With this image from the Hubble Space Telescope, you can see a galaxy 57 light years from your sofa.
Science and a touch of poetry: what could be more beautiful than starting the year 2022 with your head in the stars? On December 17, NASA released the last snapshot taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2021.
In this image you can see a side view of the spiral galaxy NGC 3568. It is located approximately 57 million light years from the Milky Way, in the constellation Centauri.
The galaxy NGC 3568
In 2014, a powerful flash of light from the galaxy NGC 3568 was observed from Earth. It was the light produced by a supernova – the explosion that occurs when a massive star dies.
NASA would like to point out an interesting anecdote about the discovery of this flash: it was not discovered by professional astronomers. ” While most astronomical discoveries are the work of teams of professional astronomers, this supernova was discovered by amateur astronomers who are part of the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search in New Zealand. », Explains the space agency. NASA takes the opportunity to greet the “ fascinating discoveries »Performed by amateur astronomers, especially for ephemeral phenomena – supernovae, comets, etc.
Smirk from space
We must now tackle a subject which has nothing to do with science, but which cannot be avoided. Take a good look at the picture. What do you see ? A smirk, isn’t it?
This phenomenon of seeing a human face or an object in a form that has nothing to do with it is called pareidolia. This often happens with astronomical pictures. For example, a famous snapshot immortalized again by Hubble, in 2019, gave the sensation of showing the face of a monster. But we clearly prefer this pretty smile from NGC 3568 to start 2022.