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Sharp AntennaeA sharp new view of the Antennae galaxies allows astronomers to see the action happening at the heart of the colliding pair. The picture combines several wavelengths of visible light captured by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile.The cores of the two galaxies (pale yellow) are surrounded by glowing hydrogen gas (pink) and bursts of newborn stars (blue) triggered by the massive merger.Earlier this week ESO released the first picture from its ALMA telescope, a shot of the Antennae taken in millimeter wavelengths, which revealed cold clouds of star-forming gas invisible to optical-light telescopes.
Image courtesy A. Milani, ESO

Space Pictures This Week: Mars Landing, Solar Flare, More

Colliding galaxies, a planned Martian touchdown, and a star with "hidden" planets feature among this week's best space pictures.

October 9, 2011