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 | Astronauts Steven L. Smith, and John M. Grunsfeld, appear as small figures in this wide scene photographed during extravehicular activity (EVA).
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 | The Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as Spiral Galaxy M51, Messier Object 51, Messier 51, M51, or NGC 5194) is a classic spiral galaxy located in the Canes Venatici constellation.Its companion galaxy is NGC 5195,the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the Whirlpools arms.These individual galaxies may be referred to as M51A (5194) and M51B (5195). The galaxy is less than 37 million light years away from Earth.
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 | In this stunning picture of the giant galactic nebula NGC 3603, the crisp resolution of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures various stages of the life cycle of stars in one single view
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 | Planetary Nebula M57 (also known as the Ring Nebula, NGC 6720 or Messier Object 57) is located in the constellation Lyra. It is among the most well known and recognizable examples of a planetary nebula. The nebula is located at 0.7 kpc (2300 light-years) from Earth.This photo reveals elongated dark clumps of material embedded in the gas at the edge of the nebula; the dying central star floating in a blue haze of hot gas.
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 | Thackerays Globules are dense, opaque dust clouds in outer space, known as globules, are silhouetted against nearby bright stars in the busy star-forming region, IC 2944. Little is known about the origin and nature of these globules in IC 2944,which were first found by astronomer A.D. Thackeray in 1950.They are generally associated with areas of star formation, called HII regions due to the presence of hydrogen gas.
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 | Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4603, the most distant galaxy in which a special class of pulsating stars called Cepheid variables have been found. It is associated with the Centaurus cluster, one of the most massive assemblages of galaxies in the nearby universe.The Local Group of galaxies, of which the Milky Way is a member, is moving in the direction of Centaurus at a speed of more than a million miles an hour under the influence of the gravitational pull of the matter in that direction.
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 | For the first time Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board, the Hubble Space Telescope in October and November 1997 and April 1999, imaged the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) with unprecedented clarity.It also imaged the enigmatic inner structure presented in the picture.
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 | In the 17th-century astronomers first noted a conspicuous reddish spot on the giant planet. This Great Red Spot is still present in Jupiters atmosphere, more than 300 years later. It is now known that it is a vast storm, spinning like a cyclone. The Red Spot rotates in a counterclockwise direction in the southern hemisphere, showing that it is a high-pressure system. Winds inside this Jovian storm reach speeds of about 270 mph.
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 | Astronauts C. Michael Foale, left, and Claude Nicollier (on Discoverys robotic arm) install a Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) into a protective enclosure in the Shuttles payload bay.
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 | This artists impression shows a dramatic close-up of the scorched extrasolar planet HD 209458b which orbits the Sun-like star HD 209458 in the constellation Pegasus, some 150 light years from Earths solar system. Astronomers have observed the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet evaporating off into space. Much of this planet may eventually disappear, leaving only a dense core
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