18 Photos That Can Change Our Perspective on Earth and the Universe

Since the launch of the first satellite into space, 60 years have passed. But since then, technology has evolved at an almost unprecedented speed. Man went to the moon, a sheep was cloned and the magic of the Internet and social networks emerged.

We still know very little about the Universe, but thanks to increasingly powerful space probes and telescopes, we can see and take pictures of distant and small objects that are found throughout the Universe.

O awesome.club gathered the most beautiful photos and impressive data that helped scientists in their insights into the Earth, the Solar System and the entire Universe.

On March 6, 2018, a launch vehicle placed the telecommunications satellite that will operate for 15 years into Earth orbit. It is the 50th launch of SpaceX, the company of South African/American megalomaniac billionaire Elon Musk — the same one that is developing technologies to colonize Mars.

The particularity of Falcon 9 is that the first stage was designed with the aim of making it a rocket capable of going to space and back, unlike conventional rockets. This, of course, can reduce the costs of space travel. It happens that, on that occasion, for technical reasons, its landing was not carried out.

The Bubble Nebula (forming dust, hydrogen, helium and plasma) is located at a distance of 7100 light years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. Its diameter is approximately 7 light-years. That’s almost 1.5 times the distance between the Sun and its closest neighbor, Alpha Centauri. The nebula was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel.

The age of the star that forms this nebula is about 4 million years old, and its mass is 45 times that of the sun. This is an extremely hot star. Its life, according to scientists, is not long: within 10 or 20 million years, it will explode as a supernova, the final stage of a star’s evolution.

This photo was taken at the top of Mount Everest. According to the author, it should simply put an end to the flat-Earth theory forever. However, there is an impression that it was made with a lens. fisheye, the famous ‘cat eye’, that distorts space, making it circulate. But regardless of whether or not it was shot with that lens, there are countless other proofs that the earth is not flat — as, absurdly, defend some people. Among these proofs are lunar eclipses and photos taken from space.

Another point that draws attention in the photo is the huge amount of rubbish that exists at the top of the world, between flags carried by adventurers, discarded oxygen tubes, feces (where do you think all these people do their business?) and even bodies that don’t are rescued. That’s why the Chinese authorities recently carried out a cleanup operation. In addition, both China and Nepal, which share the border where Everest is located, are expected to increase the fee charged to climbers to climb the highest peak on the planet.

The first element of the International Space Station was launched into Earth orbit in 1998. Currently, the ISS is at a height of almost 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, and its speed in orbit is approximately 27,000 km/hour.

Sarychev Volcano is located on Matua Island, part of the Kuril Islands. This is an active volcano that in the last 200 years has erupted 11 times. The last eruption took place in 2009, and it was precisely the astronauts from the International Space Station who managed to photograph it.

A mix of laboratory and exploration vehicle called ‘Curiosity’ has been exploring the surface of Mars since 2012. Thanks to Curiosity, scientists know about the radiation dose that participants will receive from an eventual expedition to the red planet. It appears that in a year on Mars, they will receive a dose 300 times the annual norm set for workers in the nuclear industry! Therefore, the maximum period of stay there should not be longer than 500 days.

At the center of our galaxy, from where we are approximately 27,700 light years away, is the most active part of the Milky Way, where the formation of new stars takes place. The same “bulge” that lies at the center of the galaxy’s center is a concentration of stars mainly composed of old stars. It is believed that at the center of our global “home” there are 2 black holes, and one of them has a mass 43 million times that of the Sun.

In May 2016, Mars ‘approached’ Earth at a distance of 80 million kilometers, which allowed the Hubble telescope to “look” at objects from a distance of 30 to 50 kilometers. In the record, clouds can be seen over the poles of the red planet, Cassini Crater, Huygens Crater and Schiaparelli Crater. Scientists believe that, possibly, at some point, Martian craters were filled with water, and Cassini crater had more water than Lake Baikal in Russia, the deepest on Earth.

The Crab Nebula, located in the constellation of Taurus, is a residue of a supernova star, whose explosion was observed and documented by Chinese astronomers in 1054. At the same center of the nebula is a neutron star that also formed as a result of the supernova explosion. Its diameter is approximately 20 to 30 kilometers and its mass is similar to that of the Sun.

On July 21, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to step on the surface of the Moon, and he uttered his famous phrase: “This is one small step for man, but one giant leap for mankind”. Fifteen minutes after Armstrong left, his mission mate Buzz Aldrin joined him, and so began the new era of space exploration. For information purposes, the white bag in the foreground is a special garbage bag.

On September 15, 2017, the Cassini spacecraft, launched by NASA and the European Space Agency in 1997, had already entered Saturn’s orbit for 3 years. But on that day, as planned by the space agency, her fuel ran out and she self-destructed, crashing into the giant planet and ending the mission. Casini is still considered one of the greatest achievements of the space industry.

Approximately 1470 light-years from our planet is the Veil Nebula, which is the result of a supernova explosion. It is so big that, despite the great distance, at night, its size is 5 times greater than the size of the Moon. Also, due to the magnitude of the nebula, scientists had to name each of its sectors separately.

One of the most beautiful and incredible objects for us in the Universe is the Helix Nebula, or, as they nicknamed it, the “Eye of God”. It is located approximately 650 light years from the Sun and is one of the closest objects of its type to us.

The space probe “Juno” made a single record of Jupiter, in which the gas giant appears from an unusual angle: the Great Red Spot, which is a continuous cyclone in the northern hemisphere. In the photo, it is observed that the planet is full of other cyclones.

Pluto officially ceased to be the 9th planet in the Solar System in 2006 and is now considered, along with its neighbors Eris and Ceres, one of the dwarf planets. Eris was almost considered a Planet, a topic that was discussed in an Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, which deals with the subject. To the disappointment of some, not only was Eris not elevated to Planet status, but poor Pluto ended up being ‘demoted’.

Which of the images and discoveries surprised you the most? Share with us your opinion!