“The simple fact of existence, of being aware that you are aware; this to me is the most astounding fact.” -William Hurt
There was so much that happened this past week on Starts With A Bang, from eruptions to bad science reporting to black holes and more, that we couldn't help but share so much with you! Just in the last seven days, we've taken on the following:
“The Milky Way is nothing else but a mass of innumerable stars planted together in clusters.” -Galileo Galilei
It is, in fact, almost exactly as Galileo said.
“But I see it differently now. There has to be a middle. Without it, nothing can truly be whole. Because it is not just the space between, but also what holds everything together.” -Sarah Dessen
Sure, the Hubble Space Telescope gives us unparalleled views of our Universe. We can even use it with its near-infrared camera, NICMOS to view the very center of our galaxy, something completely blocked by dust in visible light.
"Truth is more valuable if it takes you a few years to find it." -Jules Renard
Of all the star-forming nebulae in our galaxy, the Trifid Nebula Messier 20 is thought to be the newest and youngest. Named "Trifid" for its threefold appearance, the blue reflection nebula, the red emission nebula, and the dark, star-forming dust lanes, it also bears a resemblance to the French tricolor flag.
“Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time.” -Albert Camus