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Our world is only a tiny, microscopic part of the whole universe, most of which we will never get to see as a species due to its constant expansion. And yet, at least within the observable universe, there are plenty of things to marvel at without leaving the comfort of our home planet: galaxies far away that allow us to dream of other civilizations.
Granted, it’s sort of unlikely that anyone else is out there, although that isn’t needed to appreciate the beauty of the stars, the cosmos, and outer space in general. These are just some of the best pictures we could find of galaxies around the wide universe.
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NGC 2525
Not all galaxies have fancy names, but they can still look as fancy as ever. At a distance nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the Puppis constellation.
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Antennae Galaxies
These two galaxies might seem like they’re in harmony, yet the truth is that they’re locked in deadly combat for gravitational supremacy.
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NGC 1275
While a mostly ‘normal’ image of a galaxy at first glance (as normal as pictures of clusters of celestial bodies go), the red dust from a different nearby galaxy gives this photo a deadly look.
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Stellar Forge
This massive galaxy is known as the Stellar Forge due to how fast stars are formed in it. It still takes millions of years, but it’s still fascinating to know it takes a couple million less in other places.
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Sombrero Galaxy
‘Side’ photos of galaxies are just as spectacular as ones that show the entire spiral. The most photogenic galaxy for this style of photo is the Sombrero Galaxy, thanks to its bright white center.
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NGC 1015’s Bright Center
This galaxy is comparatively similar to the Milky Way (our home galaxy), even if visually it is quite distinct. The main distinctive feature is that bright center, looking almost like a steering wheel.
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Companion Galaxies
These two galaxies might seem to be in a similar struggle than others we’ve shown before, but that’s a matter of perspective. The smaller one, NGC 5195, is actually fairly behind its larger companion (NGC 5194), making this a peaceful pair.
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Center Close-Up
It’s hard to grasp the massive scale that galaxies work on, particularly when all we see are images taken from incredibly far away. This close-up of NGC 2841 might help put it in perspective: each of the little colorful dots are larger than the sun.
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Stellar Nursery
This galaxy is known as a nursery for all the young stars within its ‘arms,’ all cradled together within it. After quite a few million years, it might be known as a Stellar Retirement Home.
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Side Wobble
If the previous hat-allegory was a sombrero, then this looks like the tip of a fedora. In any case, the shape of this side shot is fascinating.
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Evil Eye
This galaxy is actually nicknamed ‘Evil Eye’ due to, well, how ominous it looks. Seems like some astronomers were reading too much Tolkien while naming their astral bodies.
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NGC 7331
There’s not much to say about NGC 7331, other than how beautifully detailed this photo of it is. It’s mostly similar to the Milky Way, with a central supermassive black hole and everything. Did you know there’s a black hole in the center of galaxies? Now you do!
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Shining Star
This is clearly a photo of a galaxy, and yet the main character is the shining star a little off center. It goes to show that, if you shine bright enough, you can glow brighter than everyone around you.
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Horizon
Obviously, this is an image of a galaxy from the side, and yet it feels like a strange horizon with a sea and sky made of stars. It goes to show how much our time on Earth shapes what we see.
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Hypnotic Galaxy
This is NGC 524, which has plenty of features that make it decidedly different from the Milky Way. Since we’re not astronomers, we’re far from qualified to explain these differences, but at a glance it’s evident that they aren’t the same.
The post 15 of the Most Photogenic Galaxies We Can Properly Image appeared first on Den of Geek.
