Orion Nebula

This fresh look at the Orion Nebula (Messier 42) is courtesy of the ESO's La Silla Observatory and data unearthed during ESO's Hidden Treasures competition.

Credit: ESO and Igor Chekalin

Compare it with Hubble's highest resolution view from 2006 below.

Credit: NASA,ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

ESO's Hidden Treasures

The ESO launched a rather technical competition in 2010 inviting amateur astronomers to sift through their vast archives of astronomical data for diamonds in the rough. First prize--and what a prize it was, a trip to ESO's Very Large Telescope at Paranal, Chile--went to astronomy enthusiast Igor Chekalin. Below is a sampling of the 20 highest ranked images out of the nearly 100 entries submitted, including Chekalin's winning submission of the reflection nebula Messier 78.

M78

Abell 1060

Orion Nebula

NGC3169 & NGC3166 and SN 2003cg

NGC 3521

Source/Credit: ESO

Monoceros R2

VISTA infrared image of the star-forming region Monoceros R2 within the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn).
Credit: ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Herbig-Haro 502

Hubble's view deep inside the Orion Nebula reveals the colorful but turbulent early stages of a young star's life as it ejects material at shock wave speeds into the surrounding gas and dust of the nebula, creating a Herbig-Haro object denoted by curved bow shock features to the lower-left and upper-right and a narrow jet extending from the star itself.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Lagoon Nebula

Hubble close-up of the heart of the Lagoon Nebula.
Credit: NASA, ESA

Pillars

Hubble close-up of light-year-tall hydrogen and dust pillars within the Carina Nebula.
Credit/Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Project (STScI/AURA), M. Livio (STScI) and N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley)

Star Formation Revealed Around M17

As this juxtaposition of visible light (top) and infrared light (bottom) composite images illustrates, there's more to the M17 nebula than meets the eye. The Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared view reveals furious star formation taking place in the dark swath to the right of the well-lit M17 nebula at center.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Penn State/DSS

Close Up Of The Milky Way's Most Massive Known Stars

The gas and dust of the giant galactic nebula NGC 3603 have been swept aside by the ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds of the star cluster at its heart. This is what's called a starburst region and is home to thousands of stars, include 3 Wolf-Rayet type stars, one of which was recently confirmed by observations from the VLT as the Milky Way's most massive known.
Credit: NASA, ESA, R. O'Connell (University of Virginia), F. Paresce (National Institute for Astrophysics, Bologna, Italy), E. Young (Universities Space Research Association/Ames Research Center), the WFC3 Science Oversight Committee, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

R Coronae Australis

From the ESO's Wide Field Imager, a stunning new view of the star-forming region around the star R Coronae Australis.
Credit: ESO

Wide field view of the area around R Coronae Australis.
Credit: Loke Kun Tan (StarryScapes.com)

First Light

The ESO's new robotic telescope, TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope), has taken three spectacular first light images of the spiral galaxy Messier 83, globular cluster Omega Centauri and the Tarantula Nebula. The 60-cm TRAPPIST based at the La Silla Observatory in Chile will study planetary systems via the duel tasking of studying local comets and through the detection and characterization of exoplanets. -- Press Release

Credit: TRAPPIST/E. Jehin/ESO

Credit: TRAPPIST/E. Jehin/ESO

Credit: TRAPPIST/E. Jehin/ESO

Within The Carina Nebula

Hubble has released a spectacular series of images of a section of the Carina Nebula in commemoration of its 20th Anniversary. This single pillar of gas and dust measures three light years in height and is being blown apart by infant stars buried within it and eaten away by the light from the stars that surround it.

Images Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

Orion Nebula

This Spitzer Space Telescope image is of the Orion Nebula. Prominent features include the Trapezium star cluster, home to the hottest stars in the region (center right in the image below), and the dark areas center left are the densest parts of the dust cloud that is being shaped by the radiation and winds created by these young, energetic stars.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Infrared Image Of The Berkeley 59 Cluster Taken By WISE

The young stars in the Berkeley 59 star cluster are the blue dots right of center. The dense dust cloud from which they formed glows red where it is being compressed and heated by the newly formed stars, and possibly giving birth to an even younger second generation of stars. The green marks the edges of the nebula. The opening in the nebula was caused by a massive star going nova, blowing a hole in the cloud leaving behind this flowering remnant.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

VISTA's Visible And Infrared View Of The Orion Nebula

The ESO's VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy) survey telescope's powers are amply demonstrated in this new image of the Orion Nebula. VISTA's huge field of view enables it to image the entire Orion Nebula in both visible and infrared wavelengths, resulting in a composite image that is vast in its breadth and depth--not to mention breathtakingly beautiful.

Credit: ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Starburst Region Home To Milky Way's Most Massive Known Star

Several blue supergiant stars crowd into a volume of less than a cubic light-year, along with three so-called Wolf-Rayet stars — extremely bright and massive stars that are ejecting vast amounts of material before finishing off in glorious explosions known as supernovae. Using another recent set of observations performed with the SINFONI instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have confirmed that one of these stars is about 120 times more massive than our Sun, standing out as the most massive star known so far in the Milky Way -- Press Release

Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Cat’s Paw Nebula

NGC 6334 is one of the most active nurseries of massive stars in our galaxy and has been extensively studied by astronomers. The nebula conceals freshly minted brilliant blue stars — each nearly ten times the mass of our Sun and born in the last few million years. The region is also home to many baby stars that are buried deep in the dust, making them difficult to study. In total, the Cat’s Paw Nebula could contain several tens of thousands of stars. -- Press Release

Credit: ESO

Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Atlas Of The Orion Nebula's Protoplanetary Discs

The Orion Nebula is home to fledgling planetary systems. Six are highlighted in this image and 30 proplyds, or protoplanetary discs, are individually imaged below.


Image credit: NASA, ESA and L. Ricci (ESO)