[ingwe]

I always thought the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) was just a point in the night sky. Boy was I wrong!

Imagine what the night sky would look like if our eyes were more sensitive...

 

[micaela]

Wow - thats pretty cool!

 

[BetaLyr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ingwe /img/forum/go_quote.gif Imagine what the night sky would look like if our eyes were more sensitive...

That's what telescopes were invented for.

Andromeda is truly magnificent. Much more beautiful than the Milky Way, IMO.

Imagine what the night sky would look like if there was no light pollution.

I wish I was in NY during the time of the blackout a few years back.. The night sky was probably amazingly gorgeous.

Nothing is ever really just a tiny "point." It just depends on what perspective you view it at.
When we look up at the night sky, all we see are tiny dots that can be a billion trillion times the size of the Earth. The sun is a few hundred thousand times the size of the Earth, but that's no comparison to everything else out there.
Astronomy is fascinating. Just thinking about the universe can give us a sense of how minuscule we really are.

 

[ingwe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetaLyr /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's what telescopes were invented for. Imagine what the night sky would look like if there was no light pollution. I wish I was in NY during the time of the blackout a few years back.. The night sky was probably amazingly gorgeous. Nothing is ever really just a tiny "point."

I am a high-school graduate.

That said, I agree with everything you said.

What's particularly striking is that, from the Earth, the angular size of M31 is larger than the moon. That is, if our eyes were more sensitive, or M31 were much brighter, it would appear in our night sky larger than the full moon--without magnification. Imagine something over 200 million light years away dominating our night sky!

 

[blessingx]

You may want to check out this old thread.

 

[ingwe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx /img/forum/go_quote.gif You may want to check out this old thread.

Thanks! I recall that thread.

BTW, the APOD site is a very dangerous time-sink.

 

[guzziguy]

Too bad you won't be around in about 3 billion years when Andromeda and the Milky Way collide. Then you'd get a great view. Here's an article about it.

 

[GlendaleViper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetaLyr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Andromeda is truly magnificent. Much more beautiful than the Milky Way, IMO.

Said from the perspective of an insider. You might have a different opinion if you ever got the chance to see the Milky Way from within the Andromeda galaxy.

 

[shigzeo]

no no glendale. been there, done that. milky way really is rubbish. they have it better over in andromeda. its the high-life. however, i think we have higher-class ribs and beer places.

 

[aaron313]

Physics in general blows my mind. Equally astonishing as the comprehension of how small we are relative to the rest of the universe is how large we are compared to the smallest scale particles. And if string theory is even the slightest bit correct... that scares me.

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guzziguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Too bad you won't be around in about 3 billion years when Andromeda and the Milky Way collide. Then you'd get a great view. Here's an article about it.

I've been taking my fish oil and vitamins, so will post about it as it happens.

 

[shigzeo]

i think physics really hasn't anything to do with it. andromeda rally want nothing to do with us but they will eventually be drawn to our ribs and beer places as a taste of the forbidden fruit. after the moo wars some thousand years ago, the market has never been the same.

the thousand years however is a number obtained by researchers in japan who received the capsule about 1200 and came across the vastness of space. really, it was a war that was probably fought over a million years ago. while, i read the manuscript, i could not understand everything and am a little caught by their strange use of the full. stop.

but one thing for certain could be ascertained from the mostly gibberish in their anals: beef was out - at least at an official level. moohibition era. but they will come. chaos will ensue and despite their higher level of technology and better diet, we will pull ahead.

no one worry. i am confident in our indefatiguableness.

 

[DNA Doc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...but one thing for certain could be ascertained from the mostly gibberish in their anals: beef was out...

This was the funniest thing I've seen written in a long time. While I'm not normally into playing any kind of "grammar police" role in forums, I believe you meant "annals" here. But as written, the sentence is hilarious to me.

All in good fun...

 

[xnothingpoetic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by guzziguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Too bad you won't be around in about 3 billion years when Andromeda and the Milky Way collide. Then you'd get a great view. Here's an article about it.

HubbleSite - Cosmic Collision

Check out the red linked video.

That would be one hell of a view.

 

[shigzeo]

you know, i do think i meant annals. haha! anals is quite bad...