Mission Accomplished: Mapping the Solar System

The Lagoon nebula is composed of clouds of gas and dust in which new stars are forming. Also known as Messier 8, or M8, the Lagoon nebula appears here as a large circular cloud in the center of the image, surrounded by stars.

The blue star near the center of this image is Zeta Ophiuch., a massive, hot, bright blue star moving through a large cloud of interstellar dust and gas.

One of our closest neighboring galaxies, Messier 33.(Also named the Triangulum galaxy after the constellation it's found in.)

The Lambda Centauri nebula, a star-forming cloud in our Milky Way galaxy, also known as the Running Chicken nebula, is about 5,800 light-years from Earth

A sample image of galaxies that have been photographed by WISE during its survey of the entire sky.

The supernova remnant IC 443 also known as the Jellyfish nebula, provides a look into how stellar explosions interact with their environment. IC 443 is located near the star Eta Geminorum, which lies near Castor, one of the twins in the constellation Gemini.

A mosaic image features three nebulae that are part of the giant Orion Molecular Cloud.

A photograph of a runaway star racing away from its original home. Surrounded by a glowing cloud of gas and dust, the star AE Aurigae appears to be on fire - which is why the cloud is called the Flaming Star nebula.

A dying star, or planetary nebula, known as NGC 1514. The object is actually a pair of stars, seen as a single dot at the center of the blue orb.

The Sculptor galaxy is shown in different infrared hues.

A shot of the constellation Cassiopeia. The red circle visible in the upper left part of the image is SN 1572, often called "Tycho's Supernova." This remnant of a star explosion is named after the astronomer Tycho Brahe. When he observed the supernova for the first time, it was as bright as Venus and could be seen in the daytime.

A collage of 20 comets discovered by the NEOWISE portion of the WISE mission. Call it a space family portrait.