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November 02, 2006
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe
In this detailed view from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the so-called Cat's Eye Nebula looks like the penetrating eye of the disembodied sorcerer Sauron from the film adaptation of "Lord of the Rings."
The nebula, formally catalogued NGC 6543, is every bit as inscrutable as the J.R.R. Tolkien phantom character. Although the Cat's Eye Nebula was the first planetary nebula ever to be discovered, it is one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen in space. A planetary nebula forms when Sun-like stars gently eject their outer gaseous layers to form bright nebulae with amazing twisted shapes.
There are 99 other incredible images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to gape at in slack-jawed wonder -- if you're a celestial voyager born a few centuries too soon, like your humble host.
When I gaze upon multi-colored nebulae blazing in distant galaxies like jewels in an incomprehensibly enormous crown, it reminds me of a line from one of my favorite movies, Blade Runner, spoken by the dying replicant Roy Batty at the end of the film, that seems appropriate.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
The glories that are hidden from view by the sun and atmosphere remind me of the stories I read in my youth of travel to distant stars, the adventures to be had off-world, thanks to the vivid imagination of Robert Heinlein.
If I have one regret in this life, it's that I'll not have a chance to see these sights with my own eyes, from the depths of interstellar space.
But a guy can dream, can't he?
Posted by Mike Lief at November 2, 2006 07:08 PM
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Comments
The heavens are filled with magnificent wonders most people will never see, or for that matter spend even a moment thinking about. Some of us can see what is out there with our own eyes and telescopes.
Get up early on a clear night, look up and think about what's out there. The Hubble Space Telescope has opened our eyes and confirmed we are but a grain of sand in a huge universe. Carl Sagan was right when he said, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
Posted by: Jeff at November 2, 2006 09:32 PM
Peyote will get you there, or so it is said by people who seem likely to know.
Posted by: The Little Coach at November 3, 2006 07:45 PM