Thanks to deep field telescopes like the one on Hubble, we can uncover a wide variety of galaxies and nebulae. While we can't yet get close enough to these massive celestial bodies to explore them internally, we have found a variety of techniques that allow us to inspect them in other ways. NASA and other space agencies across the globe have used X-Ray, Deep-Field telemetry, Magnetic Field (similar to a hospital MRI) to create beautiful visualisations of what is out there.
You'll probably recognise the Milky Way, being our home galaxy as well as a tasty chocolate bar.
Next on the list of beautiful places you've never been is the Sombrero Galaxy. (aka Messier Object 104) is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo located 31,100,000 light years from Earth. It's only 30% the size of the Milky way, but boasts a bright nucleus, an unusually large central bulge, hence the name, Sombrero. Seen Here.
Rounding off the list is the beautiful Andromeda Galaxy. This massive galaxy is only 2.5 million light years away from Earth, making it the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way. It has approximately 1 trillion stars, making it twice the size of our home galaxy. Discovered in 964, the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi described it as a nebulous smear. While it's not a very nice way to describe something so beautiful, it's what he thought based on not having great telescopic technology to dig deeper.
Which Galaxy is your favourite? We will be adding one of these Beautiful Galaxies to our print shop soon. VOTE BELOW to get your favourite added next!
0 comments