Spitzer views an edge-on galaxy in infrared

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.