NGC 4258 in 60 Seconds (07-11-2008)
A composite image of NGC 4258, about 25 million light-years from Earth, shows an X-shaped pattern when seen in different types of light.

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--  Mysterious Arms Revealed

Just Two Numbers Is All You Need (06-02-2008)
Black holes sound wildly complicated. After all, there are all sorts of bizarre things going on: intense gravity, the warping of the fabric of space, the distortion of time itself. But when it comes to describing black holes, it comes down to just two numbers: the mass of the black hole and its spin.

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--  M33 X-7

Sombrero Galaxy in 60 Seconds (05-21-2008)
Like the Milky Way, Sombrero is a spiral galaxy. However, we see Sombrero edge-on from our vantage point from Earth, rather than the face-down perspective that is more familiar.

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- Related Links:
--  A Great Observatories View

M82 in 60 Seconds (04-14-2008)
When seen in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope, M82 looks like an ordinary spiral galaxy.

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--  Animations & Video
--  M82: Images From Space

M51 in 60 Seconds (03-18-2008)
Hubble's image of M51, also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy, shows the majestic spiral arms that are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. The infrared image from Spitzer also reveals stars and the glow from clouds of interstellar dust.

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--  Animations & Video
--  Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)