Photos From the Final Frontier

[Soylent Brice]

NASA released this enhanced image made by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. The image, made May 4, 2009, is of the planetary nebula known as Kohoutek 4-55. It is one of a series of planetary nebulae that were named after their discoverer, Czech astronomer Lubos Kohoutek. A planetary nebula contains the outer layers of a red giant star that were expelled into interstellar space when the star was in the late stages of its life. Ultraviolet radiation emitted from the remaining hot core of the star ionizes the ejected gas shells, causing them to glow. The Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 will be replaced during the space shuttle mission scheduled to launch May 11, 2009.



more: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Space/popup?id=1884338

[HopeHoops]

1. AAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!! - THE EYE OF SAURON!

We are SO fucked. Did anyone remember the ring? Anyone? Shit.

[malaise]

2. Stunningly beautiful

My favorite

[Soylent Brice]

5. this one was patricularly interesting to me:

[malaise]

9. Fascinating indeed

I sent your link to one of my nephews and he replied asking if I could explain why human beings are fighting when there is so much to see and discover in the universe.

[Soylent Brice]

11. that's an awesome question!! everyone should ask themselves that.

sounds like you have a very intelligent nephew.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. That ain't stars -

It's a really, really big jellyfish.

[NeedleCast]

3. Can't Wait to see the new camera in action

WFPC 2 will be missed though. It has produced some of the most visually stunning pictures in human history.

[Soylent Brice]

4. with any luck we'll get to see everything Hubble already has shown us in an even better light,

as well as things we have yet to see.

i have a lot of confidence that the next batch of pics will prove to be just as enlightening.

[NeedleCast]

6. Hope So

Hubble and the search for extra-solar planets are two of my biggest time killers at work.

[Soylent Brice]

8. extra solar planets has become my latest hobby/obsession

i don't know what would be more exciting, getting to live long enough for civilian spaceflight to be affordable for the average person, or for us to find a comparably habitable planet.

i have a feeling the latter will happen first.

[kimmylavin]

7. Amazing.

I just love these...