Partners In Design

3.19.2008

Extraterrestrial Art

Explanation: An eerie blue glow and ominous columns of dark dust highlight M78 and other bright reflection nebula in the constellation of Orion. The dark filamentary dust not only absorbs light, but also reflects the light of several bright blue stars that formed recently in the nebula. Of the two reflection nebulas pictured above, the more famous nebula is M78, on the upper right, while NGC 2071 can be seen to its lower left. The same type of scattering that colors the daytime sky further enhances the blue color. M78 is about five light-years across and visible through a small telescope. M78 appears above only as it was 1600 years ago, however, because that is how long it takes light to go from there to here. M78 belongs to the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that contains the Great Nebula in Orion and the Horsehead Nebula.
Via Astronomy Picture of the Day


I am always blown away by these sort of pictures of our Universe. If you can even call it "ours." I look at these pictures and think how small we all are in comparison, yet we are still so self-important. But we really don't have much of a choice in that respect do we?

2 comments:

Alexandra said...

Well, it is our Universe in the sense that it's the one we reside in. The one we admire and want so much to explore.

As human beings, we most both be humble (since we are specks of cosmic dust that exist within a blink of geographic time) yet able to rise above the sublime and make our lives have meaning. The problem with searching for the meaning of life is that life doesn't have a meaning until you give it one.

Shalimar said...

You little kiwi you.