The European Space Agency (Esa) has released a stunning image of the spiral galaxy M51, otherwise known as the Whirlpool Galaxy. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

The Very Large Telescope has taken one of the best ever images of two galaxies locked in a slow motion, disruptive collision, scientists say.

The image has also given astronomers a peak at an unusual exploding star in the same area of the sky. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

ESO's Wide Field Imager has captured the intricate swirls of the spiral galaxy Messier 83, a smaller look-alike of our own Milky Way. Shining with the light of billions of stars and the ruby red glow of hydrogen gas, it is a beautiful example of a barred spiral galaxy, whose shape has led to it being nicknamed the Southern Pinwheel. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Messier 74, also called NGC 628, is a stunning example of a 'grand-design' spiral galaxy that is viewed by Earth observers nearly face-on. Its perfectly symmetrical spiral arms emanate from the central nucleus and are dotted with clusters of young blue stars. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The sharpest image ever taken of the large grand design spiral galaxy Messier 81 is being released. The image, constructed from a series of images taken with NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is among the largest ever released. Messier 81 is one of the brightest galaxies that can be seen from the Earth. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

For decades, astronomers have pictured our galaxy as sporting four major, spiral arms, however new images effectively sever two appendages, revealing the Milky Way has just two major arms. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Through some of the very first scientific observations with the brand-new Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona, astronomers has found that a recently discovered tiny companion galaxy to our Milky Way, named the Hercules Dwarf Galaxy, has truly exceptional properties: while basically all of its known peers in the realm of these tiny dwarf galaxies are rather round, this galaxy at a distance o... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers are puzzling over a spiral galaxy whose spiral arms are wrapped in opposing directions. The unusual structure may be a lingering scar from a tussle with a smaller galaxy that was ultimately swallowed. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers from Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, have detected for the first time the molecules methanimine and hydrogen cyanide – two ingredients that build life-forming amino acids – in a galaxy some 250 million light years away. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers have made use of ESO's Very Large Telescope to detect for the first time in the ultraviolet the carbon monoxide molecule in a galaxy located almost 11 billion light-years away, a feat that had remained elusive for 25 years. This detection allows them to obtain the most precise measurement of the cosmic temperature at such a remote epoch. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers have identified a type of galaxy that represents a "missing link" in our understanding of the Universe. Spiral and elliptical galaxies used to be known exclusively as "blue" and "red", respectively. But two studies show that one in five galaxies is a red spiral. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

The Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham, Ariz., has taken celestial images using its twin side-by-side, 8.4-meter (27.6 foot) primary mirrors together, achieving first "binocular" light. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Astronomers have discovered an unexpected cache of spiral galaxies that appear to have formed recently, long after the period early in the history of the universe that most galaxies were thought to have been created. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

Newborn stars shine like celestial sparklers in a new portrait of the nearby Triangulum Galaxy – the most detailed ultraviolet image of a galaxy ever taken. Astronomers will use the image, taken by NASA's Swift telescope, to create an "age map" of the galaxy's components to understand how galaxies evolve over time. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

An international team of researchers led by a UC Riverside astronomer has completed the largest ever survey designed to find very distant clusters of galaxies. Named the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-sequence Cluster Survey, "SpARCS" detects galaxy clusters using deep ground-based optical observations from the CTIO 4m and CFHT 3.6m telescopes, combined with Spitzer Space Telescope infrar... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

Thanks to a unique "ballistic study" that combines data from ESO's Very Large Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have now solved a long-standing mystery of the Milky Way's particle accelerators. They show that cosmic rays from our galaxy are very efficiently accelerated in the remnants of exploded stars. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered a stunning rare case of a triple merger of galaxies. This system, which astronomers have dubbed 'The Bird' - albeit it also bears resemblance with a cosmic Tinker Bell - is composed of two massive spiral galaxies and a third irregular galaxy. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

M51, whose name comes from being the 51st entry in Charles Messier's catalog, is considered to be one of the classic examples of a spiral galaxy. At a distance of about 30 million light years from Earth, it is also one of the brightest spirals in the night sky. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

An image based on data taken with ESO's Very Large Telescope reveals a triplet of galaxies intertwined in a cosmic dance. The three galaxies, catalogued as NGC 7173 (top), 7174 (bottom right) and 7176 (bottom left), are located 106 million light-years away towards the constellation of Piscis Austrinus (the 'Southern Fish'). picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

More than 800,000 snapshots from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have been stitched together to create a new "coming of age" portrait of stars in our inner Milky Way galaxy. The image depicts an area of sky 120 degrees wide by two degrees tall. High-res zoomable image. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago