5 photos have changed the world of NASA

Since its founding in 1958, NASA has always been one of the pioneers in the field of space exploration. Many photos and videos have been recorded, completely changing the way we look at the vast and mysterious universe.

Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman removed the Wide Field / Planetary Camera 1 (WF / PC 1) during the replacement process.The picture was taken in the first mission of the Hubble Space Telescope, which led to the greatest images that mankind ever captured, both scientific and aesthetic.

According to Forbes, since humanity first got out of Earth gravity and moved out of the atmosphere, we were able to see the universe in the way that previous generations dreamed. dare not think. No longer limited by our position on Earth, and no longer interfered with the kilometers of atmosphere, we have discovered the facts about the universe, things that have been "hidden" throughout Mankind history.

Thanks to advances in space ship technology, NASA ingenuity and investment, our science is growing and able to bring the most spectacular and greatest images to Earth. In 5 separate locations, here are 5 images taken by NASA that completely changed the way we view the world and the universe.

1. Hubble eXTreme Deep Field

Hubble eXTreme Deep Field, the greatest image ever published about the universe.

More than 20 years ago, the first Hubble Deep Field image was taken. By pointing at a void in the sky and collecting single photons, it was able to reveal things that are far away from the vast universe: billions of galaxies. Since then, Hubble has been upgraded many times, utilizing better photons, looking deeper into ultraviolet and infrared rays, extending both its viewing and depth range.

eXTreme Deep Field (XDF) of the universe is the greatest image ever taken, including 23 days of observation in the space of only 1 / 32,000,000 of the whole sky. Hubble not only found more than 5000 galaxies, but also amazing examples of their evolution, when it has the ability to look back to the past, when the new universe is at 4% of its current age. me We have learned how our universe matures and how galaxies grow from tiny seeds to the structures we know today. Moreover, we were able to give the first accurate estimate of the total number of galaxies in the observed universe: two trillion. Most remarkable is that all that information is encapsulated in a single image.

2. The picture "Earth grows" of Apollo 8

For the first time humans see the Earth "grow" from the Moon.This is probably the best moment in NASA's public education / outreach until the first time humans set foot on the Moon.

Everything you have learned, seen, or experienced from NASA is the result of education and public access. Photo above? It is known as the "Earthrise" , and for the first time humans see the scene of the Earth rising from the Moon. Taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, it showed us how special, precious and small the Earth is, fragile. Anders, who took the picture, once said: "We have come a long way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing we have discovered is Earth."

But when Sister Mary Jucunda wrote a letter to NASA to tell them to stop wasting money to explore the universe when on Earth, so many people had to live hard, NASA's scientific director at that time, recovered a long letter with a picture above. In the letter:

"The photo I attached to this letter shows a view of the Earth we see from the Apollo 8 when it orbits the Moon on Christmas in 1968. Among all the great results of this program So far, this picture is probably the most important thing, it makes us open our eyes, seeing that the Earth is a very beautiful and special place in the middle of endless space, and nowhere else Another way for us to live outside the thin surface of our planet, surrounded by the emptiness of space, there have never been so many people to realize how limited our world is, and it would be dangerous if we disturbed its ecological balance. "

Since this image was published, voices have become bigger, more resounding, warning about the serious problems that people face in our time: pollution, poverty, capital. urbanization, food production, water management, population boom. It is no coincidence that we begin to see the great tasks that are waiting ahead, the time when the cosmic era has shown us the first glances of our planet.

Fortunately, the era of the universe not only provides an example for us to look at ourselves, but also brings technologies, challenges, goals and even optimism to attack those tasks. a way full of confidence. I believe, what we get from our space program fully supports Albert Schweitzer's ideas when he says: "I look to the future with concern, but there is hope too. ".

Like millions of others, Jucunda has been affected. Thanks to this photo, we were able to confidently answer the question of why investing in science is so important, although there are still many people who are living in misery in the world. That is for future generations to never experience the hardships and suffering we are suffering at the present time.

3. The "newborn picture" of the universe is done by WMAP

Exploring the fluctuations in the Big Bang's residual light to less than 1 degree is the biggest achievement of NASA's WMAP, giving us the first accurate picture of the "newborn image" of the universe.

One of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century is Big Bang's residual light: cosmic microwave background (CMB). Big Bang gave birth to a universe filled with matter, antimatter and radiation, where radiation reaches our eyes in a straight line when neutral atoms are formed. Radiation has cooled down a lot at the present time, thanks to the expansion of the universe, but when Big Bang first took place, it had to climb out of "gravity wells ", determined by the regions. Too thick and too low density existed at that time.

Areas with too dense, medium and too low densities existed when the universe was only 380,000 years old, corresponding to cold, normal and hot spots in CMB.

These areas have evolved into galaxies, constellations and aerospace, but this is the first time that WMAP's picture reveals the details of the universe to such an accurate level. . The magnitude and distribution of too dense and too low regions appear when the temperature fluctuates in CMB, telling us where the universe is made up of. Our cosmic image is a combination of dark matter, "normal" matter and dark energy that completely changes our perception of the universe at that time.

4. Voyager "Pale Blue Dot"

The narrow-angle color image of the Earth, called "Pale Blue Dot" , is part of the first "portrait" of the Solar System captured by Voyager 1. The ship has collected a total of 60 frames for the photo. Solar system paintings from a distance of more than 6 billion kilometers to Earth and a difference of 32 degrees from the zodiacal plane.At this distance, the Earth is just a bright spot with a size of 0.12 pixels.

On February 14, 1990, after more than a decade away from Earth and on its way out of the Solar System, Voyager 1 was heading towards its homeland. It captured images of six planets, including the Earth's top photo, at a distance of 6 billion kilometers, making it the farthest photograph of the Earth ever taken.

Voyager 1 captures images of 6 planets in the Solar System.

Voyager 1 cameras on February 14, 1990 pointed toward the Sun and captured a series of images of the Sun and planets, creating the first "portrait" of the Solar System as seen from outside.

Although this picture is not part of the original plan, the idea of ​​Carl Sagan made it possible, and at the same time motivated him to write as follows:

"It's home. That's us. On it all the people you love, the people you know, all the people who once lived in life, are living their lives. [.] Perhaps there is no better proof of human "madness" than the faraway picture of our small world. "

Voyager 1 is currently about 20 billion kilometers from Earth, as it continues its journey into the vast universe as the spacecraft farthest from Earth.

5. Hubble's "Pillars of Creation" ( Hubert's Creation )

"Pillars of creation" are also pillars of destruction.

Many visible nebulae, both in our galaxy and beyond, are star-forming regions, where cold gas molecules merge under the influence of gravity to form stars. new. In 1995, for the first time in history, we were able to look deep into such an area, Eagle Nebula (Eagle Nebula), and explore the interstellar gas columns. These columns contain the original stars in the process of formation, evaporating both inside and outside, thanks to ultraviolet light emitted by hot stars, newly created babies.

In other words, "pillars of creation" are also pillars of destruction. Infrared and X-rays show us the stars of the stars, and the updated version with a resolution higher than 20 years later allows us to see the evaporation process in slow-motion form and the changes take place inside the pillars. In a few hundred thousand to several million years, they will evaporate completely.

In a few hundred thousand to several million years, they will evaporate completely.

The 2015 scene of pillars shows the combination of visible and infrared data, spectral lines showing the presence of many heavy elements and subtle changes in those pillars. time.

100 years ago, we didn't even know the existence of any galaxy outside our Milky Way. We do not know how the universe is formed, whether it is permanent or not, how old it is or what it has created. And we know nothing about the fate of the universe, or how long the stars will shine.

Today, we have got answers to all these questions, and more. When we invest in the universe, the benefits and impacts will reach out to the whole world. As research has shown, it depends not only on scientists, but also on all of us - the public - so that these investments are made. We can explore, learn and understand the universe, far beyond the wildest, wildest dreams we can imagine.