Space imitates art

It was painted in 1889 by Vincent Van Gogh, as a work of pure imagination.

However, stunning new images released today by the European Space Agency reveal that Van Gogh's Starry Night almost perfectly recreates distant astral bodies.

ESA experts claim the images are "amazingly similar", despite the fact the images released today are the first time any human has witnessed the swirling clouds.

"There is absolutely no way anyone could have known these swirls exist in the sky before today," said Lars Christensen, a spokesman for the Hubble space telescope which took the new pictures.

"I think it's testament to Van Gogh's genius and perhaps his insanity that he saw these spiral patterns in the sky.

"We were amazed when we saw the two pictures side by side, as they are so similar."

The space agency's image shows a giant star called Monocerotis, which is right on the edge of the Milky Way, around 20,000 light years from earth. The expanding halo of light surrounding the star is caused by turbulent storms of dust and gas, which result in the giant swirls.

Van Gogh's painting is believed to show the view from the mental asylum of Saint Remy, and was completed 13 months before his death at the age of 37. It is thought the painting was created entirely from memory.

Famous for his mental instability, Van Gogh attempted to take Paul Gauguin's life and committed himself to several asylums in the hope of a cure that was never realised.