Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 9:15pm
Galaxies, moons, supernovae, planets, nebulae, dust... all of it. The Universe is saturated in beauty, and our technology is starting to catch up with it. We can capture the glowing glamor of the cosmos, and stare in awe and rapture.
Every year, more and more images become available of astronomical objects. And every year I try to pick my favorite ten to post here at the year's end (check out 2007 and 2006). This year, the ten I have chosen have a significant distance bias; they lean toward being very close. But don't fret: they range in distance literally from the closest to the farthest objects we can see.
This list is mine, and has my bias. I choose the pictures for beauty, for scientific interest, for both or for neither. Sometimes they're just cool, and sometimes they are a little frightening, but I hope they all will make you think, and move you in some way. Under most images is a link to embiggen them quite cromulently.
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Why did I pick this one? Because it is direct evidence of humans reaching out to another planet. Not only that, it's taken by another spacecraft we had sent there, a robotic emissary that was already in orbit taking high resolution images of the Red Planet. Showing incredible skill and foresight, the engineers here on Earth told HiRISE where to point, and at the right moment they snapped this proof that our grasp sometimes equals our reach.
I love this picture. It's simple enough, just a few pixels showing the fuzzy shape of the lander and its drogue. If you look carefully, you can see the shroud lines, too, and make out the shape of the parachute. I think that's why this image speaks to me so profoundly: it's not grand, it's not gloriously colored, it's not presupposing, yet the depth of its meaning is colossal.