nebula unveiled

[adelaidesean]

The universe is so beautiful I could weep.

This image of the Lagoon Nebula, with stars removed, confirms something I've been thinking for a while: that stars may be the engines driving many interstellar process and the campfires around which lifeforms like us huddle, but aesthetically speaking they're worse than dirt on the lens. The real beauty lies in the nebulae, the distant galaxies, and the vast webs of matter spanning the gulfs. Stars may come and go, but space dust will be with us forever. Amen.

Comments

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

That is truely incredible. Wouldn't it be fantastic to see this "close up, instead of through telescopes and pictures?

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes indeed. And with our internal clocks slowed right down so we can see it evolve at its own tempo, instead of frozen as it appears to our fast-moving brains. *sigh*

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

That comment reminds me of "The Lady who sailed the Soul" by Cordwainer Smith. Great story.

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

I haven't read that one. Will look for it. Great title. Thanks for the tip!