Welcome!
by CritterKeeper on Jul.30, 2009, under General
The ancient peoples saw pictures in the sky. From those patterns in the heavens, ancient storytellers created stories about heroes, maidens, dragons, bears, centaurs, dogs and mythical creatures. What kid doesn’t see dragons and angels in the clouds while lying in warm grass on a summer afternoon? What grown-up doesn’t wish upon a shooting star? So lie back and imagine the animals, insects and patterns swirling in these Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and other observatory images. We believe the explanations are best suited for parents, educators and upper-grade students. Parents of younger children may find it helpful to explore the universe together with their child. Parents can use the explanatory text as a guide. Interact with the images and find your own patterns in the stars. Conjure your own stories and settings and share them. Leave a comment on the site about what you see in the images. We love to share your stories.
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Veiled Fish
by CritterKeeper on Feb.08, 2010, under Water Creatures
Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Wispy filaments of the Veil Nebula resemble a fish with multi-colored fins in this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The scattered pieces of the Veil Nebula are all that remains of a brilliant supernova that exploded 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. The entire nebula spans a huge area in the sky equivalent to six full moons.
:Cygnus Loop, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, supernova, Veil Nebula more...
Eye in an Eye
by CritterKeeper on Feb.05, 2010, under Eyes in the Sky
Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Hot, blue stars form a halo around the yellow center of a galaxy known as Hoag’s Object. From Earth, we view this odd galaxy face-on in this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
:Hoag's Object, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, ring galaxy, Serpens more...
Deep Space Drama
by CritterKeeper on Feb.04, 2010, under Water Creatures
Credit: NASA, ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI).
Drama plays out in deep space as a small fish swims from the jaws of a larger creature.
:Aquila, Herbig-Haro 32, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, star formation more...
Starry Bug
by CritterKeeper on Feb.03, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA & ESA
Floating like a bug under a microscope, I Zwicky 18 is an odd-looking galaxy. Astronomers previously thought this peculiar galaxy was very young because it resembles galaxies typically found in the early universe. But images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show older stars within the galaxy leading scientists to update their ideas. They now believe I Zwicky 18 was born about the same time as the Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy.
:dwarf galaxy, Hubble Space Telescope, I Zw 18, I Zwicky 18, irregular galaxy, Magellanic Clouds, NASA, Starburst Galaxy more...
Iridescent Eye
by CritterKeeper on Feb.02, 2010, under Eyes in the Sky
Credit: NASA & ESA
Shining with iridescent hues of red and blue, the Helix Nebula resembles an eye in this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Planetary nebula come in all shapes and sizes. In the case of the Helix Nebula, and the Ring Nebula, we are looking down a trillion-mile-long barrel of gas and dust; all that is left over when the central star shed its outer layers near the end of its life. A planetary nebula is the final stage of a Sun-like star’s life. As a star like our Sun reaches the end of its life, it balloons to a red giant star. While this gives the star new life, providing extra energy to burn it’s hydrogen and helium fuel for nuclear fusion, it cannot last forever. Eventually the star collapses on itself. The outer layers of the star are thrown into space creating a bubble around the star.
:Helix Nebula, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, NGC 7293, planetary nebula more...
A Thousand Tadpoles
by CritterKeeper on Feb.01, 2010, under Water Creatures
Credit: NASA & ESA
A thousand cosmic tadpoles appear to stream toward the central star of the Helix Nebula in this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
:Helix Nebula, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, NGC 7293, planetary nebula more...
Star-osaur
by CritterKeeper on Jan.29, 2010, under Birds and other animals
Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), and The Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration
To me, this image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope looks like a lumbering, long-necked Brontosaurus. Maybe a turtle with a long tail. What do you see in this image?
:Canes Venatici, dwarf galaxy, galactic collision, galaxy merger, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, NGC 4449, starburst more...
Hazy Eye
by CritterKeeper on Jan.28, 2010, under Eyes in the Sky
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Colorful shapes and lines play in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the glowing planetary nebula IC 4593. Planetary nebula have nothing to do with planets. In the 17th and 18th centuries, astronomers peering through small telescopes looking for planets would find objects that resembled planets. Astronomers now know that these nebula are the last remains of dying Sun-like stars. As a star reaches the end of its life and the hydrogen fuel needed to sustain fusion in its core runs out, the star expands into a red giant. Eventually, however, the star collapses back on itself. This increases the temperature at its core and it explodes. Most of the star’s material is catapulted into space, forming a bubble around the star. This doesn’t happen all at once but in stages.
:dying star, Hercules, Hubble Space Telescope, IC 4593, NASA, planetary nebula more...
Galaxian Dragonfly
by CritterKeeper on Jan.27, 2010, under Bugs
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
This galaxian dragonfly, wings folded, rests deep in space. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope clearly shows a pair of merging, edge-on galaxies called NGC 6670. Astronomers believe the two galaxies have already had one close encounter with each other and are making a second pass. The galaxies are just 50,000 light years apart. For comparison, our Milky Way Galaxy is 100,000 light-years wide and the nearest large galaxy to it is the Andromeda Galaxy at two million light-years away.
:galaxy collition, Hubble Space Telescope, interacting galaxies, merging galaxies, NASA, NGC 6670, Pavo more...
Of Snakes and Snails
by CritterKeeper on Jan.26, 2010, under Birds and other animals
Credit: NASA & ESA
The landscape of Mars’ hazy Hellas Basin twists and turns as if someone spread warm peanut butter across it and let it ooze downhill. Features, shown in this image from NASA’s HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, snake across the plain. Some shapes curl up in shell-like shapes. Explore the strange landforms. Between some of the snake-like, flowing shapes, you can find sand dunes and craters.
:Hellas Basin, HiRISE, mars, mars reconnaissance orbiter more...

Zoom in and out and pan around the images to find your own patterns in the stars. Be creative and think outside the box.