There is something mesmerizing about space images. That is unquestionable. It’s still possible to discover a lot that’s out there, even though we know a lot about it. There are times, however, when old images reveal something so bizarrely weird that our eyes take a completely different trip.
Different wavelengths of light mean that space looks different at certain wavelengths of ‘visible’ light. Many wavelengths, however, are invisible to the naked eye, and we need specialized telescopes to see these wavelengths. But it’s not every day that a picture with invisible wavelengths opens up a whole new palette of colors that is amazingly different from one that only includes visible wavelengths.
In a lot of ways, the galaxy seems like it hides a personality, like someone who seems introverted on the outside, but a veritable party animal inside. GC 4254 is the galaxy in the photo, also known as Messier 99. Recent pictures of this galaxy were taken with a European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope’s Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). The ESO is located in Chile. We are located 50 light-years away from the galaxy.
Post Your Comments