ANDROMEDA... is relatively close by cosmic standards. It’s only 2.5 million light years away, which is why we can resolve the galaxy in such detail. But this shows only the brighter stars of Andromeda. It’s estimated that Andromeda contains about a trillion stars, most of which are too small and dim to resolve in this image. We’re still only seeing a fraction of the stars in this galaxy. Each of these little dots is a star. Many of those probably have planets, if not multiple ones. Billions and Trillions of opportunities for life, simple or complex, unaware of their surroundings or stargazing just like us. As you look on this image, keep in mind that this is only part of a nearby galaxy. Our own galaxy would look similar, as would many others. It’s estimated that there are 100 billion galaxies in the visible universe. That’s more than 10 galaxies for every man, woman and child on Earth. Multiply this image by ten, and for all of it there is only one single human being. The same is true for every person on the planet. Images such as these often give a feeling of smallness. Within the vast cosmos we are merely dust upon dust. But to me it demonstrates just how rare and wondrous each of us are. We can look on an image such as this, see the spirals of stars, and we can understand the cosmos.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 08:37:36 +0000
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