231–240 of 310 posts
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Once in a while, I have the impulse to buy the equipment to make these kinds of photos, then I check the price (at least 4k USD), realize I am not from US and cool down tell next time. It's consumer level, but not cheap at all.
Its all relative, right? The cost is about a millionth of the JWST image. A millionth!
Absolutely incredible. For a little bit of context for how impressive this is, here's my take on it with a consumer grade 8" Newtonian telescope from my backyard: https://www.astrobin.com/full/w4tjwt/0/
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> it's hard not to get all philisophical and wonder about the size of space & time on cosmic scale Indeed! Never a bad time to re-watch Cosmos and (in my opinion) the awesome sequel(s) by Neil de Grasse Tyson. Is it weird to admit I even choke up during some of the episodes? (As an aside, why is it so hard to find the sequels to Cosmos in any streaming service. In my country it's not on Netflix, Disney+, Apple, HBO/M…
Neil de Grasse Tyson is still on my 'to watch' list, but you may be interested in Brian Cox's 'Wonders of the Solar System / Universe' series. From what I've heard, Brian Cox is something of the British equivalent of Tyson. 'Wonders-' is a beautifully shot series that is both educational and remains impressive over a decade on (2010-2011). The only thing that might be disappointing if you're already into astrophysics…
Gorgeous and upsetting that I'll never be able to visit it. 13 billion years before me, potentially trillions of years after me. Seems like such a waste of the spark of awareness that I can't take that awareness and experience the galaxy in all its glory.
Go camping and bring some friends and psychedelics, it'll help you get over your FOMO
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I’m specifically not invoking faith. This doesn’t support Abrahamic religions more than any other. The line of reasoning here applies just as much to Hinduism, simulation theory, many creation stories, zoo theory, etc.
The idea that the universe was created by a higher being applies to every religion, but does not invoke faith? If you were to believe that theory at all it would require faith. How else could you believe it? No matter what you call it, there is a leap of faith.
a(1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God
(2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b(1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof
(2): complete trust
Second, we could come to seriously believe in this theory through consensus direct interactions with these higher powers. That wouldn't require a leap of faith at all. If robots showed up and were like "we were sent by your creators, they say you're doing great" and gave us a second moon as a present, that would be very strong proof of more powerful beings.
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Who's this galactic farmer you're talking about?
One or more beings with power and intelligence many orders of magnitude higher than our own. To call it god or gods gives a religious tone to it that totally derails the discussion and I’m specifically avoiding. This isn’t about going to church on Sundays. There are a few answers to the “Where are they?” question. One is that the parameters to the Drake equation mean life is so rare we actually are alone (as another…
It's a compelling idea but there is no evidence helping it.
For me, it's easier to take what we see in our own "lawn" and expand it outwards to the cosmos as a whole. A frog evolved from a single-cell as well as an elephant did, and the geological landscapes we see are the result of physics, time and random fluctuations. I apply that to every other galaxy and that's it.
Of course, one could think that single cell to be "planted" like a seed would be but no supporting evidence for now (or ever?).
Absolutely incredible. For a little bit of context for how impressive this is, here's my take on it with a consumer grade 8" Newtonian telescope from my backyard: https://www.astrobin.com/full/w4tjwt/0/
TBH I like your shot more than JWST. You can at least see the whole horsehead. NASA should check their zoom setting.
I wonder how dynamic this place is. I know it's light years across, but is there any chance to see movement within the smallest structures if we were to revisit the same image on a ~yearly timescale?
The Crab Nebula changed over time, but it's of course a different kind of "nebula" https://esahubble.org/images/opo9622b/ Maybe the horsehead nebula is different from 1 million years ago.
Absolutely incredible. For a little bit of context for how impressive this is, here's my take on it with a consumer grade 8" Newtonian telescope from my backyard: https://www.astrobin.com/full/w4tjwt/0/