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Astronomy Picture of the Day
NASA ^ | 5/20/08 | Jean-Charles Cuillandre, Giovanni Anselmi

Posted on 05/20/2008 2:49:39 PM PDT by sig226


The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT) & Giovanni Anselmi (Coelum Astronomia), Hawaiian Starlight

Explanation: Here is one of the largest objects that anyone will ever see on the sky. Each of these fuzzy blobs is a galaxy, together making up the Perseus Cluster, one of the closest clusters of galaxies. The cluster is seen through a foreground of faint stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Near the cluster center, roughly 250 million light-years away, is the cluster's dominant galaxy NGC 1275, seen above as the large galaxy on the image left. A prodigious source of x-rays and radio emission, NGC 1275 accretes matter as gas and galaxies fall into it. The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies is part of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster spanning over 15 degrees and containing over 1,000 galaxies. At the distance of NGC 1275, this view covers about 7.5 million light-years.


TOPICS: Astronomy Picture of the Day
KEYWORDS: apod

1 posted on 05/20/2008 2:49:40 PM PDT by sig226
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To: fnord; Number57; KevinDavis; rdb3; MNJohnnie; thoughtomator; RightWhale; proudofthesouth; ...

2 posted on 05/20/2008 2:50:37 PM PDT by sig226 (Real power is not the ability to destroy an enemy. It is the willingness to do it.)
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To: sig226

I didn’t even take a breath when looking at that. Absolutely stunning


3 posted on 05/20/2008 2:51:04 PM PDT by wastedyears (Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. - Optimus Prime)
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To: wastedyears

stuning indeed,, imagining the scale alone is pretty tough... what a cosmos!


4 posted on 05/20/2008 2:53:03 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE toll-free tip hotline 1-866-DHS-2-ICE ... 9/11 .. Never FoRget!!!)
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To: sig226
Ok, who's first thought was, "My God! It's full of stars!"
Just beautiful!
5 posted on 05/20/2008 3:08:15 PM PDT by MaryFromMichigan
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To: sig226
The time/space scale of the thing is just gob-smacking.

“There more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreampt of in your philosophy”

6 posted on 05/20/2008 3:46:42 PM PDT by allmendream (Life begins at the moment of contraception. ;))
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To: sig226

Cool! I’m a photographer myself. I don’t know much about the cosmos but I know a great picture when I see one.


7 posted on 05/20/2008 4:39:18 PM PDT by CalifChris
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To: sig226

If we started driving right now we could beat the traffic jam, but you just know someone will have to stop after a lousy 125 million light years to find a rest room...


8 posted on 05/20/2008 4:48:03 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: sig226

Just looking at that, I cannot accept that we are the only viewers of it.


9 posted on 05/20/2008 4:49:41 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Billthedrill

You know that after 150 million light years, you wife would be saying , “ Honey, just stop and ask someone where Regulus is.”
You’d then reply,” OH let’s just go another million miles, I know it’s right around here, I was in the Space Scouts, remember?”


10 posted on 05/20/2008 4:52:53 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: tet68
Just looking at that, I cannot accept that we are the only viewers of it.

Agreed because I am certainly not worthy of witnessing such beauty and scale.

11 posted on 05/20/2008 4:53:03 PM PDT by numberonepal (Don't Even Think About Treading On Me)
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To: tet68
Just looking at that, I cannot accept that we are the only viewers of it.

Indeed.

Billions of Galaxies containing billions of stars; God loves life; we can't be alone in all the cosmos.

12 posted on 05/20/2008 4:53:30 PM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: sig226

Absolutely beautiful!!!!!


13 posted on 05/20/2008 8:31:17 PM PDT by Peace Is Coming
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