Cosmic Christmas Spotted in Space
By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 15 December 200903:51 pm ET
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a festive view of the cosmos in time for the holiday season, with some saying the picture of a star nursery looks like a wreath, maybe a Christmas tree, or even Santa.
The spacecraft observed a group of young stars called R136, which is only a few million years old and inhabits the 30 Doradus Nebula, part of a relatively nearby satellite galaxy of our Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud.
In the photograph, hundreds of brilliant blue stars are surrounded by a ring of warm, glowing orange clouds of dust. The colorful portrait evokes a giant wreath of pine boughs studded with glowing jewels — sort of. And in the hollow center, the dark shadow has the distinct silhouette of a Christmas tree. Really!
Finally, if flipped 90 degrees clockwise, the image even resembles the face and beard of Santa Claus himself. Somewhat.
Well, whether or not this heavenly view actually has anything to do with the season on Earth, it does teach scientists about what's happening up above.
The image was taken in ultraviolet, visible, and red light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, and spans about 100 light-years across. A light-year is the distance light will travel in a year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion km).
So. Do you see what they see?
:o)
7 comments:
I have tired eyes right now. So I see a very beautiful trippy photo.
xo
But aren't all these galaxies, nebulas and stars always festive looking?
...the entire year long.
Maybe we should all keep that in mind when thinking goodwill and peace on earth... ;)
xx
Oh and I do see it, Tink!
Perfect
I DO see it! niiice.
have a good weekend.
Brilliant! (literally) Celestial!
Um... I see a Santa in the top left; most definitely. I see his little red nose and white beard and red cap.
In the center I see a dark sillhouette of an elf ... running.
ONLY 100 light across, eh?
WOW.
Isn't it amazing a photo can be taken on SUCH A SCALE, and at the same time, another photo can be taken on an infinitessimally small scale? via electron microscope, for instance? And yet they're both photographs of reality.
oops, make that "100 light YEARS across" (I meant to say.. )
I LOVE it! You guys are so creative ~*~
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