The Horsehead Nebula, shadowy in optical light, appears transparent and ethereal when seen here at infrared wavelengths. This pillar of tenuous hydrogen gas laced with dust is resisting being eroded away by the radiation from a nearby star. The nebula is a small part of a vast star-forming complex in the constellation Orion. The Horsehead will disintegrate in about 5 million years.

This image, taken in celebration of Hubble's 21st birthday, shows the interacting galaxy pair called Arp 273. The disk of the larger galaxy is distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational pull of the companion galaxy below it. A swath of blue, jewel-like points across the top is the combined light from clusters of bright and hot young stars.