BBC NEWS | In Depth | Photo Gallery | In pictures: Telescope pierces space dust

News services
Your news when you want it

News Front Page

World

England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

Business

Politics

Health

Education

Science/Nature

Technology

Entertainment

-----------------

Have Your Say

Magazine

In Pictures

Week at a Glance

Country Profiles

In Depth

Programmes

RELATED BBC SITES

Last Updated: Thursday, 18 December, 2003, 22:04 GMT

In pictures: Telescope pierces space dust




1 of 7 Nasa's new infra-red telescope - newly renamed the Spitzer Telescope - can see through clouds of dust that visible light can't penetrate




2 of 7 This allows it to photograph so-called star nurseries where stars have just been born...




3 of 7 In this stellar birthsite stars are being formed out of vast clouds of gas and dust.




4 of 7 The Spitzer Telescope has also observed shrouds of dust surrounding comets.




5 of 7 Hot, young, so-called Protostars shine brightly next to the clouds that gave them birth.




6 of 7 Spitzer has also observed discs of dust around nearby stars that may also contain planets.




7 of 7 The majestic spiral galaxy M81 is one of Spitzer's best images so far.