This image of our galaxy, the milky way, was taken with NASA's Cosmic Background Explore's (COBE) Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment(DIRBE).
This never-before-seen view shows the Milky Way from an edge-on perspective with the galactic center.
The picture combines inages obtained at several near-infrared wavelengths.
Stars within our galaxy are the dominant source of light at these wavelengths.
Even though our solar system is part of the Milky Way, the view looks distant because most of the light comes from the population of stars that are closer to the galactic center than our own Sun.
(Courtesy NASA)
The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is located 2.3 million light years away, making it the nearest magor galaxy to our own Milky Way. M31 dominates the small group of galaxies (of which our own Milky Way is a member), and can be seen with the naked eye as a spindle-shaped "cloud" the width of the full Moon.
Like the Milky Way, M31 is a giant spiral-shaped disk of stars, with a bulbous center hub of older stars.
M31 has long been known to have a bright and extremly dense grouping of a few million stars clustered at the very center of its spherical hub. (Courtesy Jason Ware)
Author: Calvin J. Hamilton
cjhamil@lanl.gov
Growing up in Northern Pa, out in the middle of the hills. I spent many nights star watching. I've seen thing in the sky that just couldn't be from this planet.
I called the Bradford Airport one night because 5 of us saw something in the sky, that was dropping it looked like fire balls strait down.
Than they would disappear, and the craft stayed in one spot for allmost 15 minutes.
When I called the Airport they said there was no planes in that area, and we were still looking at it.
That was only one thing that I have seen. So I don't care what anyone else thinks, I know they are out there.
