NASA Celebrates Start of International Year of Astronomy with Messier 101 Composite

NASA's Great Observatories Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy

In 1609, Galileo improved the newly invented telescope, turned it toward the heavens, and revolutionized our view of the universe. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of this milestone, 2009 has been designated as the International Year of Astronomy. Today, NASA's Great...

Spitzer-Hubble-Chandra Composite of M101

This image of the spiral galaxy Messier 101 is a composite of views from the Spitzer Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Chandra X-ray Observatory. Each wavelength region shows different aspects of celestial objects and often reveals new objects that could not otherwise...

M101 Composite Image: Spitzer Data (Red Component)

The red color shows Spitzer's view in infrared light. It highlights the heat emitted by dust lanes in the galaxy where stars can form.

M101 Composite Image: Hubble Data (Green Component)

The yellow color is Hubble's view in visible light. Most of this light comes from stars, and they trace the same spiral structure as the dust lanes.

M101 Composite Image: Chandra Data (Blue Component)

The blue color shows Chandra's view in X-ray light. Sources of X-rays include million-degree gas, exploded stars, and material colliding around black holes.

Spiral Galaxy M101 – NASA's Great Observatories

The galaxy Messier 101 is a swirling spiral of stars, gas, and dust. Messier 101 is nearly twice as wide as our Milky Way Galaxy. Spitzer's view [left frame], taken in infrared light, reveals the galaxy's delicate dust lanes as yellow-green filaments. Such dense dust clouds are...

Spitzer Image of M101

The galaxy Messier 101 is a swirling spiral of stars, gas, and dust. Messier 101 is nearly twice as wide as our Milky Way galaxy. Spitzer's view, taken in infrared light, reveals the galaxy's delicate dust lanes as yellow-green filaments. Such dense dust clouds are where new...

Hubble Image of M101

Messier 101 has a pancake-like shape that we view face-on. This perspective shows off the spiral structure that gives it the nickname the Pinwheel Galaxy. In this Hubble image, taken in visible light, the bright blue clumps are regions where new stars have formed. The yellowish...

Chandra Image of M101

Chandra's image of Messier 101, taken in X-ray light, shows the high-energy features of this spiral galaxy. X-rays are generally created in violent and/or high-temperature events. The white dots are X-ray sources that include the remains of exploded stars as well as material...

Compass and Scale Illustration for M101

Construction of the Great Observatories M101 Image

These steps combine data from NASA's three Great Observatories into a single color composite image. At the left are separate images from three different regions of infrared light from the Spitzer Space Telescope, three images from different regions of visible light from the...

Construction of the Individual Great Observatories M101 Images

These steps combine data from each of NASA's three Great Observatories into a separate color composite image. At the left are separate images from three different regions of infrared light from the Spitzer Space Telescope (top), three images from different regions of visible...

Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Hot Gas and Star Birth in M101

Messier 101 (also known as NGC 5457) is a stunning face-on spiral galaxy about 22 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major. Hubble's visible-light view shows off luminous swirling spirals of bright stars and glowing gas that give M101 a classic...

NASA Celebrates Start of International Year of Astronomy with Messier 101 Composite (Annotated)

To help kick off 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy, NASA's Great Observatories are releasing a series of images at over 100 planetariums, museums, nature centers, and schools across the country. The telescopes set their sights on one galaxy in particular, Messier 101,...