Art That Is Out of This World

[snopes]

Astronomers Select Top Ten Most Amazing Pictures Taken by Hubble Space Telescope in Last 16 Years

After correcting an initial problem with the lens, when the Hubble Space Telescope was first launched in 1990, the floating astro-observatory began to relay back to Earth, incredible snapshots of the "final frontier" it was perusing.

Recently, astronauts voted on the top photographs taken by Hubble, in its 16-year journey so far. Remarking in the article from the Daily Mail, reporter Michael Hanlon says the photos "illustrate that our universe is not only deeply strange, but also almost impossibly beautiful."

Hubble telescope's top ten greatest space photographs



The Sombrero Galaxy - 28 million light years from Earth - was voted best picture taken by the Hubble telescope. The dimensions of the galaxy, officially called M104, are asspectacular as its appearance. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.



The Ant Nebula, a cloud of dust and gas whose technical name is Mz3, resembles an ant when observed using ground-based telescopes. The nebula lies within our galaxy between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth.



In third place is Nebula NGC 2392, called Eskimo because it looks like a face surrounded by a furry hood. The hood is, in fact, a ring of comet-shaped objects flying away from a dying star. Eskimo is 5,000 light years from Earth.



At four is the Cat's Eye Nebula



The Hourglass Nebula, 8,000 light years away, has a pinched-in-the-middle look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the centre.



In sixth place is the Cone Nebula. The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in length (the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon).



The Perfect Storm, a small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away, described as 'a bubbly ocean of hydrogen and small amounts of oxygen, sulphur and other elements'.



Starry Night, so named because it reminded astronomers of the Van Gogh painting. It is a halo of light around a star in the Milky Way.



The glowering eyes from 114 million light years away are the swirling cores of two merging galaxies called NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in the distant Canis Major constellation.



The Trifid Nebula. A 'stellar nursery', 9,000 light years from here, it is where new stars are being born.

[me, no really]

I cannot see pictures like this without being awestruck.

me

[snapdragonfly]

The Trifid nebula looks like a fairy with wings and horns. It's facing left and it's arms are held out behind it like the Athena Nike. If only there were easily available a constant parade of them every day it would be even better than gazing at clouds!

I've seen a few of these before, but they're just so amazing. The universe is incredible.


-Fox

[me, no really]

Oh sorry - this is Fauxtograhpy

I vote fake - the shadows are all wrong.

me

[Diabolus Ex Deus]

Originally Posted by me, no really

Oh sorry - this is Fauxtograhpy

I vote fake - the shadows are all wrong.

me

There's a great deal of scientific literature to back up each one of those pictures. Just look them up by name and you'll see.
There is a bit of colorization and alteration to improve image quality though. That's very common though as it illustrates the depth and dimensions of the subject.

[Keeper of the Mad Bunnies]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

If only there were easily available a constant parade of them every day it would be even better than gazing at clouds!

There is always Astronomy Picture of the Day.

James Powell

[snapdragonfly]

Originally Posted by Keeper of the Mad Bunnies

There is always Astronomy Picture of the Day.

James Powell

KEWL! Thanks!!

[Tootsie Plunkette]

According to this site:

[Images are a] composite of photos taken both by NASA Hubble Space Telescope and the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.

ETA: the original article. Note that in the original, the images were voted on by astronomers, not astronauts.

Originally Posted by aranea russus

I always wondered about pictures like this. How are they taken? I've convinced my self of late that they are images taken from frequencies above the naked eye, and then edit the pictures recieved, eg Hydrogen gas cloud = green, Nitrogen = purple, so you get this wonderful pics. Kind of like being able to see Infra Red and then seeing all the plumes of heat coming off people.

So it's not like you could just get a super super powerful magnifying glass and see all these things.

Am I wrong?

On Hubblsite.org there is lots of info on the telescope itself, and many images.

This site: Telescope Functions Gives an overview of the cameras onboard.

This:

How Does Hubble See?
Hubble provides us with extraordinary images bursting with color. But Hubble doesn’t actually take color pictures at all. Its cameras record light with special electronic detectors that produce a black and white image. The images are shot through filters that allow only a certain wavelength of light through. That light is then recorded. After the data is downloaded, the colors are assigned for a variety of reasons. Keep in mind that Hubble can see all of the visible light spectrum (what we see) and way beyond into the infrared and ultraviolet. Scientists use color as a tool – they may simulate what our eyes would see (natural color), what an object looks like in infrared or UV (representative color) or use color to bring out structural detail (enhanced color.) Most of Hubble’s most popular images are made by combining red, green & blue filters to simulate what the human eye sees

Is the quote I was looking for. It comes from this site.

[Cervus]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

The Trifid nebula looks like a fairy with wings and horns.

No, a unicorn rearing up with one hoof raised.

And I, too, am going to start using the word asspectacular.

[Astra]

Soooo pretty.

[Floater]

Originally Posted by snopes

The Hourglass Nebula, 8,000 light years away, has a pinched-in-the-middle look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the centre.

The winds? What winds?

[chocolate kisses]

Googling "astronomy picture of the day" takes you to a NASA website and I believe you can sign up to receive an emailed photo every day or you can just browse their photos there.

I cannot find the words to describe these photos. They are awesome.

Originally Posted by Floater

The winds? What winds?

Sorry, that was me......

Wild1_74

LOVE the shots, real or not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rocketship]

Originally Posted by Floater

The winds? What winds?

Those would be the stellar winds. There is a giant star at the centre which is having a hard time holding on to its outer atmosphere: as it flies off, it becomes known as a stellar wind. The Sun, not being a giant, has a much weaker solar wind.

[chocolate kisses]

Quote:
The Sombrero Galaxy - 28 million light years from Earth - was voted best picture taken by the Hubble telescope. The dimensions of the galaxy, officially called M104, are asspectacular as its appearance. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.
End Quote

Is that a new word because I want to start using it!!