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A composite image of ultraviolet, green and deep red light shows the detailed structure of hot, moderate and cool stars in the spiral galaxy NGC 2770.

Astronomers at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona have released the first images taken using its two giant 8m diameter mirrors.  The detailed pictures show a spiral galaxy located 102 million light-years away from the Milky Way.  LBT has been 20 years in the making but promises to allow astronomers to probe the Universe further back in time and in more detail than ever before.

Background to October 2006 pic:

It may look like the Eye of Sauron from The Lord Of The Rings but this is actually the latest photograph of distant galaxy Andromeda.  The infrared image, taken using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, reveals a dust ring deep within the galaxy which has never been seen before.  Scientists believe it was formed 210million years ago when another galaxy, known as M32, collided with Andromeda. The collision has led scientists to reassess their belief that the galaxy is a perfect example of galactic tranquillity where not much happens.

Andromeda, which is named after a mythological princess and is shrouded by a haze of cosmic dust, is 1.5 times bigger than our own Milky Way and 2.5 million light years away. Scientists predict the two galaxies will collide in about 3 billion years, with neither expected to survive.