My heart still aches at the thought of you, Though no one outside my head could Ever begin to fathom Why #girl #selfie #fuckyou #getoutofmyhead #moveon #dontworry #behappy #everythingisgonnabealright #tiger #galaxies #myheavyheart
Young blue stars circling the galactic center dominate the Andromeda Galaxy in this image taken in ultraviolet! About 2.5 million light-years away, the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, really is our galactic neighbour. Spanning about 230,000 light-years, it took 11 different image fields from NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite telescope to produce this gorgeous portrait of the spiral galaxy in ultraviolet light in 2003. Its spiral arms stand out in visible light images, Andromeda’s arms are sites of intense star formation. They have been interpreted as evidence that Andromeda collided with its smaller neighboring elliptical galaxy M32 more than 200 million years ago. The Andromeda galaxy and our own comparable Milky Way galaxy are the most massive members of the Local Group of galaxies and are projected to collide in several billion years – perhaps around the time that our Sun’s atmosphere will expand to engulf the Earth.
James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
By Shardell Joseph
A team of NASA astronomers will observe dwarf galaxies and properties of dark matter using the newly completed James Webb Space Telescope. Fully assembled in late this year, the telescope was joined by two halves amounting to $9.7bln, and is scheduled to launch in March 2021.
Artist conception of James Webb Space Telescope. credit: Northrop Grumman
‘The assembly of the telescope and its scientific instruments, sunshield and the spacecraft into one observatory represents an incredible achievement by the entire Webb team,’ NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre Webb Project Manager, Bill Ochs, said in a statement.
‘This milestone symbolises the efforts of thousands of dedicated individuals for over more than 20 years across NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, Northrop Grumman and the rest of our industrial and academic partners.’
The telescope will be used to conduct two separate studies – to observe dwarf galaxy companions to the Milky Way and the nearby Andromeda Galaxy. According to NASA, studying these small companions will help scientists learn about galaxy formation and properties of dark matter, which accounts for 85% of matter in the universe.
To observe these distant never-seen-before parts of the universe, the Webb observatory is equipped with an arsenal of revolutionary technologies. NASA claims it to be the most sophisticated and complex space science telescope ever created. Among the most challenging of these technologies is the five-layer sunshield, designed to protect the observatory’s mirrors and scientific instruments from light and heat, primarily from the Sun.
Webb Telescope Crew Flexes Robotic Arm at NASA. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
According to NASA, Webb has passed other deployment tests carried out during its construction. Technicians used gravity-offsetting pulleys and weights to simulate zero-gravity, which would be encountered in space. This deployment was carefully monitored, tensioning each individual layer, and technicians concluded that once in orbit, they will function flawlessly.
‘This test showed that the sunshield system survived spacecraft element environmental testing, and taught us about the interfaces and interactions between the telescope and sunshield parts of the observatory,“ said NASA Webb Telescope Sunshield Manager, James Cooper. ‘Many thanks to all the engineers and technicians for their perseverance, focus and countless hours of effort to achieve this milestone.’
The James Webb Space Telescope’s Sunshield Membrane. Credit: Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
Forboth programmes, the Webb telescope will be tested for its accuracy and precision. ‘It’s a very tricky situation, because basically what we want to measure are very tiny motions,’ explained co-investigator Andrea Bellini of STScI. ‘The accuracy we want to achieve is like measuring something that moves a few inches a year on the surface of the Moon, as seen from Earth.’
There is excitement around the development of the telescope as it will have the capacity to solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
“Tripping on your heart, falling into the stars.. as I swirl, these galaxies twirl and I want you to be my girl. Every soft breath, every heartbeat.. such magic to the soul when you are with me. You take my hand, I wish on a shooting star.. that you take this kiss without it being bizarre. I fall the rest of the way into outer space as I look at your face, looking into your eyes.. I fall into the sunrise and nothing could feel any better cause being with you feels like forever.”
I found these images lying around. I drew them in undergrad for an assignment to make a series of images relating to a quote.
I chose to do the quote “all we are is light made solid.” It’s an anonymous quote and I have no idea what was the intended meaning, so I chose to interpret it as a reference to photosynthesis.
According to quantum electrodynamics, the electromagnetic force is due to virtual photons, so that is another way you could interpret the quote in a science-y way.
