Spectacular New Image of the Milky Way Released

The image and accompanying video have been released to mark the completion of the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy , the image shows the full area of the Galactic Plane visible from the southern hemisphere.

APEX, the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope, is located at 5100 metres above sea level on the Chajnantor Plateau in Chile’s Atacama region. The ATLASGAL survey took advantage of the unique characteristics of the telescope to provide a detailed view of the distribution of cold dense gas along the plane of the Milky Way galaxy [1]. The new image includes most of the regions of star formation in the southern Milky Way
www.eso.org...

The video gives a closer look at the image and lasts for 8 minutes as it pans across the data recovered , time enough to kick back and ponder the wonders of our Galaxy.


If only we could get out there and poke around for ourselves rather than just looking through the glass portal ( the word win-dow is still not allowed here)

Maybe our Galaxy is moving through the dimensions!!!

a reply to: gortex

This imagery shows how we live with inside one big hot blast, still we can see pixels on our monitors, have time to think and get ded.

a reply to: gortex

S n F Gortex.


Absolutely magnificent. Indescribable beauty. The Milky Way and Andromeda must be quite a sight for nearby galaxies.

Beautiful, yet we will remain on this mortal coil to our dying days.

God speed future pioneers, I wish you all the best in discovering planets outside our solar system, Galaxy even.

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978
I wish you all the best in discovering planets outside our solar system, Galaxy even.

I wonder how long it'll be until we get Google Universe Street view?

I'd give my nuts to be on the first ship capable of hopping galaxies.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Yeah, it's going to be beyond our lifetimes.

But we are probably a lot nearer to that feat, than we know.

a reply to: gortex

Maybe our ability to explore the Milky Way will soon come to pass. All is possible with our divine Creator.

originally posted by: SaddledMummy
a reply to: gortex

This imagery shows how we live with inside one big hot blast

Actually, this image shows "detailed view of the distribution of cold dense gas along the plane of the Milky Way galaxy".

The image is the result of what they call submillimetre astronomy. It uses the part of the EM spectrum that lies between far-infrared and microwave radiation, and examine molecular clouds and dark cloud cores with a goal of clarifying the process of star formation from earliest collapse to stellar birth. Submillimetre observations of these dark clouds can be used to determine chemical abundances and cooling mechanisms for the molecules which comprise them. In addition, submillimetre observations give information on the mechanisms for the formation and evolution of galaxies.

If only we were this interested in dumping billions of dollars to fix our planet, instead of taking pictures of space.

originally posted by: JuJuBee
If only we were this interested in dumping billions of dollars to fix our planet, instead of taking pictures of space.

The budget going towards astronomy and space exploration is a small fraction compared to the budget going towards the so-called "defence". If even half of the "defence" budget went into space exploration, we'd be colonising Mars by now.

originally posted by: wildespace

originally posted by: JuJuBee
If only we were this interested in dumping billions of dollars to fix our planet, instead of taking pictures of space.

The budget going towards astronomy and space exploration is a small fraction compared to the budget going towards the so-called "defence"...

Not only that, but NASA's budget is smaller than the amount of money being spent on social issues, such as feeding, clothing, housing, and providing healthcare for people who cannot do so on their own.

I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing; I'm simply pointing out that more money is spent trying to "fix the planet" (or at least to try to help people in need) than is spent on NASA. For that matter, more money is spent "ruining the planet" (war and such) than is spent on NASA.