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I understand Nebulae like the Eagle Nebula are fairly dynamic regions of space, so I find it interesting that we have photographs of the same region over a 27 y
by iamjs 4y ago
I understand Nebulae like the Eagle Nebula are fairly dynamic regions of space, so I find it interesting that we have photographs of the same region over a 27 years time span and at a glance, the structure of the Pillars of Creation appears virtually identical.
I understand that 27 years is minuscule on the cosmic timescale, but what order of timescale would be necessary for the evolution of Pillars of Creation to be are apparent to a casual observer? hundreds of years? thousands?
- shagie 4y agoA bit more cosmic scale that we can see over time are light echos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_echo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_echo In particular, the at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V838_Monocerotis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V838_Monocerotis there's a video of the echo. For another dynamic area with things changing on a human lifespan, the black hole at the center of the galaxy we can watch stars orbit it. https://youtu.be/XA7CAVm31z0 https://youtu.be/XA7CAVm31z0
- mnw21cam 4y agoThe classic example of this is the Hubble Variable Nebula. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2261 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2261 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeiVERr2J2Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeiVERr2J2Q
- shagie 4y agoWR 140 is also a neat one with cosmic scale structures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_140 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_140 And the mechanism for it - https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/star-duo-forms-fingerprint-in-space-nasas-webb-finds https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/star-duo-forms-fingerprint-in-...
- Maursault 4y agoVery cool video, but mislabeled. It shows stars approaching and passing their perihelion to SagA* 27Kya, not complete orbits.
- debone 4y agoEven more interesting when you think about the plethora of events that must be happening there in this interval of time at human scale. The Sun alone, 8 light minutes away, in seconds is consuming hydrogen and generating energy at amounts that we as humanity could use for thousands and thousands of years.
- sbierwagen 4y agoThe Crab nebula (from a supernova in the year 1054) is visibly changing over the decades: https://vimeo.com/253674871 https://vimeo.com/253674871 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyejd1N8d-U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyejd1N8d-U
- vanderZwan 4y agoThe pillars of creation are somewhere between four to five light years across. Unless the entire dust cloud moves at relativistic speeds it's going to take a lot of time for any change to be visible when zoomed out that far