Omega Nebula Image From European Southern Observatory (PHOTO)

Most of the time, astronomers hog all the breathtaking cosmic beauty in the universe for themselves. It doesn't seem fair. So we were glad to hear that the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released a new, ultra high-res picture of the Omega Nebula, a pinkish cloud of dust and gas that's thought to have been a fertile breeding ground for stars.

The image was taken at the ESO's Very Large Telescope array in Chile, not far from the future site of the Extremely Large Telescope and the proposed site of the now-defunct Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (see a pattern emerging here?).

The nebula, situated around 6,000 light-years from Earth in the Sagittarius constellation, is also known as the Swan, Checkmark, Lobster or Horseshoe nebula. It couldn't hurt to add one more name to the list, so we suggest calling it Cotton Candy nebula.

Comments

[Stephanie Wills]

12:57 PM on 01/08/2012

Amazing.

[LMPE]

09:03 PM on 01/07/2012

Seriously, considering how fascinating the universe is, why are we stuck on the same planet as Newt Gingrich?

[zvibenyosef2030]

06:59 PM on 01/06/2012

It seems to be a natural consequence of looking at pictures like this that we think of higher things, except of course for the guy who was reminded of a burrito. By looking at the "big picture" we are reminded how small our earth and solar system are by comparison. Then the mind wonders how could all of this vast creation have come to be?
Lets face it, nobody can imagine an entity capable of creating this majestic endless sea of galaxies. There is even speculation amongst physicists, there may be an infinite number of parallel universes. We may create a word that represents this entity, but it is only a word. Those people who are absolutely positive the universe has no creator have as little idea of the truth as do those who absolutely believe there is a creator. The truth is, that nobody knows for sure, and we probably never will. There are mysteries that may never be solved by our science

[JShankel]

02:37 AM on 01/07/2012

The universe is the entity.  Positing that it was created by the entity just kicks the can down the road: who created the entity?  It's not at all surprising that evolved chimps on one little planet would have difficulty grasping the complexity of nature and would assume it had to be created by something that has an identity like they do.

[zvibenyosef2030]

02:42 PM on 01/07/2012

Well said, that is exactly what I have been reading in books and web sites on spirituality. The idea that everything is alive, has consciousness, even inanimate objects, is counterintuitive, but it is a logical conclusion if the universe(s) and everything in it including the hidden dimensions are all part of one holistic whole, and the apparent separation of objects in the physical world that we perceive through our limited senses, is an illusion. In fact physicists have now confirmed that particles may become entangled. Once in this state their properties are mutually dependent, no matter how far apart the are. There is an interesting video about this on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lOWZ0Wv218

For me the most exciting thing in all this, is the realization that consciousness is the primal force in the universe, that it does not arise as a function of the brain, but that matter exists due to consciousness, and so what we think of as our own consciousness, can still exist in the absence of our body. This explains the many stories about out of body experiences. It is also wonderful to realize that our conscious awareness is our direct connection with the source, that is truly awe inspiring.

ff

[MONTENEGRO1949]

02:23 PM on 01/06/2012

I WONDER IF TECHNOLOGY WILL ENABLE MAN TO TRAVEL TO THE FAR REACHES OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN IN MY LIFE TIME, BUT MAYBE SOMEDAY. JUST DREAMING OUT LOUD.

[F7]

02:41 PM on 01/06/2012

We already have the technology to enable man to travel to the far reaches of the Solar System and beyond. We just don't have the economic or political will to exercise the technology to travel to the far reaches of the Solar System, and we don't have the technology to travel beyond the far reaches of the Solar System and return in a single generation.

[edtheengineer]

11:08 AM on 01/07/2012

Dreaming out loud is fine, but you do not have to shout. Turn off the caps lock.

[esq1128]

02:01 PM on 01/06/2012

We are not alone.

[jimdavis11]

01:46 PM on 01/06/2012

Some interesting facts. If the solar system was the size of a quarter, the Milky Way Galaxy would be as wide as the United States. The Milky Way has over 100 billion stars (suns) and the nearest one is 5 light years away. If you traveled 25,000 MPH it would take 50,000 years to get there.

[LMPE]

09:04 PM on 01/07/2012

That's bigger than I can think about.

[jimdavis11]

01:44 AM on 01/08/2012

Yea, I know but facts like these give us a bigger picture though of how vast the universe is and how insignificant we are. I have often wondered if our galaxy is some other realms atom and if our atoms are another realms galaxies.

[happyone6470]

01:26 PM on 01/06/2012

Enchanting ,mesmerizing and just beautiful :-)

[bigbobh]

01:19 PM on 01/06/2012

Looks like raw lungs from a fresh killed Deer.

[WSteveBro]

03:15 PM on 01/06/2012

That is a pitiful analogy for such a beautiful picture. A fresh killed deer brings to mind death and destruction. This nebula is the source of new stars and planets and even the possibility of new life forms. It is the very image of life itself.

[Avice Mendenhall Woodard]

03:37 PM on 01/06/2012

A fresh-killed deer brings to mind venison chili.

[JShankel]

02:38 AM on 01/07/2012

Oh, just put the lotion in the basket already.

[positano1970]

12:52 PM on 01/06/2012

As far as I know, all pictures (from certainly deep space) are in black and white. The colors are added as a result of other information received by scientists which would still be rather accurate. Oh, and I think the "Big Bang" THEORY will eventually be replaced by something even we can't comprehend right now.

[bech5514]

12:59 PM on 01/06/2012

The colors are added for funding purposes. What nation or organization will give these guys tons of money if all they produce are dull black and white photos?

[jimdavis11]

01:39 PM on 01/06/2012

These are the real colors! Tons of money. yea sure, NASA's budget is less that 1% of expenditures.

[JShankel]

07:16 PM on 01/07/2012

Um, no, the colors are added to differentiate regions of dust and gas by their constituents. ALL color photography is accomplished by combining black and white photos. That's how color photography works: you take black and white pictures through color filters and then combine them. In the case of these nebula, a good amount of the data is outside the visible spectrum, so those filtered images are color-translated so humans can see them. It's the same thing as an x-ray. X-ray images translate invisible x-rays into the visible range.

[JShankel]

02:40 AM on 01/07/2012

Theory does not mean hypothesis or guess.  There is never any state of knowledge in science more certain than a theory.   Any advancements made to the big bang theory will have to account for the same data the bbt does.  And that data clearly shows a rapid period of expansion at the beginning of the universe from a singular point.

[positano1970]

07:17 PM on 01/09/2012

I agree to a degree. But current data can change or morph just as our ancestors thought that the earth was the center of "our" universe based on data they had at the time. And our current data revolves around the BBT but that does exclude future changes as our understanding of this expansive universe continues to evolve.

[karlbmiles]

12:43 PM on 01/06/2012

The "Big Bang" theory is now passe. When our universe exploded, scientists expected the speed of hurtling objects to slow down, eventually to be drawn back together by gravity for another "big bang".

What scientists found out, the hurtling objects are actually speeding up! This means there are great masses beyond our universe pulling these objects away at even greater speeds.

What scientists now theorize is that our "universe" is really an expanding bubble in a much larger universe. Like soap bubbles in the air, our universe expands until it becomes nothing, as it's parts speed off to be absorbed by other universes out there. This takes infinity to a whole 'nother level.

[ericr530]

01:32 PM on 01/06/2012

I think this latent dismissal of the BBT, is just an effort in some scientific circles to account for what scientists can't explain which is what initiated the BB in the first place. Our universe while in size and scope of space and time that is unimaginable on a human level is definately finite. If the second law of thermodynamics is applied to the universe then all larger or gravationally controlling universes would eventually expand outward as well until there was nothingness. All universe(s) would eventually die due to energy constraints or equilibrium must be reached in which there would be no transfer of energy. I'd be very skeptical of labeling anything measureable as "infinite".

[jimdavis11]

01:40 PM on 01/06/2012

I think we are being pulled by unseen objects that are starting to come back in.

[Scott Bryan Kanner]

12:33 PM on 01/06/2012

Read the Urantia book...very enlightening!!

[dkellhofer]

12:18 PM on 01/06/2012

is now my background, at least until a newer better pic is published. what is with all the "god" comments and debate? watch ending of "men in black" movie, that might change your view.

[Al Schrader]

12:12 PM on 01/06/2012

A lot more than that out there.

[Artos]

11:25 AM on 01/06/2012

For those of you who equate what is shown in the picture with God, let me just say this. What you see out there is the made of the same things you put out every day when you eat a Burrito. Does that make you God?

[marcarvel]

11:57 AM on 01/06/2012

Would you say that the house where you live now was there by evolution? Or there is a designer and a maker behind it? Billions of starts and planets do not collide to each other, why because God is a God of Order, no chaos in the universe. Try to stop your breathing for a few seconds, then breathe, the air you taking now is coming from God, you depend on him for food, water and shelter. Ask yourself why you are rebelling and deny what is obvious. Maybe you need to read more about God, whose name is Jehovah, which is a beginning, knowing God name.

[antipodal2u]

12:56 PM on 01/06/2012

Babble babylon much? Nonsense

[Artos]

01:20 PM on 01/06/2012

 You say that the proof that God exists is because stars and planets do not collide with each other? Really, then how do you explain the Moon having so many craters. For that matter how do you explain the pictures that we've seen here on Huffpost that clearly show two Galaxies Colliding or stars that have gone Nova. How do you explain Black Holes devouring Suns and sometimes entire solar systems?
  The things that I receive such as oxygen and water I am well aware of how they exist and that they fulfill my needs and I don't need to question why they exist. I also understand why lightning happens  and unlike my ancestors do not believe that a God named Zeus is showing his displeasure and trying to kill us.
    I have apprehension about my dying, especially in some less than natural way such as being murdered or hit by a vehicle, but I do not fear death and where I will end up. My understanding is that when I die I will cease to exist and I am satisfied with that. I don't fear total non existence like you might. I accept it as a natural consequence of life and death, existence and non-existence. To tell you the truth given what this earth is like today, I wouldn't want to be reborn into it. For that matter you can have it and be welcome to it.

[grizznbuck]

12:22 PM on 01/06/2012

You could also have a beer with that burrito!

[DA5050]

11:24 AM on 01/06/2012

I want one !

[LMPE]

09:05 PM on 01/07/2012

I'd settle for something easier to get, like getting to be in a hot tub with Michelle Williams.