Skip Navigation
menu close modal
Resources

The Traveler - Gifs

This image shows the same blue cartoon character in a variety of animated GIFs. The character, called The Traveler, has one eye and an antenna on the top of their head, and they are wearing a green spacesuit and a bubble-shaped clear helmet. In the top row, there are four different animations. In the first, they are putting a pair of binoculars up to their eye, then looking out wide-eyed. In the second, they are pulling their hands toward their face and hearts rise upward. In the third, they are jumping for joy. In the fourth they are pulling a pair of binoculars from their side, then putting it up to their eye. The bottom row shows two more animations. The first has them lifting a camera to their eye and snapping a picture with the flash going off. In the last one, they are walking toward the right with a suitcase in their hand. The suitcase is plastered with illegible stickers. There is text below each animation with a couple of words or a phrase describing each animation.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Published: April 11, 2023

This character is defined by boundless enthusiasm, a bit of naivete, and a childlike love of exploration and discovery.

ENLARGE

Explore the Universe

Related

An illustration of NASA's Fermi spacecraft.
More
Fermi is illustrated in multiple shades of blue. With two "wings" coming out of its sides, each with three panels of solar arrays, the main body of the spacecraft is box-shaped. It has a main body with one open side with small components visible within and a smaller, darker box on top.
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
An illustration of ESA's XMM Newton observatory.
More
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 NASA's Chandra spacecraft.
More
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 of NASA's COBE spacecraft.
More
COBE is illustrated in light and dark blues. With two wings made up of three rectangular solar arrays each, the spacecraft's main body is made up of a striped, multi-sided cylinder with an attached cone-shaped structure on top.
COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer)
An illustration showing the side of an irregular galaxy.
More
A very long, diffuse, vaguely oval-shaped blob has a hazy dark purple color around its edge and it gets progressively lighter moving inward toward a cloudy white center. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Irregular Galaxy (Side View)
An illustration showing an irregular galaxy.
More
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 NASA's PIPER instrument.
More
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 the HaloSat spacecraft.
More
This HaloSat illustration shows the space telescope in shades of blue. The body of the spacecraft is a rectangle with three circles along the long, narrow side. One solar panel extends from the spacecraft body.
HaloSat
An illustration of a long gamma-ray burst caused by a collapsing star.
More
At the center of a series of nested blue circles is a black dot representing a black hole. A pair of cone-shaped, white jets emerge from either side of the black hole, tilted 45 degrees from vertical. The outermost blue circle has layered scalloped edges.
Long Gamma-Ray Burst From a Collapsing Star
An illustration of ESA's LISA Pathfinder spacecraft.
More
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 planetary nebula.An illustration of a planetary nebula. The colors depicted in this illustration are for artistic purposes only.
More
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 showing a purple, side view of a barred spiral galaxy.
More
An illustration has an elongated oval in light purple stretching across the center, outlined in light blue. Behind the strip is a diffuse, yellowish cloud of color that fades into a medium, bright purple. All over the image are white speckles, representing stars.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Purple)
An illustration of NASA's Swift observatory.
More
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 TESS spacecraft.
More
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 JAXA's Hitomi spacecraft.
More
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 showing a blue, side view of a barred spiral galaxy.
More
An illustration has an elongated oval in light blue stretching across the center, outlined in a darker blue. Behind the strip is a diffuse, very light blue cloud that fades into a light blue and then a darker blue. All over the image are white speckles, representing stars.
Barred Spiral Galaxy (Side View, Blue)
An illustration showing a purple, front view of a barred spiral galaxy.
More
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 of a short gamma-ray burst caused by merging neutron stars.
More
At the center of this graphic of a short gamma-ray burst is a black dot representing a black hole. A cloud of debris, represented as a yellow-ish filled-in figure eight is centered on the black hole and tilted 45 degrees to the right. A pair of white-ish, cone-shaped jets are aligned with the figure eight and extend above and below the black holes. Additional debris is represented as a blue oval and a filled-in eternity symbol, both centered on the black hole and tilted 45 degrees to the left.
Short Gamma-Ray Burst From Merging Neutron Stars
An illustration of the COSI spacecraft.
More
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 showing an edge-on view of a black hole.
More
A graphic shows a central black circle outlined in white. This circle is surrounded by a black ring which is surrounded by a light blue ring which then fades outward into bright and then dark and diffuse purple. Across the middle of the image is a light blue line that gives the appearance of a ring around the circular object.
Black Hole (Side View)
An illustration of an orange and yellow elliptical galaxy.
More
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 purple elliptical galaxy.
More
A diffuse oval is outlined by dark purple but is primarily a medium, bright purple except for the center, a bright white spot surrounded by a small ring of white haze. White dots representing stars speckle the image.
Elliptical Galaxy (Purple)
A textbook illustration of a pulsar.
More
This object resembles a tilted open clamshell with a pearl in the center. The two halves of the shape have curved stripes that start as a bold, 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 One)
An illustration of NASA's SuperTIGER instrument.
More
This illustration shows NASA's SuperTIGER instrument in shades of blue. This balloon-borne instrument has a main, box-shaped body on top of a structure that has panels attached to the bottom and a piece of the structure that extends outward on one side of the box-shaped instrument body.
SuperTIGER (Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder)
An illustration of a blue star-forming nebula.
More
A large, amorphous blob in a circular shape has layers of transparent, hazy color overlapping. The different layers are a range of transparent blues, some greener shades than others. 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, Blue)

Explore the Universe

Universe News

Two neutron stars begin to merge in this illustration, blasting a jet of high-speed particles and producing a cloud of debris.
More
Neutron Stars Collide
Neutron Stars Collide
Matter makes up all the stuff we can see in the universe, but there’s still a lot we don’t understand about it!
More
What's Inside a ‘Dead' Star?
What's Inside a ‘Dead' Star?
A movie made from over two decades of data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows a star system changing with time.
More
Chandra Rewinds Story of Great Eruption of the 1840s
Chandra Rewinds Story of Great Eruption of the 1840s
This image taken shows Arp 107, a celestial object that includes a pair of galaxies in the midst of a collision.
More
Hubble Peers at Peculiar Galactic Pair
Hubble Peers at Peculiar Galactic Pair
Astronomers have produced a glimpse of the sky as it would appear in gravitational waves, cosmic ripples in space-time generated by orbiting objects.
More
NASA Team Simulates a Glimpse of Our Galaxy in Gravitational Waves
NASA Team Simulates a Glimpse of Our Galaxy in Gravitational Waves
NGC 3156 is a lenticular galaxy, with two visible threads of dark reddish-brown dust crossing the galaxy’s disk.
More
Hubble Spots a Dreamy Galaxy
Hubble Spots a Dreamy Galaxy
This image of HH 211 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals an outflow from a Class 0 protostar.
More
NASA's Webb Snaps Supersonic Outflow of Young Star
NASA's Webb Snaps Supersonic Outflow of Young Star
A new collection of stunning images highlights data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
More
A Fab Five: New Images with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
A Fab Five: New Images with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
Called the Wide Field Instrument, this tool will enable astronomers to explore the cosmos
More
Primary Instrument for NASA's Roman Completed, Begins Tests
Primary Instrument for NASA's Roman Completed, Begins Tests
While K2-18 b lies in the habitable zone this does not necessarily mean that the planet can support life.
More
Webb Discovers Methane, Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere of K2-18 b
Webb Discovers Methane, Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere of K2-18 b
The swirls of the galaxy IC 1776 stand in splendid isolation in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
More
Hubble Images a Swirling Supernova Site
Hubble Images a Swirling Supernova Site
When a star strays too close to a black hole, gravitational forces create tides that break the star apart into a stream of gas.
More
NASA's Swift Learns a New Trick, Spots a Snacking Black Hole
NASA's Swift Learns a New Trick, Spots a Snacking Black Hole