“Probably no stars will physically hit each other. There’s just so much space between the stars, but when Andromeda collides with us it’ll have a huge impact on the Milky Way. Some things will get thrown into the black hole in the middle, some stars will get ripped off and thrown away into space, so it’ll be dramatic. And the entire night sky will change.” - The Universe S1E9 Alien Galaxies
Black hole consumes a star
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS
SPACE POOOOOORN
OH GAWD WHAT IF THAT STRAIGHT LINE IS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE IMAGINE
Hubble has spotted an ancient galaxy that shouldn’t exist
This galaxy is so large, so fully-formed, astronomers say it shouldn’t exist at all. It’s called a “grand-design” spiral galaxy, and unlike most galaxies of its kind, this one is old. Like, really, really old. According to a new study conducted by researchers using NASA’s Hubble Telescope, it dates back roughly 10.7-billion years — and that makes it the most ancient spiral galaxy we’ve ever discovered.“The vast majority of old galaxies look like train wrecks,” said UCLA astrophysicist Alice Shapley in a press release. “Our first thought was, why is this one so different, and so beautiful?”
Read more: here
An important reminder that the universe has three spatial dimensions and is best appreciated with all three engaged*.
*engage fourth as needed for EXTREME MODE
If other planets switched places with the Moon, this is what you would see:
This is the Moon.
But imagine for a second that the Moon switched places with other planets. This is what you would see (subject to staying alive, of course):
Mars:
Venus:
Uranus:
Neptune:
Saturn:
Jupiter:
THIS IS TERRIFYING.
THIS IS AWESOME.
Constellation minimalism from the always-great hydrogeneportfolio:
“I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”
It’s Official: Mars Was Habitable
Long ago, Mars had the conditions and ingredients to support life.
That conclusion—the first ever made about another celestial body—was announced today by the Curiosity rover team after a wildly successful drilling campaign into what may have once been the bed of a Martian lake.
“We have found a habitable environment,” said John Grotzinger, project scientist for the Curiosity mission. “The water that was here was so benign and supportive of life that if a human had been on the planet back then, they could drink it.”
