Dizzying Hubble video zooms in for a detailed, layered look at the Whirlpool Galaxy

A closer look at one of the Milky Way's neighbors in a video that peels away the layers to help you understand the anatomy of a galaxy.
 By 
Adam Rosenberg
 on 
Dizzying Hubble video zooms in for a detailed, layered look at the Whirlpool Galaxy
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You ever get the feeling that you're just a tiny, insignificant speck floating free in the vast ocean of our universe? If the answer is "no" then you haven't been spending enough time on the Hubble Space Telescope's YouTube channel.

A video posted late last month offers a detailed view of one of our Milky Way's neighbors, the Whirlpool Galaxy. The three-minute assemblage of photos and 3D visualizations breaks down the anatomy of the galaxy using data pulled from three sources.

Hubble itself only captured the visual imagery, actual photographs. The video's infrared imaging comes from the Spitzer Space Telescope, while the x-ray imaging comes from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Captions in the video guide viewers through a process of peeling away the Whirlpool Galaxy's layers, and looking at them across different spectral bands and wavelengths.

It's informative! And also pretty. Space gives good pictures. Just mind the abundance of existential minefields.

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Adam Rosenberg

Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.


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