Messier 77, captured by Hubble, also known as the Squid Galaxy, is a swirling spiral 45 million light-years away in Cetus, the constellation named for a whale. It was discovered in 1780 by Pierre ...

Very massive stars are cosmic "rock stars" that live fast, die young and leave black holes in their place. During this ...

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) unravels a myriad of colours in the latest ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor ...

The astronomers who operate powerful Vera C. Rubin observatory released debut images June 23, 2025, showcasing just exactly ...

Astronomers are excited about the first test images released today from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which show the ...

Putting Isaac Roberts’ astonishing 1888 photographs of the Great Nebula in Andromeda and other spiral nebulae to cosmic effect at his argument’s outset, Pettigrew then immersed the reader in a ...

Hubble worked hard, taking images of spiral nebulae every clear night and looking for the telltale variations of Cepheid variables. By the end of 1924, he had found 12 Cepheids in M31.

A third category – nebulae with spiral structure – particularly intrigued astronomers. The Andromeda nebula, M31, was a prominent example. It’s visible to the naked eye from a dark site.

M83 Galaxy The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (M83), 15 million light-years away, showcases symmetrical spiral arms with vibrant stars and nebulae.