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This marvellous little space is going to be something a little different from my other sites.

On here, my aim is to highlight unusual little things that make you step back, stop for a moment and let your mind wander, as you have a chance to ponder aspects of Life, The Universe and Everything that you normally wouldn't even consider during your day.

...In short, a brief web-inspired 'timeout'. Enjoy.
Feb 27
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I looked into the Eye of God, and all I got was this lousy photo

Well well… More wonderful images from Space once again. This time, it’s NGC 7293, aka the Helix Nebula:

This colour-composite image of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) was created from images obtained using the the Wide Field Imager (WFI), an astronomical camera attached to the 2.2-metre Max-Planck Society/ESO telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile. The blue-green glow in the centre of the Helix comes from oxygen atoms shining under effects of the intense ultraviolet radiation of the 120 000 degree Celsius central star and the hot gas. Further out from the star and beyond the ring of knots, the red colour from hydrogen and nitrogen is more prominent. A careful look at the central part of this object reveals not only the knots, but also many remote galaxies seen right through the thinly spread glowing gas.

This image was created from images through blue, green and red filters and the total exposure times were 12 minutes, 9 minutes and 7 minutes respectively.

A factoid for you, courtesy of El Reg: the Helix Nebula first popped up in “a list of new objects compiled by the German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding in 1824”. And while you’re at it, I SERIOUSLY recommend you check out the other images of nebulae the ESO has to offer… Some are truly astonishing.