Infrared galaxies. Thirty largest galaxies seen in the infrared sky. These are not the same as the largest galaxies viewed in visible light because some stars are brighter in visible light than in infrared. Infrared can peer through the dense dust that obscures millions of stars from sight at visible wavelengths. These images were made as part of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) project using ground based telescopes in the USA and in Chile. The project began in 1997 with the aim of surveying the entire sky using near- infrared technology.