The Spitzer Space Telescope, launched in 2003, is the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space. During the two and a half years of its mission, it took pictures of the cosmos by detecting infrared energy (or heat) radiated by objects in space. The telescope captured a series of spectacular images from such formations as the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy, and even peered into the galactic center of the Milky Way.

These images are now available for viewing here. You can not only see them but actually zoom in and pan on the images, a feat made possible by Zoomify, whose software lets you create zoomable, interactive images for any Web site. The no-frills version of Zoomify is free.