32 stunning photos of our universe

Lucy Yang,Monica HumphriesApr 29, 2020, 23:39 IST

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.NASA/Getty Images

For years, scientists struggled to observe space from Earth, so they planted observatories where detailed images of space's many wonders can be captured.
Insider combed through the archives of two observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory
From supermassive black holes to interacting galaxies, here are 32 jaw-dropping photos of space.
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There's a special sense of wonder that comes from gazing at the stars and mulling over space's many mysteries.

For hundreds of years, those mysteries couldn't begin to be solved because scientists could only observe space from Earth. In order to capture an image, the light from space would have to travel through Earth's turbulent atmosphere and images would be blurry and inaccurate.

The answer was to build observatories in space. Insider combed through the archives of two of these observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory to find some of the most breathtaking photographs.

From supermassive black holes to interacting galaxies, here are 32 jaw-dropping photos of space.

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This monstrous Cone Nebula is made up of gas and dust.

Over millions of years, the cone has and will continue to shrink in size. NASA/Holland Ford/ ACS Science Team/ESA

Galaxy NGC 1015 is classified as a barred spiral galaxy, just like the Milky Way.

This galaxy sits within the constellation of Cetus, or The Whale. ESA/Hubble & NASA/A. Riess

The Red Spider Nebula sits in the constellation of Sagittarius.

The nebula is 3,000 light-years away. ESA/Garrelt Mellema

The Lagoon Nebula is about 4,000 light-years away.

The Lagoon Nebula is a star-forming region, but this photo only captures a small area of the nebula. NASA/ESA/STScI

The Sombrero Galaxy is located 28 million light-years away.

This galaxy lies at the southern edge of the Virgo constellation. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/AURA

This star-forming cluster can be found in the Large Magellanic Cloud in N44, an emission nebula with a superbubble structure.

A superbubble is created when massive stars explode and expel high-speed winds that carve out cavities in the surrounding gas. NASA/CXC/U. Mich./S. Oey/JPL/ESO/WFI/2.2-m

These elephant trunks are known as the Pillars of Creation and are part of an active region of star formation in the Milky Way.

The pillars are located in the Eagle Nebula, an open cluster in the Serpens constellation. NASA/ESA/Hubble/Hubble Heritage Team

As its name implies, Stephan's Quintet is a compact group of five galaxies in the Pegasus constellation.

Over time, four of the five galaxies will likely merge with each other. NASA/ESA/Hubble SM4 ERO Team

The colorful Cassiopeia A is a supernova remnant in the Cassiopeia constellation.

Other than our solar system, Cassiopeia A is the strongest source of radio emission in the sky. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage/STScI/AURA/Robert A. Fesen/Dartmouth College/James Long

This grouping of stars is one of the most massive young star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy.

This cluster of stars is located in the giant nebula NGC 3603, which is a star-forming region that's located about 20,000 light-years away from Earth. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage/STScI/AURA

The Butterfly Nebula is a planetary nebula in the Scorpius constellation that contains one of the hottest known stars in the Milky Way.

NGC 6302 is also known as the Bug Nebula. NASA/ESA/Hubble SM4 ERO Team

Also known as Barnard 33, the Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula located in the Orion constellation.

A dark nebula is a dense, opaque, non-luminous cloud of dust. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/AURA/STScI

The Cat's Eye Nebula is a planetary nebula located 3,000 light-years away from Earth.

The star at the center of this nebula is surrounded by a cloud of extremely hot gas. NASA/CXC/SAO/STScI

The Tarantula Nebula is a star-forming region located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy bound to the Milky Way.

The Tarantula Nebula is home to the heaviest star ever found, R136a1. NASA/ESA

These merging spiral galaxies have been the site of three supernova explosions within the last 21 years.

NGC 2207 (left) and IC 2163 (right) are about 130 million light-years away from Earth. NASA/CXC/SAO/S. Mineo et al./STScI/JPL/Caltech

Located 6,500 light-years from Earth, the Crab Nebula is widely accepted to be a supernova remnant from 1054 A.D.

This Hubble image is the most detailed view yet of the entire Crab Nebula. NASA/ESA/Allison Loll/Jeff Hester/Arizona State University/Davide De Martin/Hubble

These two supermassive black holes began merging around 30 million years ago.

Both are located in a galaxy called NGC 6240. NASA/CXC/MIT/C. Canizares/M. Nowak/STScI

This is a star-forming region in the Cygnus, or The Swan, constellation.

The center of the image shows a star called S106 IR. NASA/ESA

The Veil Nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion that occurred around 8,000 years ago.

The image is just a small section, which is called the Witch's Broom Nebula, or NGC 6960. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team

Both of these spiral galaxies are located 55 million light-years away from Earth in the Virgo Cluster.

NGC 4302 (left) is a bit smaller than the Milky Way. NASA/ESA/M. Mutchler/STScI

The picturesque Whirlpool Galaxy has been gliding past the smaller galaxy on the left for hundreds of millions of years.

Also known as Messier 51, the galaxy's long spirals are made of stars, gas, and dust. NASA/ESA/S. Beckwith/STScI/Hubble Heritage Team/AURA

The Westerlund 2 star cluster is estimated to be about one or two million years old.

Westerlund 2 contains some of the biggest, brightest stars in the universe. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/AURA/A. Nota/Westerlund 2 Science Team

This pillar residing in the Carina Nebula is located 7,500 light-years away from Earth.

The orange elephant trunk is a massive cloud of hot gas and dust. NASA/ESA/Hubble SM4 ERO Team

NGC 602 is an open cluster located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way.

On Earth, you can see the SMC when you're below or near the equator. NASA/CXC/Univ. Potsdam/L. Oskinova et al./STScI/JPL/Caltech

The largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, has a trademark Great Red Spot that is roughly as wide as Earth.

This image was taken when Jupiter was about 416 million miles away from Earth. NASA/ESA/A. Simon/GSFC

The Antennae Galaxies are currently going through a starburst phase in which clouds of gas and dust collide and cause rapid star formation.

The two colliding galaxies are about 62 million light-years from Earth. NASA/CXC/SAO/J. DePasquale/JPL-Caltech/STScI

The rose-like shape of the larger of the two galaxies is caused by the gravitational pull of the one below it.

This pair of interacting galaxies is called Arp 273. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/AURA

Located in the Scorpius constellation, the open cluster Pismis 24 is home to several massive stars.

Pismis 24 lies at the core of NGC 6357, or the Lobster Nebula. NASA/ESA/Jesús Maíz Apellániz/Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía/Davide De Martin/Hubble

The giant nebula NGC 2014 and its neighbor, NGC 2020, form a "star nursery" where stars are created.

These two nebulae are part of the vast Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. NASA/ESA/STScI

The Lobster Nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas located about 5,500 light-years from Earth.

The Lobster Nebula has at least three clusters of young stars. NASA/CXC/PSU/L. Townsley et al./UKIRT/JPL/Caltech

The center of our Milky Way galaxy contains a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A* — the bright white spot on the right side of this photo.

The largest type of black hole, supermassive black holes are found in the center of most currently known massive galaxies. NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al./ESA/STScI/JPL-Caltech/SSC/S. Stolovy

The Bubble Nebula is an emission nebula located 8,000 light-years away from Earth.

A nebula is an expanding cloud of gas and dust that is left behind after a star explodes. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team

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