Top Story: Spitzer Captures Stellar Coming of Age in Our Galaxy

More than 800,000 snapshots from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have been stitched together to create a new "coming of age" portrait of stars in our inner Milky Way galaxy.more...
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What's Happening: Stellar Lightweight Causes a Mysteriously Massive Explosion

When amateur astronomer Ron Arbour spotted an enormous explosion from 17 million light-years away in the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946), many professional scientists believed that it was the final death throes of a massive dying star. However, observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope unexpectedly showed that a relatively lightweight star was the source of this spectacular blast. more...

Press Release: Two of the Milky Way's Spiral Arms Go Missing

New images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope are shedding light on the true structure of the Milky Way, revealing that it has just two major arms of stars instead of the four it was previously thought to possess. more...
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Recent News Scientists Hold Séance for Supernova (May 29, 2008) Strange Ring Found Circling Dead Star (May 28, 2008) Spitzer Finds Cosmic Neon's Sweet Spot (May 16, 2008) New Software Brings the Universe to Your Computer (May 13, 2008) The Second Stellar Baby Boom (April 30, 2008) Spitzer Sees Shining Stellar Sphere (April 10, 2008) Spitzer Spots Ancient Cosmic Urban Sprawl (April 8, 2008) Spitzer Finds Organics and Water Where New Planets May Grow (March 13, 2008) Cosmic Searchlights Reveal "Lost" Galaxies (March 24, 2008) Spitzer's Eyes Perfect for Spotting Diamonds in the Sky (February 26, 2008) Many, Perhaps Most, Nearby Sun-Like Stars May Form Rocky Planets (February 17, 2008) Astronomers Eye Ultra-Young, Bright Galaxy in Early Universe (February 12, 2008) Spitzer Catches Young Stars in Their Baby Blanket of Dust (February 11, 2008) Cosmic Suburbia is a Better Breeding Ground for Stars (January 25, 2008) NASA Unveils Cosmic Images Book in Braille for Blind Readers (January 15, 2008) Even Thin Galaxies Can Grow Fat Black Holes (January 10, 2008) One Million Downloads for the Hidden Universe (December 21, 2007) 10,000 Earths' Worth of Fresh Dust Found Near Star Explosion (December 20, 2007) Spitzer Studies Struggle of Galactic Teenagers (December 14, 2007) A Classic Beauty (December 11, 2007) Embryonic Star Captured with Jets Flaring (November 29, 2007) Youthful Star Sprouts Planets Early (November 28, 2007) Astronomers Say Moons Like Ours Are Uncommon (November 20, 2007) Spitzer Researcher Named 2007 Scientist of the Year (November 13, 2007) Spitzer Spies a Stellar Bubble Blower (November 8, 2007)

The Spitzer Space Telescope is a NASA mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This website is maintained by the Spitzer Science Center, located on the campus of the California Institute of Technology and part of NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center.