The Andromeda galaxy is 2.5 million light years away, and with an apparent magnitude of 3.4 is one of the more distant objects visible to the naked eye. Put another way, when you look at Andromeda (assuming you are fortunate enough to live away from light pollution) you are looking at light that began its journey around 100 - 200 thousand years before the first recorded appearance of the genus Homo, a time when our ancestors were still Australopithecines. No matter what your view on human origins however, this recent Hubble telescope image of the Andromeda galaxy is a reminder that our universe is an unimaginably vast, terrifying, and amazing place. Enjoy. youtu.be/udAL48P5NJU
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 07:38:08 +0000