Hubble Telescope Reveals What 200 Billion Stars Look Like (Photos)

[Judi Lynn]

By Meghan Bartels 22 minutes ago



The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of a galaxy called Messier 49, which contains about 200 billion stars.(Image: © ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Blakenslee, P. Cote et al.)

Two incredible new images from the Hubble Space Telescope show galaxies in all their shining glory.

The first photograph, of a galaxy called Messier 49, includes some 200 billion stars, although there's no way to pick out most of the individual pinpricks of light within the image.

Most of the stars within this elliptical galaxy are about 6 billion years old, and those within its 6,000-odd globular star clusters are even older. And then there's the supermassive black hole at the heart of Messier 49, which contains the mass of 500 million suns. It's all quite a lot to fit in just one image, even an image of an object 56 million light-years away.



The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of a galaxy called Messier 28.

(Image: © ESA/Hubble & NASA, J.E. Grindlay et al.)

Both this galaxy and that shown in the second new image, Messier 28, were first categorized by astronomer Charles Messier, although he wasn't always sure what he was seeing. That's because he didn't have the benefit of Hubble's view from beyond Earth's atmosphere, which produces much sharper photographs.

More:
https://www.space.com/hubble-billions-of-stars-photographs.html

[ZZenith]

1. Kinda puts it all in perspective, Dunnit?

My problems suddenly feel so small.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. And yet.....

Still smaller than you know who's ego.

[ZZenith]

3. Ha! Was going to include something about you-know-who

But decided he’s too insignificant in the grand scheme of things to even mention.

[lastlib]

7. yeah, he's not worth it, so I'm told........

(I presume you are referring to Donald Begat-of-Satan "Individual 1" tRump......)

[ZZenith]

8. Yep.

[Beartracks]

10. He knows more about those space things than all the astronomers. WAY more.

=============

[LakeArenal]

4. This should be headline news..

This is actual reality.

Mind boggling yet basically ignored.

SPACE FORCE!!!

[Karadeniz]

5. I think my brain is too tiny!

[machoneman]

6. No it's not! Trump's brain is tiny! And warped! And addled....

and more!

[Owl]

9. So amazing

[Judi Lynn]

11. Almost hesitate to mention it, but I'm curious. Each time I look at the top photo for the 1st time,

as in returning to it after a period to look at it again, the bright light of the star immediately starts dimming, growing more concentrated. I noticed this the very first time I saw it after seeing the headline. I actually thought it was a video. I can see now that my eye itself is making quick adjustments which are totally involuntary.

Has that happened to anyone else who looked at the one bright star in the first photo?

It's an experience which is completely original to me, and unexpected, and it does it repeatedly.

Thanks.

[RVN VET71]

12. OMG! You mean it's not turtles all the way down?