Spitzer views an edge-on galaxy in infrared

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You could be forgiven for thinking that we see all galaxies as beautiful spiral structures, but in reality the Universe is not so accommodating.

This thin red strip is a galaxy 44 million lightyears away that appears side-on when viewed from Earth, hiding its intricate form.

It was captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope, which views the Universe in infrared to give astronomers a unique perspective on the workings of the cosmos.

For example, the red colour in this image is starlight absorbed by cosmic dust, then reemitted and detected by Spitzer in infrared.

• Read our interview with Dr Michael Werner, Project Scientist of the Spitzer mission since 1984.