You probably know by now that the Hubble telescope is used by NASA to take amazing photographs of the Universe. In the latest picture taken by them, there are approximately 15000 galaxies spread across the infinity of space, 12000 of which present forming stars. It is definitely one of the biggest snapshots ever taken and it doesn’t just show tremendous distance, but different instances in time too.
Hubble Space Telescope
As we already said, Hubble is the telescope that NASA depends on to show us the mysteries of the Universe. This one photo, in particular, shows a portion of the GOODS-North field, located in the Ursa Major constellation.
The image shows a lot of newborn stars as fresh blooming lights that decorate newly-formed galaxies. In order to take this photo, NASA combined the Hubble’s ultraviolet camera with what was obtained after infrared and visible-light imaging. That’s how NASA managed to provide one of the most complete views on the Universe so far and it is something you couldn’t see with your naked eye.
What makes the difference?
NASA had to use all these types of cameras because the different galactic ages come with different types of light. Those that are most distant can only be seen on the infrared spectrum. Even if it started as ultraviolet, the expansion of the universe made it to shift into infrared wavelengths.
The closer ones are able to be seen on a broader spectrum. Because Earth has an atmosphere, it acts as a filter for UV lights, so Hubble, from space, is necessary to get a clear picture. What resulted is a photograph that simply transcends time and space. NASA believes that the oldest stars in the picture are about 11 billion years old, only 3 billion years older than the Big Bang.
There are about 12000 freshly born stars. By comparing these different types of stars, astronomers can get a clearer picture of how the Universe was formed.
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.