View Single Post
Old 02-18-11, 05:58 PM   #9
Gotland
Seaman
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Posts: 35
Downloads: 119
Uploads: 0
Default

While were on it, NASA's "Astronomy picture of the day"-archive is a great source for astronomy pictures:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

And here's a very famous awe-inspiring picture, the deepest image ever taken in the visible spectrum:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0403/hudf_hst_big.jpg

Some of the galaxies seen are from the very beginning of galaxy formation in the early universe, 13 billion years ago.
It was taken by the Hubble by directing it at a small dark and seemingly empty patch of sky for weeks. That patch was comparable in size to a sand grain held out at arms length.
And behold, that little empty patch of sky showed 10 000 galaxies very far far away. Incredible how the photons that emitted from the oldest galaxies 13 billion years ago, make it all the way to Hubble's CCD.

Has to be one of the most humbling pictures i've ever seen.

Last edited by Gotland; 02-18-11 at 06:41 PM.
Gotland is offline   Reply With Quote