The Universe

The universe may not only be stranger than

we think.
But may even be stranger than we could
possibly think.
-J.B.S.
Haldane

The Big
Bang

The age of the universe is estimated to be 13.7

billion years.

Superheated early
universe

Heres an image of the spectacular Sombrero

galaxy obtained by NASAs Hubble Space
Telescope. Sombrero Galaxy, also known as
NGC 4594, can be found in the constellation
Virgo.

Hoags
Object

Hoags Object
This nearly perfect ring of hot, blue stars
around a yellow nucleus is the very
unusual galaxy known as Hoags Object.
The Hubble Space Telescope captured this
face-on view of the galaxys ring of stars,
revealing more detail than any other
existing photo of this object. The image
may help astronomers unravel clues on
how such strange objects form.
The entire galaxy is about 120,000 lightyears wide, which is slightly larger than
our Milky Way Galaxy.

Hubble Against Earth's Horizon

(1997)
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was carried
into orbit in 1990. It was not the first space
telescope, but it is one of the largest and most
versatile. The HST was built by NASA with
assistance from the European Space Agency. The
HST is named after Edwin Hubble. Hubbles orbit
outside the distortion of Earths atmosphere
allows it to take extremely sharp images with
very little background light. Hubble observations
have led to many breakthroughs in astrophysics.
One of the best known is the ability to accurately
determine the rate of expansion of the universe.
After a servicing mission in 2009, the HST is
expected to function until at 2014 at a minimum.

We are the product of 4.5 billion years

of fortuitous, slow biological evolution.
There is no reason to think that the
evolutionary process has stopped. Man
is a transitional animal. He is not the
climax of creation.
-Carl Sagan

Life cycle of the stars

More stars than you can imagine

Super massive black

hole

THE STARS CLOSEST TO THE EARTH

Proxima Centauri(in Centaurus)
Distance 4.2 lightyears
Alpha Centauri A and B (in Centaurus) Distance 4.3 lightyears
Barnard's Star (in Ophiuchus)
Distance 6.0 lightyears
Wolf 359 (in Leo)
Distance 7.7 lightyears
Lalande 21185 (in Ursa Major)
Distance 8.1 lightyears
Sirius A
Distance 8.6 lightyears
Sirius B (in Canis Major)
Distance 8.6 lightyears
Luyten 726-8
Distance 8.4 lightyears
UV Ceti (in Cetus)
Distance 8.4 light-

Nebulae
These pictures were taken by the Hubble Space
Telescope and are provided courtesy of the Space
Telescope Science Institute. All images were
imaged with the Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 or
the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object
Spectrometer (NICMOS).

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogalleryastro-nebula.html

Columns of cool interstellar

hydrogen gas and dust in M16,
the Eagle Nebula

Closer view of the leftmost "pillar" of

interstellar hydrogen gas and dust in
M16, the Eagle Nebula.

Mosaic of 45 images taken between Jan. 1994

and March 1995 of M42, the Orion Nebula.

MyCn18, a young planetary nebula located about

8,000 light-years away.

Collision of two gasses

("cometary knots") in the
Helix Nebula in the
constellation Aquarius

Closer view of the "cometary

knots" in the Helix Nebula

The Crab Nebula, M1, as imaged by HST and the

Mount Palomar telescope.

Star forming region in the nebula NCG 604, in the

nearby sprial galaxy M33, as imaged by HST and the
Mount Palomar telescope.

Star forming region in the nebula NCG 2366, in the

Magellanic galaxy NGC 2366, as imaged by HST and the
Canada-France-Hawaii (CFHT) 3.6-meter telescope on
Mauna Kea.

One-half light-year long

interstellar "twisters" in
the Lagoon Nebula
(M8) in the
constellation
Sagittarius.

Closer view of the "twisters" in

the Lagoon Nebula.

Image of the youngest known planetary nebula, the

Stingray nebula (Hen-1357).

Stellar formation in NGC 3603.

Stellar formation in the Papillon Nebula

in the Large Magellanic Cloud.