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TocTheElder t1_jdseg01 wrote

In fairness, if I recall correctly, if it weren't for interstellar dust and light pollution, Andrommeda would have roughly six times the angular diameter in the night sky as the moon.

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thesadunicorn t1_jdsjxa1 wrote

https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2020/02/4612-Image?news=true

According to this if the andromeda was fully visible, it would be like six times bigger than the moon.

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p-d-ball t1_jdtr8lj wrote

Wow, I'm kinda bummed we can't see it like that.

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RoastedRhino t1_jdva5rd wrote

It's still much bigger than people think.

We were on a group retreat and I convinced by office mates to look at the sky (we were next to a glacier in one of the darkest skies I have ever seen) and Andromeda is big! The general comment by everybody was "I thought it was something you cannot see without a telescope, or something tiny that you need to enlarge to see". But it's actually a big object in the sky!

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p-d-ball t1_jdvdyej wrote

That's awesome! I'll definitely have to look for it.

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canadave_nyc t1_jdvfye7 wrote

You can barely see Andromeda as a small ghostly pale splotch with the naked eye in a very dark sky. A slightly more resolved splotch if you use binoculars (you can see the centre splotch plus hazy oval splotch around it). It will be nothing like the well-defined colourful galaxy you see in photos. Just FYI :)

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p-d-ball t1_jdvgqr6 wrote

Ah, ok. Thank you for the info!

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canadave_nyc t1_jdvmzaq wrote

You're welcome. Here's kind of what it looks like in actuality (although even this photo shows it brighter than it actually is--the stars in the photo, for example, are brighter than they'd appear even at a very dark-sky site): https://p1-tt.byteimg.com/origin/pgc-image/26a4289388a84090929e80b9fcbc930b.jpg

It really just looks like a small very faint hard-to-find fuzzy ball to the naked eye in real life.

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killinghorizon t1_je1oawv wrote

The link seems to be broken.

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canadave_nyc t1_je2jitd wrote

Hmmm, that's odd--I tested it and it was broken for me too, but I just tried again and it seems to be working. Maybe it was temporarily down?

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Laxziy t1_jdxjbzl wrote

It’s still a beautiful splotch tho

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GraveSlayer726 t1_je0h7s7 wrote

really makes you realize the absurd scale of galaxies, even being so far away andromeda can still take up a tremendous amount of space in the sky, i hope i can go someone with little to no light pollution one day to see it

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sciguy52 t1_jdu7dt9 wrote

Well you can, just need more help than just your eyes. Hence the telescopes. But it would be really need to see in the sky if you could see it with eyes alone.

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MannyVanHorne t1_jdvhg0j wrote

Dude, obviously. What did you think he meant?

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sciguy52 t1_jdvx0q1 wrote

Yeah I see your point. It was late and I was falling asleep and didn't read it right. Also said need instead of neat for what it is worth.

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junktrunk909 t1_jdv9y4t wrote

It's relatively easy and affordable to get equipment that'll let you see it like that

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BeestMann t1_jdufma5 wrote

If we were to go to the moon… would we see Andromeda more clearly from there?

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tom21g t1_jdvaclk wrote

Imagine public visits to the moon with the added bonus of seeing Andromeda like that

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taweryawer t1_jdvhdkr wrote

It's not dust and pollution, it's just your eyes

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TheUmgawa t1_jdtg3xk wrote

I'm glad OP informed us that this is a simulated view. Otherwise I would have thought OP had a really long selfie stick.

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doc_nano t1_jdtifpb wrote

Can you imagine how long it would take to extend that thing??

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dern_the_hermit t1_jdu0srm wrote

Longer than it'd take me to cook up some pizza rolls, that's for sure.

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Puck85 t1_jdxo0gp wrote

Space = time = more pizza rolls cooked up.

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whooo_me t1_jduelk1 wrote

[push button. Wait years for your image to reach the camera]

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lampiaio OP t1_jds9irl wrote

This was done using Space Engine.

Looking at this, I can't help but wonder what influence the presence of such a big celestial body would have on any civilizations that may exist over there. Either way, it's so cool that they don't have to wait until Andromeda arrives to have such a breathtaking view.

For comparison, the Andromeda galaxy is about 2.5 million light years away from the Milky Way, while the Large Magellanic Cloud is only 161 thousand light years away from us.

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thawed_froyo t1_jdunvwz wrote

I hadn’t read up on the Large Magellanic Cloud before. From Wikipedia:

> The LMC has a wide range of galactic objects and phenomena that make it known as an "astronomical treasure-house, a great celestial laboratory for the study of the growth and evolution of the stars", per Robert Burnham Jr. Surveys of the galaxy have found roughly 60 globular clusters, 400 planetary nebulae and 700 open clusters, along with hundreds of thousands of giant and supergiant stars. > > Supernova 1987A—the nearest supernova in recent years—was in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Lionel-Murphy SNR (N86) nitrogen-abundant supernova remnant was named by astronomers at the Australian National University's Mount Stromlo Observatory, acknowledging Australian High Court Justice Lionel Murphy's interest in science and its perceived resemblance to his large nose.

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lampiaio OP t1_jds9wdk wrote

And here's a few extra images. Those were taken after landing on a procedurally generated asteroid inside the Large Magellanic Cloud.

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samajhdar-bano2 t1_jdsae87 wrote

the terrain in the extra images isnt real, right?

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lampiaio OP t1_jdsb51r wrote

Correct. The Large Magellanic Cloud is too far away from us for our telescopes to resolve any potential planets that may exist there. Still, it's a galaxy (albeit a small one), so it most likely contains countless planets orbiting its stars. What the screenshots show is a procedurally-generated asteroid, which I considered useful to include in the shot (so as to give some sense of scale).

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panzuulor t1_jdsl9gw wrote

The people there would probably already have concluded that the Milky Way is not part of their own galaxy but a separate galaxy and that the universe is so much bigger, many centuries before we discovered it.

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ozamataz_b t1_jdtdrxp wrote

Would be cool if they had primitive religions that believed the Milky Way to be some kind of heaven that they go to when they die. We’d be living in their heaven. Seeing supernova in the Milky Way would be like a message from heaven.

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doc_nano t1_jdtikcn wrote

“A still more glorious dawn awaits, Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise, A morning filled with 400 billion suns.”

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p-d-ball t1_jdtqzxg wrote

It's not simulated!! I was on the spaceship when OP took us there to take this picture.

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Loupax t1_jdv0hoo wrote

Why can’t we see the Magellanic Cloud like that from here?

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turtlechef t1_jdvnfl9 wrote

I’m no expert (just an amateur astronomer) but it’s likely because

A) you firstly can only see either Magellanic Cloud in the southern hemisphere. There they can be seen with the naked eye

B) they are significantly smaller than the Milky Way, and are obscured by all the stars between us and them

They still are visible though and are beautiful. If you look up night sky photos from the southern hemisphere you’ll clearly be able to see them. It’s a personal bucket list item of mine to see them some day

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tom21g t1_jdxb72s wrote

A) good info!
B) homework now is to do a search for starry skies in the Southern hemisphere that show the Magellanic Cloud

Thanks for answering

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tom21g t1_jdv9ciy wrote

Good question. Hope you get an answer

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yescaman t1_jds8jqj wrote

What is the explanation for this difference in appearance?

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Sassy-irish-lassy t1_jdsfn3i wrote

Milky way is far larger and brighter than the LMG. OP also notes that this is what it would look like from an asteroid, instead of a planet with an atmosphere that scatters light, which is generally why we can't see a lot of the larger objects in our neighborhood without equipment.

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Xindependent777 t1_jduok61 wrote

Props to the camera man going to other galaxy to show us what we look like.

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kayak_enjoyer t1_jdswtte wrote

That's cool. I get that it's simulated, but what a neat idea!

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tom21g t1_jdvb1lk wrote

We’re all caught up -naturally- in our daily lives and reddit subs (lol), but sometimes it’s worthwhile thinking about what’s above the skyline

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TimAA2017 t1_jduf5x7 wrote

I remember Carl Sagan’s Contact had a segment of what it’s like living on a planet in the Large Magellanic Cloud and witnessing a galaxy rising.

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MODUS_is_hot t1_jdumfey wrote

I wonder if there’s life in the Large Magellanic Cloud that can see this and appreciate it

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tom21g t1_jdv99cv wrote

I’d love to see that (or Andromeda) in a night sky

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TrueRepose t1_jdvblwz wrote

Is this the space version of a tropical vacation with a view? How much for a round trip?

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turtlechef t1_jdvmzhi wrote

Idk why, but this picture makes me feel lonely. It doesn’t really matter for us, but I’m also glad that we happened to be born on a planet inside a bustling large galaxy rather than in a small remote galaxy, far flung star cluster or orbiting a lonely point of light in the void

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Trips-Over-Tail t1_jducbpt wrote

Would it really be that visible? We can barely see the Milky Wayy, and we're in that one.

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BariNgozi t1_jduexhe wrote

The Milky Way is perfectly visible in extreme darkness like the desert or somewhere very rural on a clear night. It's absolutely possible for a neighboring entity to have a view like this if they could position themselves front and center of our galaxy, but far enough away to see it all. The light our galaxy emits with its 100 billion stars all clustered together in this beautiful formation is more than enough.

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Trips-Over-Tail t1_jdvp3ti wrote

And yet all those stars are totally erased by a shining moon or a distant town or less than perfect spectacles.

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uhh186 t1_jdw1py8 wrote

That's due to our atmosphere. If you were on a body without an atmosphere that effect would be eliminated.

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RangerWinter9719 t1_jduk8rq wrote

There’s also a ton of dust in the Way, which prevents us from seeing the centre without specialised equipment and a lot of data processing. From outside the galaxy, the view isn’t as hindered by space dust.

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flash_boner t1_jdv766z wrote

Everyone talks like if they'll actually see any of those events.

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cheeyipe t1_jdvyfqj wrote

I have always had some strange draw to the Andromeda galaxy. I am not a spinner, nutjob psychic or crystal rock rubber. Lol. Its just a weird connection. Idk, maybe I am tripping

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Upstairs_Expert t1_jdu0gnj wrote

Yes, and our sun is an insignificant yellow dwarf which you can barely see waaaaaaaaaay out on one of the outer arms.

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scorekeeper12 t1_jdt9uie wrote

False, since we don’t have a photo of our own galaxy from space. So this is just a guess that this is what the Milky Way looks like.

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lampiaio OP t1_jdtbwwj wrote

Yes, as stated in the title, it's a simulated view and not a photo. A photo like this will remain physically impossible for a long, long time. However, considering we have enough information about our own galaxy (such as its size, general orientation, and position relative to its neighbors) and that the software used to produce the images takes all of that into account when simulating the universe, it's the furthest from "just a guess" than we can scientifically get at this moment. The image is the product of a mathematical simulation using the scientific data we currently have.

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Craigg75 t1_jdtpux4 wrote

Actually you wouldn't be able to see it because there is not enough photons reaching your eye. If you kept a camera film exposed over several hours you would see the image of the galaxy. It's a sad fact that we will never see a galaxy with our eyes even if Andromeda was almost on top of us.

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Snifflypig t1_jdtufps wrote

We can already see Andromeda with the naked eye, no?

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Hyper98 t1_jdu92c4 wrote

It's extremely faint but yeah it's technically visible, just barely

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CHANROBI t1_jdu8geb wrote

100% wrong

Andromeda is typically the farthest object you can see with the naked eye from a dark site. Even from a bortle 2/3 site its naked eye.

You have no idea what youre talking about

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