The "WISE' telescope has for the first time been able to identify previously unseen stars, asteroids, dust clouds and comets. Using technology to photograph the entire night sky one and a half times in infra-red light, NASA said the telescope detected more than 25,000 new asteroids. Astronomy experts said almost 100 new asteroids were considered "near Earth”, or within 30 million miles (48 million km). None, they added, posed any real threat to Earth.
The telescope also sighted 15 new comets and hundreds of potential brown dwarfs, or failed stars. It also confirmed the existence of 20 "White dwars", including some of the coldest ever known.
"WISE" also detected what NASA scientists believe is an ultra luminous galaxy, more than 10 billion light years away that formed from other colliding galaxies. Most of the objects have been invisible to most other telescopes before now.