Astronomy Picture Of The Day

[Steamboat1874 4262]

I highly recommend this site........https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

Today's .......

Explanation: This stunning group of galaxies is far, far away, about 450 million light-years from planet Earth and cataloged as galaxy cluster Abell S0740. Dominated by the cluster's large central elliptical galaxy (ESO 325-G004), this reprocessed Hubble Space Telescope view takes in a remarkable assortment of galaxy shapes and sizes with only a few spiky foreground stars scattered through the field. The giant elliptical galaxy (right of center) spans over 100,000 light years and contains about 100 billion stars, comparable in size to our own spiral Milky Way galaxy. The Hubble data can reveal a wealth of detail in even these distant galaxies, including arms and dust lanes, star clusters, ring structures, and gravitational lensing arcs.

[pearlandhorn 3343]

I took astronomy in college for my science credits.  Bitches love astronomy.  For anyone who doesn't believe there other complex carbon based life forms in the universe (are there any of those people left?), take a look at that picture.  Makes you feel very, very small in the grand scheme of things.  We aren't special.

[TornACL 7782]

I have a picture like that as the background on my laptop computer to remind me that nothing really matters.

[Trey3216 15427]

6 minutes ago, TornACL said:

I have a picture like that as the background on my laptop computer to remind me that nothing really matters.

any way the wind blows 

Edited May 25, 2018 by Trey3216

[Armybrat 41189]

2 hours ago, pearlandhorn said:

I took astronomy in college for my science credits.  Bitches love astronomy.  For anyone who doesn't believe there other complex carbon based life forms in the universe (are there any of those people left?), take a look at that picture.  Makes you feel very, very small in the grand scheme of things.  We aren't special.

But OU still sucks.

[Armybrat 41189]

I know the OP's pic shows the sky full of galaxies, but this one which represents barely a pin prick in any one of them makes for a good ego shriveling:

[Brisketexan 106250]

4 hours ago, pearlandhorn said:

I took astronomy in college for my science credits.  Bitches love astronomy.  For anyone who doesn't believe there other complex carbon based life forms in the universe (are there any of those people left?), take a look at that picture.  Makes you feel very, very small in the grand scheme of things.  We aren't special.

We saw the Hubble IMAX film in LA a couple of summers ago.  Both of the images above were featured, as well as detailed images of a star nursery and such.

It seriously flipped my wife out.  Afterwards, she was saying that humans just aren't meant to see that shit -- it's overwhelming in its reminder of our individual insignificance.  Really, philosophically, it's one of the most powerful movies we've ever seen.

[F250 29120]

6 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

We saw the Hubble IMAX film in LA a couple of summers ago.  Both of the images above were featured, as well as detailed images of a star nursery and such.

It seriously flipped my wife out.  Afterwards, she was saying that humans just aren't meant to see that shit -- it's overwhelming in its reminder of our individual insignificance.  Really, philosophically, it's one of the most powerful movies we've ever seen.

I tend to freak out when contemplating the great expanse. Its like my brain goes into "does not compute" mode. It's like snorting uncut existential nihilism.

[Steel Shank 9490]

13 hours ago, pearlandhorn said:

I took astronomy in college for my science credits.  Bitches love astronomy.  For anyone who doesn't believe there other complex carbon based life forms in the universe (are there any of those people left?), take a look at that picture.  Makes you feel very, very small in the grand scheme of things.  We aren't special.

Same here. I dig this shit, and I get that as an individual, I'm not much in the grand scheme of things. But my time here is real, so I will make the best of it. I'll try and be nice to people, raise my kids right, love my wife and sing Elvis on karaoke. Because Elvis is that big. And also BBQ as much as I can.

[Brisketexan 106250]

Same here. I dig this shit, and I get that as an individual, I'm not much in the grand scheme of things. But my time here is real, so I will make the best of it. I'll try and be nice to people, raise my kids right, love my wife and sing Elvis on karaoke. Because Elvis is that big. And also BBQ as much as I can.

But always...ALWAYS...with “Suspicious Minds?”

Not criticizing - it’s my go-to as well.

[Steel Shank 9490]

Bingo.

 

[Steel Shank 9490]

I just poured a Maker's. I'd pour all y'all one if I could.

Edited May 26, 2018 by Steel Shank

[phdhorn 6224]

It's all a holographic illusion projected from the edge of the universe.

When Lonnie Walker, a highly intelligent kid, tried to make this suggestion in an interview, dumbass ignorant press laughed at him.

I hope he breaks every NBA record in existence.

And in some universe, one among trillions of possibilities for a single life, he does!  Now that's cool!

[Hagbard Celine 11098]

2 hours ago, Steel Shank said:

And also BBQ as much as I can.

I lived in Chapel Perilous for a couple of decades.  I've seen 3 UAPs, 2 from about 2000m, one was at least 30 miles away and 200k' altitude.  But at the end of the day, the real question is, are the greys down with what we do to cows.  I know the reptilians are.  There are too many shape-shifting 'que-loving republicans.  But can the greys forgive us?  Because at the end of the day, we have family, country, football, and meat.  And maybe not in that order.

They just need a taste.  Just a little cow.  Cold smoked, barked up, robust, rendered.... mmmmmmmmm.

[futureman 22631]

7 hours ago, F250 said:

I tend to freak out when contemplating the great expanse. Its like my brain goes into "does not compute" mode. It's like snorting uncut existential nihilism.

oh, that must be exhausting.  

[Trey3216 15427]

9 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

But always...ALWAYS...with “Suspicious Minds?”

Not criticizing - it’s my go-to as well.

Mine too, with the occasional “In the Ghetto”

[F250 29120]

5 hours ago, futureman said:

oh, that must be exhausting.  

Not as exhausting as your mom.

[phdhorn 6224]

Just now, F250 said:

Not as exhausting as your mom.

His mom has flatulence?  They have medicine for that.

[F250 29120]

19 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

His mom has flatulence?  They have medicine for that.

I usually stick some Gas-X in her butt, however it doesn't seem to work. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

 

[phdhorn 6224]

PSA (will crosspost in the Telescope thread, too):

This is the closest thing to an "astronomy" thread so I put it here...

If you haven't been paying attention, over the next couple of nights, one of the best planetary alignments in a couple of ten thousand years is occurring right now.  If you go out about 9-10 p.m. you'll see in order, from W to E, running along the (obviously expected) elliptical:  Venus, Jupiter, (Pluto, well it's there anyway), Saturn, and Mars.

I say "in ten thousand years" because 1) Mars is the second closest to us it's been in 60,000 years (a bit closer only in 2003), and certainly you notice it in the SE sky after sunset - it's almost as bright as Jupiter.  2) Saturn is high up in the sky almost smack in the middle between both horizons, and fairly bright (for Saturn), but more importantly, the rings are inclinated at about 24 percent, almost the max it gets (they actually were at the max for the last year or so).  You can see the northern half of Saturn with the rings really wide open from our viewing angle.  

To get the 4 planets so high in the sky with their closeness/best angle is not unheard of, but it's pretty unusual.
Pluto is a bitch of course, can only be seen with maybe an 8" reflector or 6" refractor (minimums) but even there you'll just see a cluster of shit and it's hard to discern Pluto without going out the next night to see movement, etc.  

Anyway, the other 4 planets are really putting on a show.

[pearlandhorn 3343]

This is very interesting.  I was taking out the garbage at my house on Sunday night and looked to the sky in the southeast and saw Mars.  You literally have to be blind to not see it.  Very beautiful and very orange/red.

[Uncle Nate 2097]

On 5/25/2018 at 8:29 AM, pearlandhorn said:

I took astronomy in college for my science credits.  Bitches love astronomy.  For anyone who doesn't believe there other complex carbon based life forms in the universe (are there any of those people left?), take a look at that picture.  Makes you feel very, very small in the grand scheme of things.  We aren't special.