Vent: I just read that the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image contains galaxies from over 13 billion years ago, basically showing baby galaxies, and it blew my mind. | Astronomy Photos - Thought Shares
Vent: I just read that the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image contains galaxies from over 13 billion years ago, basically showing baby galaxies, and it blew my mind.
Found that fact in a footnote of a NASA article and now every single 'deep sky' photo I see feels completely different, like we're literally looking at the universe's baby pictures.
Wow, I used to think those deep space photos were just pretty pictures. Now I can't unsee it. Every fuzzy little smudge in those images is basically a whole galaxy back when the universe was brand new. It makes the Andromeda galaxy feel like a next door neighbor by comparison. That Hubble photo really messed up how I see the night sky now.
Hubble's deep field image made me feel like a speck on a speck. I used to worry about getting my truck washed, now I'm staring at ancient light from billions of years ago. It really puts my whole to-do list into a funny kind of perspective.
Does the Hubble Ultra Deep Field really go back 13 billion years though? Last I checked, the oldest galaxies we've spotted in there are closer to 13.4 billion years old, but the universe itself is about 13.8 billion, so it's more like seeing galaxies when they were really young, not the very first ones. Still blows my mind every time I look up at the stars though...