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WISE/NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared survey Explorer)

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.
Credit: NASA
Published: December 20, 2022

An illustration of NASA's WISE spacecraft. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.

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An illustration of a quasar.
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A graphic shows a tilted disc in the center. A dark, diffuse purple ring lines its outer edge. The dark purple fades inward to a bright purple, light blue, and then lighter until it reaches the center where there is a black spot. From both the top and bottom of the disk's center, an icy light blue beam shoots out.
Quasar
An illustration of NASA’s WMAP spacecraft.
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This illustration shows NASA’s WMAP spacecraft in shades of blues. The bottom of the satellite is a round circle, like a ballerina’s tutu. Rising from the circle is a bulky, vaguely cylindrical shape topped by two circles facing opposite directions.
WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe)
An illustration of NASA's GALEX spacecraft.
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GALEX is illustrated in multiple shades of blue. The spacecraft body is made up of a hexagonal object topped by a cylindrical object. Solar panels extend to either side.
GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer)
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 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)
An illustration showing a blue, front view of a barred spiral galaxy.
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A background of medium, bright blue shows a bright, white, thin line that creates an oblong, elongated swirl that connects in the middle with a lighter blue, diffuse cloud. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Front View, Blue)
An illustration of ESA’s INTEGRAL spacecraft.
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This INTEGRAL illustration shows the space telescope in shades of blue. The main body of the spacecraft is made of an octagonal base. A long rectangle extends from the base above a cylinder. Solar panels extend from either side of the base.
INTEGRAL (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory)
An illustration of NASA's NuSTAR space telescope.
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This illustration shows NASA's NuSTAR space telescope in shades of blue. Attached to the base of the instrument is a long, tower-like structure that extends out towards the front of the spacecraft that has a singular, wing-shaped solar array attached.
NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array)
An illustration of ESA's LISA Pathfinder spacecraft.
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This illustration shows ESA's LISA Pathfinder spacecraft in shades of blue. The craft has an octagonal shape with a relatively flat "face" with smaller components found around the sides of the spacecraft.
LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) Pathfinder
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 a purple spiral galaxy.
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A hazy range of purples makes up the base of this swirling spiral of light blue lines twirling inward toward a yellow cloud with a white spot in the center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Spiral Galaxy (Purple)
An illustration of an orange elliptical galaxy.
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A diffuse oval is outlined by dark orange 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)
An angled oval illustration of a supernova.
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A large oval shape on an angled tilt 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 yellow green color and they move inward into different light orange colors and finally to a center oval shape that is a dark blue and appears like a starburst because of the waved outlines that lay on top. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Supernova (Yellow)
An illustration of NASA's RXTE satellite.
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This illustration shows NASA's RXTE satellite in shades of blue. The satellite's main body is shaped like a rectangular box with two solar array "wings," one on either side.
RXTE (Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer)
An illustration of ESA's Planck spacecraft.
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This illustration shows ESA's Planck spacecraft in shades of blue. The craft has a circular base topped by a short instrument with an open top and instrument pieces visible inside.
Planck
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)
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 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 of ESA's XMM Newton observatory.
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This illustration shows ESA's XMM-Newton observatory in shades of blue. Overall, the craft is dragonfly-shaped with a long, cylindrical body and an open "head" from which two solar array "wings" extend.
XMM Newton (X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission Newton)
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 showing an irregular galaxy.
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A rounded, boomerang-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 Two)
An illustration showing an irregular galaxy.
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An amorphous, diffuse purple blob that's darker around the rim with a light, whitish center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Irregular Galaxy (Version One)
An illustration of a blazar, or an active galactic nucleus that emits a powerful radiation jet. 
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A graphic shows a diffused, dark purple ring that fades inward to a bright purple, a lighter purple, and eventually to a light blue gradient. At the center of the circular object is a small black circle from which a transparent beam is emitted, starting as a transparent blue and moving into green, yellow, orange and red.
Blazar
An illustration of NASA's PIPER instrument.
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This illustration shows NASA's PIPER instrument in shades of blue. Piper has a cage-like structure with a large cylinder inside of it and smaller boxes attached around it. Long thin support pieces extend from the body upward, which will attach the payload to a large balloon.
PIPER (Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer)
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)

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