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Spitzer Space Telescope

This illustration shows NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in shades of blue. The main body of the observatory is cylindrical with an open top and a large piece containing the observatory's solar array on a panel on the telescope's back.
Credit: NASA
Published: December 20, 2022

An illustration of NASAs Spitzer. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.

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An illustration of the International Space Station.
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This illustration shows the International Space Station in shades of blue. The space station has a thin middle body made up of different small modules. Extending out from the middle body of the station, each side is flanked by a "wing" made up of a series of long, rectangular solar array pieces.
International Space Station
An illustration of NASA's TESS spacecraft.
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This illustration of NASA's TESS shows the spacecraft in shades of blue. The multi-sided, cylindrical shaped main body of the satellite has two solar array "wings," each extending out from the sides of the satellite which is attached to an open, cone shaped bottom piece. Nestled inside the cone are four squares which show the relative positions of TESS’s cameras.
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
A vertical oval illustration of a supernova.
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A large vertically-oriented oval shape with rounded waves around the edge, this graphic has a flower-like appearance. Smaller transparent circles with the same wavy edge are layered inward to create an inner starburst shape. The outer rings are a very light green color and they move inward into different light blue colors and finally to a center starburst shape that is a dark blue. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Supernova (Green)
An illustration of NASA's SOFIA, a modified Boeing 747 aircraft.
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This illustration shows NASA's SOFIA in shades of blue. SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft, and so it is shaped like a commercial airplane, with the NASA and German Aerospace Center (DLR) logos on its tail.
SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy)
An illustration of NASA's WISE spacecraft.
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This illustration of NASA's WISE mission shows the spacecraft in shades of blue. WISE has a short, multi-sided cylindrical main body that connects to a thinner and longer open cylindrical piece. The craft's main body is attached to a large, flat panel on top.
WISE/NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared survey Explorer)
An illustration of a purple star-forming nebula.
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A large, amorphous blob in a circular shape has layers of transparent, hazy color overlapping. The different layers start with a slight blue and dark purple around the outer rim and move inward to brighter purples. While white dots representing stars speckle the whole image, in the upper left part of this shape is a bright white circular cloud with more pronounced and larger stars grouped together.
Star-forming Nebula (Version Two, Purple)
An illustration of a planetary nebula.
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A subtly transparent, colorful hourglass shape has a central point that is a white circle surrounded by bright, white haze. Extending outward from the center in opposite directions are plums of color that form the hourglass shape. The central part of each plume starts as an icy, light blue and fades upward into a purple color and outward into red. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version Two, Purple)
An illustration showing a purple, front view of a barred spiral galaxy.
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A background of medium, bright purple shows a bright, white, thin line that creates an oblong, elongated swirl that connects in the middle with a yellowish, diffuse cloud. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Front View, Purple)
An illustration showing a face-on view of a black hole.
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A graphic shows a dark but diffuse purple ring that is centered in the image. The dark purple fades into a bright purple, then a light blue that fades lighter towards the center where there is a bold, black circle.
Black Hole
An illustration of the ASCA spacecraft, developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan.
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A graphic of ASCA is shown in light and dark shades of blue. The body of the spacecraft is bottle shaped, and an array of solar panels crosses on top of the widest part.
ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics)
An illustration showing an irregular galaxy.
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An amorphous, bean-shaped diffuse purple blob that's darker around the rim with a light, whitish center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Irregular Galaxy (Version Three)
An illustration of a planetary nebula.An illustration of a planetary nebula. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.
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A transparent, colorful hourglass shape has a central point that is a white circle surrounded by bright, light haze. Extending out from the center in opposite directions are plumes of color that form the hourglass shape. Each starts as blue near the central circle, then fades into a purplish pink color. The outline of the hourglass shape is wavy and white dots representing stars speckle the image.
Planetary Nebula (Version Two, Pink)
An illustration of the COSI spacecraft.
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COSI is illustrated in light and dark blues. The spacecraft has a hexagonal body topped with a box with various attachments. One solar panel extends to the left side of the satellite’s body.
COSI (Compton Spectrometer and Imager)
An illustration of a pulsar with asymmetric magnetic field lines.
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This object resembles an open clamshell with a pearl in the center and with one half significantly larger than the other. The two halves of the shape have different sizes of curved stripes that start as a dark blue on the outside and move inward towards the center, getting brighter and lighter. In the center is a bright white circle with transparent yellow beams emerging from its sides.
Pulsar (Version Two)
 An illustration of ESA's Euclid spacecraft.
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An illustration in multiple shades of blue depicting Euclid. The spacecraft has a cylindrical body with an open top and a flat, square base as well as a flat panel along its back.
Euclid
An illustration of an orange and yellow elliptical galaxy.
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A diffuse oval is outlined by a light orange-ish yellow but gets progressively lighter in rings towards the center, a bright white spot surrounded by a small ring of white haze. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Elliptical Galaxy (Orange/Yellow)
An illustration of a yellow  elliptical galaxy.
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A diffuse oval is outlined by light yellow but gets progressively more opaque moving towards the center, a bright white spot surrounded by a small ring of white haze. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Elliptical Galaxy (Yellow)
An illustration of JAXA's Suzaku spacecraft.
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This illustration shows the Suzaku spacecraft in shades of blue. The long body of the spacecraft is narrower at the top than at the bottom, which has a hollow area underneath. Solar panels extend to either side of the widest part of the body. Round circles representing the telescopes extend from the top of the narrowest part of the body.
Suzaku
An illustration of the EXCLAIM instrument.
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An illustration in multiple shades of blue depicting EXCLAIM. The instrument is made up of a hollow cylindrical object next to a rectangular object. The whole instrument sits within a framework that extends upwards to a point, where it will attach to a balloon.
EXCLAIM (Experiment for Cryogenic Large-Aperture Intensity Mapping)
An illustration of NASA's Chandra spacecraft.
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A graphic of Chandra is shown in light and dark blue with a long, cylindrical main body. At the front of this cylinder is a darker circle. Jutting off of the front of the main body are two "wings" of solar arrays.
Chandra X-ray Observatory
An illustration showing the side of a blue spiral galaxy.
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A horizontal oval is outlined by diffused, dark blue surrounding a brighter blue which fades to be lighter and brighter as it moves inward. The center of the shape is a hazy white circle. Cutting across the center of the image is a flattened disc outlined in dark blue with a light blue center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Blue)
An illustration of JAXA's Hitomi spacecraft.
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This Hitomi illustration shows the space telescope in shades of blue. The main body of the spacecraft is a long octagon with a cylindrical object on the front end. The cylinder has several smaller cylinders extending from it. On the back end of the satellite extends a long pole that ends in an octagonal panel. Solar panels extend to either side of the main body.
Hitomi
An illustration of NASA's Hubble spacecraft.
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This Hubble illustration shows the space telescope in shades of blue. A main cylindrical body has an opening with a flap at the top. The spacecraft's main body connects to two sets of two panels jutting out from either side horizontally and two circular objects attached vertically.
Hubble Space Telescope
An illustration of NASA's Swift observatory.
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This illustration shows the Swift observatory in shades of blue. A multi-sided cylindrical body is flanked by two solar array "wings." The front face has a large squared-off half-circle instrument, two small cylindrical telescopes, and a shield along the top edge.
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
An illustration of NASA's NICER X-ray observatory.
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This illustration shows NASA's NICER observatory in shades of blue. A smaller, flat and square lower half connects to a top half that is cube-shaped with a series of small, circular pieces across its face.
NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer)

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