Click Nerve Cell for more photos of dendritic spines at work.
Human beings want to SEE.... so we build powerful eyes, such as microscopes and telescopes, to peer across time and space.
Since ancient times people have noticed that similar patterns show up everywhere, at every scale.
Tiny things, like our nerve cells, can ressemble huge things, like our galaxy...
or even things at our own scale, visible to the naked eye, like streams of wet sand falling through the air.
2000 times taller than you are. Your head is poking through Earth's atmosphere. What could you see if you had eyes like the Hubble?
Take A look at our galaxy from "above". Then click the BACK button on your browser to return to this page.
Another look at the Milky Way, from the side. Note the hump in the center. That's the center of the galaxy, packed with stars.
Nasa's Picture of the Day for February 24, 1998. Closer view of the Milky Way's center.
Nasa's Picture of the Day. This changes every day.
Hubble's picture index, sorted by subject.
Scroll down the page and enjoy the snapshots.
Click on any photo to get full size view. Click on Fact Sheets for more information.
Look at the brightest, most powerful star in Milky Way Galaxy..
AWESOME... Bigger photo of this massive star, taken in September, 1997.
WHERE IS "The Pistol" Star?
It's at the center of the Galaxy, about 25,000 light years away from the Sun. (The center of the galaxy is about 28,000 light years away.)
IT'S POWERFUL...
This star is emitting energy about 10 million times the power of the Sun.
BUT VERY SHORT-LIVED...
The Pistol's total life span is very short, only about 6 MILLION years.
Our Sun's lifespan is about 10 BILLION years.
(Don't worry, the Sun's only about 5 billion years old right now.)
IT'S CLOUD is HUGE...
The cloud (nebula) surrounding this star reaches out 4 light years (about the distance between the Sun and its nearest star neighbor, Alpha Centauri) The star spouted this massive cloud about 6,000-4,000 years ago in at least two major eruptions.
Space Telescope Science Institute is responsible for operating the telescope. There lots of good pictures and information here.
Where is Hubble right now? Use this incredible Java applet to track the telescope as it orbits Earth.
Photo at Top of this page is "Wet sand cupped, squeezed, thrown out of water" from Stone by Andy Goldsworthy. Goldsworthy arranges natural objects into beautiful patterns and then photographs them. "I need to understand the nature that is in all things. Stone is wood, water, earth, grass.."
This particular photograph is attributed to Judith Goldsworthy. Perhaps it's a picture of the artist, playing.
Created 2/24/99, "Phillip Davies Supino Day", as proclaimed by the City Council of Orinda, California.
Email any comments or questions to lpark@123compute.net
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