From breathtaking nebulae to spectacular galaxies, the cosmos is chock-full of stunning celestial objects. But think how stunning those objects might look if they were much closer to Earth -- close enough for us to see them in the night sky without having to use a telescope?
The Russian space agency Roscosmos recently took on that thought experiment, creating a series of simulations in a new YouTube video (above). The video features the nearby Andromeda galaxy, the iconic Ring Nebula, and even a massive black hole.
"Beautiful video... Just perfect," YouTube user Alexander Ivanov commented. "But it is good that we are far away from the black hole."
Scroll down to see still images of the close-up celestial bodies featured in the video -- and prepare to be amazed.
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YouTube: Studios Roscosmos
Andromeda galaxy, the closest galaxy to our own Milky Way, spans 220,000 light-years. In real life, it is located about 2.5 million light-years from Earth.
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YouTube: Studios Roscosmos
The stunning Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years. In real life, it lies approximately 6,300 light-years from Earth.
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YouTube: Studios Roscosmos
The Globular Cluster of Hercules is roughly 160 light-years in diameter. In real life, the cluster is about 25,000 light-years from Earth.
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YouTube: Studios Roscosmos
The beautiful Ring Nebula spans roughly 1 light-year. In real life, it sits about 2,000 light-years from Earth.
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YouTube: Studios Roscosmos
The Pleiades star cluster is about 10 light-years across. In real life, the cluster lies some 440 light-years from Earth.
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YouTube: Studios Roscosmos
The Whirlpool Galaxy is 60,000 light-years across and, in real life, 30 million light-years from Earth.
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YouTube: Studios Roscosmos
There's a giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way that's about 14 million miles across, and 26,000 light-years from Earth.
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YouTube: Studios Roscosmos
A supernova is an exploding star. Research suggests that the safest distance between Earth and a supernova would be 50 to 100 light-years.
