Perspective: There is no camera that has ever been far enough away to take that picture and then travel the millions of years needed to return that image. Most of the stars in that image cannot be detected by human means. Therefore it is a fantasy. An artist's conception of what it might look like. Pretty, but not science.
First of all, the entire concept is false. Newrebeluniv is correct, the picture of our galaxy is a conjecture. It's what the Milky Way *might* look like. But it's based on what the Andromeda galaxy actually *does* look like, and, on a clear, dark night, the Andromeda galaxy is visible with the naked eye. There are many other galaxies that are visible through binoculars and telescopes. So that means that our night sky consists of much more than just the small selection of the very brightest and nearest stars in that red circle.
Kind of keeps things in perspective, eh?
ReplyDeleteIt IS a big universe out there... and we're a VERY small frog...er... cog in it!
ReplyDeletePerspective: There is no camera that has ever been far enough away to take that picture and then travel the millions of years needed to return that image. Most of the stars in that image cannot be detected by human means. Therefore it is a fantasy. An artist's conception of what it might look like. Pretty, but not science.
ReplyDeleteWell, more like an artist's extrapolation based on the other galaxies we can observe.
ReplyDeleteIt's not purely accurate, no, but neither is it wholecloth fantasy.
So 1/2, or 2/3's fantasy?
ReplyDeleteClose enough. Call it science and publish.
To quote Monty Pythonfrom "The Meaning of Life": Just imagine that you're standing on a planet that evolving and revolvong at 9000 mile an hour.....
ReplyDeletesort of got the perspecive of our insignificance correct.
First of all, the entire concept is false. Newrebeluniv is correct, the picture of our galaxy is a conjecture. It's what the Milky Way *might* look like. But it's based on what the Andromeda galaxy actually *does* look like, and, on a clear, dark night, the Andromeda galaxy is visible with the naked eye. There are many other galaxies that are visible through binoculars and telescopes. So that means that our night sky consists of much more than just the small selection of the very brightest and nearest stars in that red circle.
ReplyDelete