Photo # 3 (Nov 2009)

ULTRAVIOLET ANDROMEDA

Don't be afraid to take a big step.
You can't cross a
chasm in two small jumps.
-David Lloyd George

Credit: UV - NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler (GSFC) and Erin Grand (UMCP)

Taken by a telescope onboard NASA's Swift satellite, this stunning vista represents the highest resolution image ever made of the Andromeda Galaxy (aka M31) - at ultraviolet wavelengths. The mosaic is composed of 330 individual images covering a region 200,000 light-years wide. It shows about 20,000 sources, dominated by hot, young stars and dense star clusters that radiate strongly in energetic ultraviolet light. Of course, the Andromeda Galaxy is the closest large spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way, at a distance of some 2.5 million light-years. To compare this gorgeous island universe's appearance in optical light with its ultraviolet portrait, just slide your cursor over the image. http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090917.html

Can we reach out with our imaginations, as we reach out deep into cosmic space, for new ways to see, understand and address our world and its problems?
                             - Dan Benor, MD