Millions of stars revealed as Nasa trains its new telescope on the outer edges of the galaxy

A glance into a cloudless night sky will usually show a handful of stars. But incredible pictures from Nasa's new telescope show a galaxy of millions. The powerful Kepler telescope was designed to search for unknown planets among more than 100,000 stars in the Milky Way.

Kepler's first image reveals a vast star field in the Cygnus-Lyra region of our galaxy, the Milky Way. One fascinating picture is ablaze with stars filling the telescope's entire field of view, while two others zoom in on targeted stars and clusters. Scientists believe it could unveil the first gripping evidence of small, rocky planets like the Earth with the right conditions to support life.

Lia LaPiana, programme executive at the American space agency Nasa's headquarters in Washington DC, said: 'Kepler's first glimpse of the sky is awe-inspiring. To be able to see millions of stars in a single snapshot is simply breathtaking.'

The 15ft telescope, fitted with British-made light detectors, was launched last month from Cape Canaveral, Florida. From a vantage point trailing the Earth round the Sun, it will spend three-and-a-half years focused on a patch of sky equivalent to the size of a human hand held at arm's length. (Source: Daily Mail)