The Hottest Photos from WISE

This image highlights the dust that speckles the Andromeda galaxy -- our nearest large galaxy neighbor. The warm dust, which is heated by newborn stars, traces spidery arms all the way to the center of Andromeda.This image highlights the dust that speckles the Andromeda galaxy -- our nearest large galaxy neighbor. The warm dust, which is heated by newborn stars, traces spidery arms all the way to the center of Andromeda. › See full image and caption

The spiral beauty, called IC 342 and sometimes Hidden galaxy, is shrouded behind our Milky Way galaxy's bright band of stars, dust and gas. WISE's infrared vision cuts through this veil, offering a crisp view. › See full image and caption

This image shows a cosmic rosebud blossoming with new stars. The stars, called the Berkeley 59 cluster, are the blue dots to the right of the image center. They are ripening out of the dust cloud from which they formed, and at just a few million years old, are young on stellar time scales. › See full image and caption

This is a view of the star-forming region IC 1795, located within the constellation Cassiopeia. This region appears dark and relatively devoid of stars in photographs taken in visible light, due to obscuring dust. The same dust glows brightly in the infrared images obtained by WISE. › See full image and caption

This cosmic cloud, known as the Soul nebula, is one of many sites of star formation within the Milky Way galaxy. It is located 3,800 light-years away from Earth and is nearly 240 light-years across. › See full image and caption

This image shows the famous Pleiades cluster of stars, also known as the Seven Sisters, as seen through the eyes of WISE. The Pleiades are an open cluster of stars, meaning they are loosely bound to each other and will eventually, after a few hundred million years, go their separate ways. › See full image and caption