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Top Ten Infrared Space Pictures

1. Helix Nebula. A newly expanded image of the Helix Nebula (pictured) is one of the ten infrared pictures chosen by scientists to celebrate the thousand days that the Spitzer Space Telescope has been working past its retirement date. Image courtesy J. Hora, HSCfA, W. Latter, Herschel, and Caltech/NASA

2. Mountains of Creation. An infrared photograph of the star-forming region W5, aka the Mountains of Creation (pictured), was taken before Spitzer’s coolant ran out. Image courtesy L. Allen, HSCfA, and Caltech/NASA

3. See-Through Sombrero. At visible wavelengths, the Sombrero galaxy is a fuzzy white ball encircled by a black-rimmed ring of dust. Yet in infrared (pictured), the dust glows with splendor. Image courtesy R. Kennicutt, U. Arizona, and Caltech/NASA

4. Cygnus Constellation. This close-up of the Cygnus constellation was the very first picture taken after Spitzer ran out of coolant in 2009. Image courtesy Caltech/NASA

5. Trifid Nebula. One of the more striking objects in the visible-light sky is the Trifid Nebula.Image courtesy J. Rho, SSC/Caltech/NASA

6. Ancient Galaxies. Spitzer is widely known for its see-through views of nebulae, the Milky Way, and nearby galaxies, but it was also designed to peer back in time-possible because of the time it takes light to travel from distant objects to reach Earth. Image Courtesy Spitzer Space Telescope