Our Space has been a mystery for long and the journey to decode its secrets has intrigued many. Ever

wondered why our heavenly bodies looked so spectacular and

breathtaking. Telling us the story are the stunning photos of celestial objects, many of which are several light-years away. Track the recent research on this field, which has

been a total enigma for all of mankind. From the recent comets, to striking craters to the 'Eye of the

God' - here's an attempt at unraveling the mysteries of the

universe...

Recently, a brilliant spectacle of the 'Eye of God' was observed by astronomers. The cosmic formation is a mixture of gas and dust that comes from a fading central star. Its size is believed to be quarter the size of the moon. The 'Eye of God' image lies close to 700 light-years away and it is present in the constellation of Aquarius. It is believed that our solar system to could meet a similar fate five billion years from now. In this image provided by NASA shows a newly expanded image of the Helix nebula lending a festive touch to the fourth anniversary of the launch of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This spectacular object, a dying star unraveling into space, is a favorite of amateur and professional astronomers alike. Spitzer has mapped the expansive outer structure of the six-light-year-wide nebula, and probed the inner region around the central dead star to reveal what appears to be a planetary system that survived the star's chaotic death throes. Spitzer launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

This image provided by NASA shows a Hubble Space Telescope image of thousands of sparkling young stars nestled within the giant nebula NGC 3603. This stellar "jewel box" is one of the most massive young star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy. NGC 3603 is a prominent star-forming region in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way, about 20,000 light-years away. This latest image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows a young star cluster surrounded by a vast region of dust and gas. The image reveals stages in the life cycle of stars.

This photo from the Hubble Space Telescope, supplied by NASA and the European Space Agency shows bright blue newly formed stars that are blowing a cavity in the center of a star-forming region known as N90 that has fascinated scientists. The high energy radiation blazing out from the hot young stars in N90 is eroding the outer portions of the nebula from the inside, as the diffuse outer reaches of the nebula prevent the energetic outflows from streaming away from the cluster directly. Because N90 is located far from the central body of the Small Magellanic Cloud, numerous background galaxies in this picture can be seen, delivering a grand backdrop for the stellar newcomers. The dust in the region gives these distant galaxies a reddish-brown tint.

Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have created a stunning new image of one of the youngest supernova remnants in the galaxy. This new view provided by NASA shows the debris of an exploded star that helps astronomers solve a long-standing mystery, with implications for understanding how a star's life can end catastrophically and for gauging the expansion of the universe. Chandra's latest image marks a new phase in understanding the object now known as Kepler's supernova remnant. By combining nearly nine days of Chandra observations, astronomers have generated an X-ray image with unprecedented detail of one of the brightest recorded supernovas in the Milky Way galaxy.

This image provided by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy Zwicky 18. NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has found the galaxy is the equivalent of the painting of Dorian Gray, a portrait in an Oscar Wilde novel that appears mysteriously to age. Like the fictional painting, the galaxy I Zwicky 18 appears to look older the more astronomers study it. New Hubble data have quashed that possibility. The telescope found faint older stars contained within the galaxy, suggesting its star formation started at least one billion years ago and possibly as much as 10 billion years ago. The galaxy, therefore, may have formed at the same time as most other galaxies.

Although the galaxy is not as youthful as was once believed, it is certainly developmentally challenged and unique in the nearby universe, said astronomer Alessandra Aloisi from the Space Telescope Science Institute and the European Space Agency in Baltimore, Md., who led the new study.

This image provided by NASA shows the striking Maunder crater lying at approximately 50 degrees South and 2 degree East, in the Noachis Terra region on Mars. The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA's Mars Express orbiter took pictures of the Noachis Terra region during orbits 2412, with a ground resolution of approximately 15 metres per pixel. The sun illuminates the scene from the north-east (top left in the image). Maunder crater, named after the british astronomer Edward W. Maunder, is located halfway between Argyre Planitia and Hellas Planitia on the southern highlands of Mars.

In this image provided by NASA shows the very deep image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the spiral galaxy NGC-4921 along with a spectacular backdrop of more distant galaxies. It was created from a total of 80 separate pictures through yellow and near-infrared filters.

This image provided by NASA shows the spiral galaxy Messier 101 and is a composite of views from the Spitzer Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and Chandra X-ray Observatory. The red color shows Spitzer's view in infrared light. It highlights the heat emitted by dust lanes in the galaxy where stars can form. The yellow color is Hubble's view in visible light.

Most of this light comes from stars, and they trace the same spiral structure as the dust lanes. The blue color shows Chandra's view in X-ray light. Such composite images allow astronomers to see how features seen in one wavelength match up with those seen in another wavelength.

This image provided by NASA shows an artist concept of an Iridium satellite in earth orbit. Two big communications satellites collided in the first-ever crash of its kind in orbit over Siberia Tuesday Feb. 10, 2009, shooting out a pair of massive debris clouds and posing a slight risk to the international space station.

The collision involved an Iridium commercial satellite, which was launched in 1997, and a Russian satellite launched in 1993 and believed to be nonfunctioning.

This photo provided Friday Feb. 13, 2009 by the European Space Agency shows the Ariane-5 rocket, carrying communication satellites, after lift off Thursday Feb. 12 from Kourou, French Guiana. The Ariane-5 rocket shuttled one satellite for Eutelsat Communications, a French operator of satellites, and the other for global operator SES. The mission also launched two micro-satellites for the French government's arms procurement agency, the DGA.

The Gravity Probe B, with a telescope and gyroscopes, in an undated handout photo. For 46 years, Francis Everitt, a Stanford University physicist, has promoted the often perilous fortunes of Gravity Probe B, perhaps the most exotic, "Star Trek"-ish experiment ever undertaken in space.

Russian-made Proton-U rocket booster with cargo Progress M-66 spacecraft,

lifts off from the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome in

Kazakhstan on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Cargo ship carries supplies bound for

the International Space Station.

This photo provided Friday Feb. 13, 2009 by the European Space Agency shows the Ariane-5 rocket, carrying communication satellites, lifting off Thursday Feb. 12 from Kourou, French Guiana. The Ariane-5 rocket shuttled one satellite for Eutelsat Communications, a French operator of satellites, and the other for global operator SES.

The mission also launched two micro-satellites for the French government's arms procurement agency, the DGA.