Space. The final frontier

This image obtained September 28, 2008 shows the spiral galaxy Messier 83, captured by the Wide Field Imager at the European Southern Observatory in Chile on September 2. Nicknamed the "Thousand-Ruby Galaxy," because it sparkles with reddish hydrogen gas. The galaxy, located 15 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra, it is thought to have a similar structure to the the Milky Way galaxy, but with half the size. AFP PHOTO/HO/ESO