Astronomers have used the Hubble telescope to produce an infrared "photo essay" of spiral galaxies. By penetrating the dust clouds swirling around the centers of these galaxies, the telescope's infrared vision is offering fresh views of star birth.

These six images, taken with Hubble's infrared camera, showcase different views of spiral galaxies, from a face-on picture of an entire galaxy to a close-up of a core. The top row shows spirals at diverse angles, from face-on, [left]; to slightly tilted, [center]; to edge-on, [right]. The bottom row shows close-ups of the hubs of three galaxies.