The European Space Agency (Esa) has released a stunning image of the spiral galaxy M51, otherwise known as the Whirlpool Galaxy.

It is a composite of images taken by Europe's Herschel space observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The picture combines views of the galaxy captured at visible and far-infrared wavelengths.

It highlights the cool, dusty and gaseous regions of M51, where the process of star formation is underway.

Professor David Southwood, director of science and robotic exploration at Esa, commented: "It's a wonderful image. It gives you some sense of the resolution we're going to get (with the Herschel telescope).

"The red areas are those we have detected where we know star formation is going on. We're seeing the birth of stars already."

Launched into space on 14 May, Herschel is still in its commissioning phase.