Across The Universe

This image is from Hubble's Ultra Deep Field camera. Astronomers pointed the telescope at the emptiest, blackest place in the sky and got this image. These are very distant galaxies. The tiniest, faintest dots are galaxies that are 20 to 25 billion light years away. The age of the Universe is thought to be 30 billion years old. The farther we look into the distance, the farther we look into the past. Note: 1 light year is 300 000 km/second (speed of light) x # seconds in one day x 365 (days in one year)! And that's only one light year! Multiply that by 25 billion ... that's a lot of Air Miles!

Rebirth Cycle

The "Cat's Eye" nebula and a nearby nebula with starbirth. At the center of the "Cat's Eye"(left), the remains of an exploded star. With time, the dust and gas from this star will collect (globules on the right) and form new stars (blue). With one star's death, one thousand new ones are born. This cycle of renewal takes place at all levels.