Week 9: Space & Art

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This week’s material was fascinating. Even though I enjoyed Professor Vesna’s curation of the history of space travel, I believe that the “Powers of Ten” video stuck with me the most. One thought that kept coming back to me while watching that video was about how enormous our universe truly is, and the fact that: “The vastness of the universe makes it difficult to understand just how small and isolated we are” (Andersen, 2023). This fact becomes more ominous when one stops to measure the universe. While we have no idea how vast the universe truly is, we know that it is “at least 93 billion light-years” (Eicher, 2023) in diameter.

Figure 1: Our location and size compared to our galaxy. This shows how vast our universe truly is.
Credit: The Blog of the Cosmos

From my perspective, the universe itself contains many celestial art pieces for us to look at and appreciate. In my brief research of art within the universe, the first thing that caught my eye was the NGC 6357 nebula (Figure 2). This beautiful nebula, also known as the Lobster Nebula, “lies 8,000 light years from Earth” (Sample, 2013). This nebula “hosts an intricate mosaic of dark dust, gas, and protostars still embedded in their birth disks of gas” (Constellation Guide, 2023), which is a fascinating sight to see.

Figure 2: The Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357). This nebular is one of the most beautiful pieces of our universe.
Credit: Wikipedia

While I could go on forever, I will only divulge into sharing one more celestial piece of art with you, the Mystic Mountain (Figure 3). The Mystic Mountain is “actually one region of intense turbulence and high-energy stellar activity within the larger Carina Nebula” (Hall, 2016). It is important to note that this piece in space is “about 3 light-years tall, which is about 18 trillion miles” (Achenbach, 2015).

Figure 3: The Mystic Mountain.
Credit: Wikipedia

On a closing note, it is a very humbling experience once one gets to understand the sheer size of the universe and our size compared to it. We are nothing but molecules compared to the galaxies and clusters in the universe. We should be grateful for being able to perceive the beauties of our universe.


References:

Achenbach, Joel. “Mystic Mountain: Is This the Hubble Space Telescope’s Greatest Image?” Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/news/achenblog/wp/2015/04/16/mystic-mountain-is-this-the-hubble-space-telescopes-greatest-image/. Accessed 31 May 2024.

Constellation Guide. “Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357): Home to Milky Way’s Most Massive Stars – Constellation Guide.” Www.constellation-Guide.com, 10 Aug. 2023, www.constellation-guide.com/lobster-nebula-ngc-6357/.

Eicher, David J. “How Vast Is the Universe? Unimaginably Enormous.” Astronomy Magazine, 26 Sept. 2023, www.astronomy.com/science/how-vast-is-the-universe-unimaginably-enormous/.

Hall, Jessica. “Eye Candy from Space: The Most Beautiful Panoramas and Photos of the Universe around Us - ExtremeTech.” Www.extremetech.com, 28 Dec. 2016, www.extremetech.com/extreme/241617-eye-candy-space-beautiful-panoramas-photos-universe-around-us.

Andersen, Tim. “The Universe Is Not Enough.” The Infinite Universe, 21 July 2023, medium.com/the-infinite-universe/the-universe-is-not-enough-222bfe2c7593.

Sample, Ian, and science correspondent. “Lobster Nebula – Birthplace of Stars – Revealed in Infrared.” The Guardian, 20 Feb. 2013, www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/20/lobster-nebula-birthplace-stars-infrared. Accessed 31 May 2024.

The Blog of the Cosmos. “How Big Is the Universe?” The BLOG of the Cosmos, 29 Aug. 2016, blogofthecosmos.com/2016/08/29/how-big-is-the-universe/. Accessed 31 May 2024.

Wikipedia. “Mystic Mountain.” Wikipedia, 14 Mar. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystic_Mountain. Accessed 31 May 2024.

Wikipedia. “NGC 6357.” Wikipedia, 29 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6357.

Comments

  1. karentorresDESMA9June 1, 2024 at 2:10 PM

    I completely agree with you; the "Powers of Ten" video offers a mind-boggling perspective on the scale of our universe. Your reflection on the enormity of space and our relatively tiny presence within it is both humbling and thought-provoking.
    Your exploration of celestial art pieces like the NGC 6357 nebula and the Mystic Mountain adds a beautiful dimension to this understanding. It's incredible to think of these distant, stunning formations as works of art within the universe. The images you included really bring this concept to life, highlighting the intricate and awe-inspiring nature of these cosmic structures.
    As you mentioned, grasping the vastness of the universe puts our existence into perspective. It's a powerful reminder of how small we are in the grand scheme of things, yet it also emphasizes the privilege we have in being able to witness and appreciate such cosmic wonders. Thank you for this insightful and visually engaging entry!

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