December 20, 2023
Just before the start of the holidays, the members of Mission Control practiced being astronomers at the Urania Observatory. The view through the large double telescope was very impressive, and even the sight of illuminated Vienna with the naked eye was breathtaking :)
Through the telescope, the Earth's moon as well as Jupiter and its Galilean moons were clearly visible. Also visible were the planets Saturn (with its gigantic rings) and Uranus, stars, star clusters, and even the center of the nearest Andromeda galaxy. This galaxy consists of approximately one trillion stars and is about 2.5 million light-years away from Earth.
"Fact-Box"
A light-year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year. Light-years are used to measure the vast distances we encounter in space. Converted into kilometers, one light-year equals the distance of 9.46 trillion kilometers.
Multiply this number by 2.5 million, and we arrive at the Andromeda galaxy...
incredible!
An evening full of wonder!
