Hubble images M81 galaxy

[docm]

Link....<br /><br /><b><i>LOTS</i></b> of absolutely great image links on the above page.<br /><br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p><b>Photo Release - heic0710: Hubble photographs grand spiral galaxy Messier 81</b><br /><br />The sharpest image ever taken of the large "grand design" spiral galaxy Messier 81 is being released today. The image, constructed from a series of images taken with NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is among the largest ever released. Messier 81 is one of the brightest galaxies that can be seen from the Earth.<br /><br />The beautiful galaxy Messier 81 is tilted at an oblique angle on to our line of sight, giving a "birds-eye view" of the spiral structure. The galaxy is similar to our Milky Way, but our favourable view provides a better picture of the typical architecture of spiral galaxies. Though the galaxy is 11.6 million light-years away, the vision of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is so sharp that it can resolve individual stars, along with open star clusters, globular star clusters, and even glowing regions of fluorescent gas.<br /> /><p><hr /></p></p></blockquote> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[steve70]

The image is breath taking as usual, but what really blows me away on a personal level is that this galaxy is 11.6 million light years away....and we can see it this clearly. To me this is simply amazing.

 

[MeteorWayne]

small image to whet your appetite. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

And for those that have seen it through the eyepiece, it's a bit romantic <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[weeman]

Image 7 is amazing! I can't believe how many stars there are. It makes me wonder if somewhere in that galaxy there's intelligent life. If there are billions of stars just in one galaxy, how can Earth be alone? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Techies: We do it in the dark. </font></strong></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>"Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.</strong><strong>" -Albert Einstein </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[docm]

IMO given that long-lived red dwarfs and yellow suns like ours make up the bulk of all stars & both have habitable zones life is inevitable. Next all a decent sized planet needs is liquid water, active geology, a magnetic field inducing molten core (volcanism also helps atmosphere formation) and a big moon to stabilize it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[lukman]

It is an incredible image, due to bandwidth reason, i only manage to downloaded the 20Mb version, it was astonishing, i just wonder how detail will it be at 700Mb, if it was taken by a digital camera, how many pixel is it equivalent to? How is hubble best shot images in compare to a digital camera in megapixel (gigapixel perhaps)? thanks <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[docm]

The download TIF is 4000x2688, ~10.7 megapixels (10,752,000), but the full sized collage was 22,620x15,200 or 343.8 megapixels (343,824,000). Typically several shots are digitally stitched to get a larger frame.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[deapfreeze]

The photos are very nice. I #7 the best but all are nice. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#0000ff"><em>William ( deapfreeze ) Hooper</em></font></p><p><font size="1">http://deapfreeze-amateur-astronomy.tk/</font></p><p> </p> </div>

 

[dragon04]

M81 was my wallpaper for quite some time. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!".</em> </div>

 

[dragon04]

That leads me to a bonehead question.<br /><br />Does our Milky Way have an M or NGC designation? And if not, why not? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!".</em> </div>

 

[docm]

AFAIK its scientific name <i>is</i> "The Milky Way Galaxy"<br /><br />Interesting list of MW names by language & common names....<br /><br />BTW: found a nice image of the Milky Way created from Spitzer data showing its spiral structure and where the sun is. Their data shows the bar is mostly old and red stars extending 27,000 light years.<br /><br />High-res depiction here (2700x2700), smaller version below. The big one looks nice printed on photo paper or done as a poster @ Kinko's. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>