
The Most Detailed Image of Our Galaxy Ever Taken - jaybol
http://bmgoau.nfshost.com/milkyway_spitzer_zoom/spitzer.html
======
lbrandy
If you zoom in (and give it a sec) it'll load the high-res version.

Just remember, every point of light is a star. And then remember, there are as
many galaxies in the universe as points of light in that picture.

Now go watch Pale Blue Dot on youtube.

~~~
pavs
As Carl Sagan would say, "billions of billions".

Also this quote from the book "Pale Blue Dot" is equally amazing:
<http://vimeo.com/2822787>

The original "Pale Blue Dot": <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M>

~~~
alanthonyc
Thanks for that.

 _"How perilous our infancy. How humble our beginnings."_

------
coderdude
As much as I'd give anything to be in deep space exploring the galaxy, the
universe is a creepy looking place. You know the feeling when you're
noclipping in a game? I imagine it would be weird like that.

~~~
thaumaturgy
Would you really give anything? Because it's possible. We could do it.

There just aren't enough people yet that are willing to give enough to do it.

~~~
electromagnetic
Most people today are interesting in 'exploring' exceptionally populated areas
of the planet that they've heard to be great places of interest. While these
places are fascinating, it is hardly 'exploring'.

I hope that within my lifetime we will be able to convert enough of these
people to want to explore places like the moon and Mars. Before long, we'll
have people demanding we explore Alpha Centauri and going out with a
battering-ram to see if we can find life in the universe rather than playing
with a ham-radio to see if the neighbours are in.

------
Groxx
_That's_ the most detailed? Google Sky has about 2x the magnification of a
random, boring spot I picked, and _much_ higher on interesting locations.
Maybe there's some small spot which goes to 8x, but otherwise I think they've
been beat.

(comparison: both scale roughly 2x on each level. linked: 9 levels. Google: 10
levels before informing of no more data, many boring locations go higher.
Apparently, I found one of the least interesting sections to try first.)

~~~
tectonic
Maybe this is a single composite take from the same satellite, not an
agglomeration of many photos from different locations and times? I'm not sure.

~~~
Groxx
It's definitely more consistent... and more blue.

Not saying it's not neat, and it appears to be quicker than Sky. Just that
it's kinda lame if that really _is_ the highest density.

------
Tichy
How are these images created? We can't have space probes that have covered a
significant distance from earth yet (or can we??), so I suppose essentially
they must all be "as seen from earth"?

~~~
rriepe
Yep, as seen from here. The denser parts are looking towards the center of the
galaxy.

------
Bjoern
Anyone else tried to find the supermassive black hole ? :)

~~~
djahng
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duoHtJpo4GY>

~~~
herdrick
Submitted: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1390960>

------
paraschopra
Can someone clarify if the colours visible in the image are an artifact of
instrument used for capturing the image? Or are they natural colours of stars?

~~~
lotharbot
Judging from the name of the image, it was taken by Spitzer, which is an
Infrared telescope [1]. The colors you see in this image do not represent
visible light.

[1] <http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/>

------
phreeza
Are these all true colors? Seems like a lot of red and yellow floating around?
Or maybe thats just the way the galaxy is, I'm no expert.

~~~
turnersauce
As I responded to a similar question, I believe that these images are created
through a composite of Spitzer images taken at different wavelengths, where
the colours have been added artificially. There's more information here:
<http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080605.html>

------
djahng
on a related note: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVjF_7ensg>

------
portman
Does anybody know approximately where our solar system is in that picture?

It's about 75% from the center of the galaxy, but would it be on the left side
or the right side?

(I know I won't be able to SEE it, but it just sort of feels good to be able
to look at a picture like this and imagine a "YOU ARE HERE" arrow.)

~~~
Kutta
Um, the picture was taken from Earth orbit. You will NOT find the solar system
in this image.

~~~
portman
Facepalm.

------
coffeeaddicted
It would be great to have the same image but with labels for all the stars. It
looks certainly great, but I would really like to click on certain points and
get more information. Like what's the difference between a red, blue and green
star here.

------
endtime
Amazing. Is Sol visible in that image?

~~~
jsharpe
Of course not. These images are taken FROM Sol. How could it be there?

~~~
endtime
Oh. Duh. Thanks. I guess the framing of the image gave me the (unconsidered,
of course) impression that it was an outside view of the galaxy.

------
kasharoo
Hey, I can see my house from here!

