Myth vs Reality: Seeing Galaxies

 

 

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach

 

All images, illustrations, and videos courtesy of NASA except:

 

·       Milky Way panorama courtesy of ESO/S. Brunier

·       Taurus constellation drawing from Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia by Johannes Hevelius, courtesy of the United States Naval Observatory

·       Andromeda Galaxy image courtesy of Bill Schoening, Vanessa Harvey/REU program/NOAO/AURA/NSF

·       Redshift animation courtesy of ESO

·       Centaurus A visible-light images courtesy of ESO

 

 

Written by Tracy Vogel

Designed by Marc Lussier

Music courtesy of Associated Production Music

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 Top left, a black and white picture of a minotaur. Top right, a color picture of a galaxy. 

Text, MYTH versus REALITY 

Myth side 

Text, Galaxies shine only in visible light. 

Reality side 

Text, Galaxies emit different types of radiation. Most types of light are invisible to us. Detecting other types of radiation, such as infrared light, X-rays, and ultraviolet light, provides more information and allows us to better understand what is happening inside galaxies.