Looking Into The Great Beyond

In 1995, Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen captured some amazing images of the Eagle Nebula using the Hubble Space Telescope.  Not only were the photos visually stunning (“Pillars of Creation” is one of the most recognizable and famous space-related photographs of all time) but they provided scientists and academics with a better understanding of what exactly happens inside of a nebula, specifically in regards to the creation of new stars.  In fact, the small nodes or “fingers” that can be seen on the surface of the towers are the primary areas where new celestial bodies form.  The colors in the photograph are actually gasses that have been excited by the new stars’ high intensity ultraviolet light.  In the case of the Eagle Nebula, the blue coloration is released by excited oxygen molecules and the red coloration is from glowing hydrogen gas.

Although this post is thematically different then my other posts to date, I have always enjoyed looking at photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope.  They are so ethereal and yet somehow manage to capture the serenity and silent tranquility of space.  What I find most impressive, however, is that somewhere out there, somewhere well beyond where my eyes can see, these awe inspiring celestial bodies are silently at work.  And though I have a hard time getting my head around these phenomena, there is something so captivating about looking up at the stars on a cold winter night.  Maybe it is the feeling that all of our worries and all of our problems seem so small in comparison to the great, vast emptiness of space.  Photos courtesy of NASA.  

~ by wheretheworldisquiet on November 11, 2009.