (Spitzer) image shows synchrotron radiation, an unusual form of light produced by electrons trapped in magnetic fields. The infrared image also shows hot gas.The visible-light image (Hubble) shows the detailed filamentary structure of the blast wave as it impacts the surrounding material. The ultraviolet image (XMM-Newton) shows hot, ionized gas. Finally, the X-ray emission (Chandra) from high-energy particles ejected from the pulsar shows the expanding nebula. The bipolar structure represents a powerful jet of material funneled along the neutron star's spin axis. This animation shows the Crab Nebula from the lowest-frequency light (radio), to infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and finally X-ray. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Ultraviolet, Visible, Radio, Infrared and X-ray image of the Crab Nebula. Ultravioletimage of the Crab Nebula. Visible image of the Crab Nebula. Infrared image of the Crab Nebula. X-ray image of the Crab Nebula. Radio image of the Crab Nebula. Related pages
Lagoon Nebula: Visible and Infrared Views
April 30th, 2018
Read moreThis visible-light image of the central region of the Lagoon Nebula reveals a fantasy landscape of ridges, canyons, pillars, and mountains of gas and dust surrounding a very hot newborn star. When the visible view crossfades into an image taken in near-infrared light, the most obvious difference is the abundance of stars that fill the field of view. Most of them are more distant, background stars located behind the nebula itself. However, some of these pinpricks of light are young stars within the Lagoon Nebula. Only the densest of the gas clouds remain in the infrared view. This video compares the colorful Hubble Space Telescope visible-light image of the core of the Lagoon Nebula and a Hubble infrared-light view of the same region. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Hubble Infrared image of the Lagoon Nebula. 8K Hubble Infrared image of the Lagoon Nebula. Hubble Optical image of the Lagoon Nebula. 8K Hubble Optical image of the Lagoon Nebula. Related pages
Colliding Galaxies (NGC 2207)
April 23rd, 2018
Read moreNGC 2207 is a pair of colliding spiral galaxies. Their bright central nuclei resemble a striking set of eyes. In visible light (Hubble), trails of stars and gas trace out spiral arms, stretched by the tidal pull between the galaxies. When seen in infrared light (IR; Spitzer), the glow of warm dust appears. This dust is the raw material for the creation of new stars and planets. Complementary to the IR, the X-ray (Chandra) view reveals areas of active star formation and the birth of super star clusters. Though individual stars are too far apart to collide, the materialbetween the stars merges to create high-density pockets of gas. These regions gravitationally collapse to trigger a firestorm of starbirth. The galaxy collision will go on for several millions of years, leaving the galaxies completely altered in terms of their shapes. This animation shows the interacting galaxy pair NGC 2207, first in optical light, then in infrared, in X-ray, and finally in combination. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Visible (Optical), Infrared and X-ray image of the Colliding Galaxy. Infrared image of the Colliding Galaxy. Visible (Optical) image of the Colliding Galaxy. X-ray image of the Colliding Galaxy. Related pages
Pillars in the Carina Nebula (HH901)
April 11th, 2018
Read moreHerbig Haro 901 is an immense pillar of gas and dust inside the Carina Nebula, a huge star-forming region in our galaxy. The pillar is several light-years tall and contains a few massive young stars. They shoot out powerful jets that emerge from the cloud. In some cases, the jets create bow-shock patterns similar to the effects of a ship plowing through the ocean. In the visible-light (Hubble) view, very few stars can be seen because the gas and dust block starlight. But in the infrared (Hubble) view, stars become visible and numerous. The visible-light colors emerge from the glow of different gases: oxygen (blue), hydrogen/nitrogen (green), and sulfur (red). The Carina Nebula is approximately 7,500 light years from Earth. This animation shows Herbig Haro 901 (HH901), a large pillar of gas and dust with eruptive young stars inside the Carina Nebula. The animation reveals the object in two Hubble Space Telescope images: first in visible light and then in infrared light. This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast. Visible light image of the Pillars in the Carina Nebula. Infrared light image of the Pillars in the Carina Nebula. Visible and Infrared light image of the Pillars in the Carina Nebula. Related pages