NASA’s Swift satellite was built to detect gamma-ray bursts, but the images it captures of star fields are something else entirely. These are not the heavily processed Hubble composites you’re used to. Swift’s ultraviolet imagery has its own distinct quality: rawer, and in some ways more honest about what deep space actually looks like.
NASA has always been my favorite government entity, and their work continues to bring humanity one tiny step closer to understanding the universe. The NASA Swift Satellite has been in orbit for nearly a decade, and specializes in capturing Gamma Ray Bursts. It has some new ultraviolet (and visible light) maps of our two closest galaxies, Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
It blows my mind thinking of how many millions of stars are out there. Click here to download a huge, amazing view of the Large Magellanic Cloud. 
