Apparently, This Nebula Looks Like Godzilla. Do you see it? – Universe Today

[ad_1]

We’ve written often about how pareidolia — the human tendency to see faces or other features in random images — works its magic across the cosmos. There’s the famous face on Mars, Bigfoot on Mars, and even Han Solo on Mercury.

But now, just in time for Halloween, here’s a monster in a picture from the Spitzer Space Telescope. One astronomer sees Godzilla … or is it Cookie Monster?

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope imaged this cloud of gas and dust. The colors represent different wavelengths of infrared light and can reveal such features as places where radiation from stars had heated the surrounding material. Any resemblance to Godzilla is purely imaginary. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Caltech astronomer Robert Hurt has processed many of the images from the now retired Spitzer telescope, and he spotted what he thought looked like Godzilla in this image of a nebula.

“I wasn’t looking for monsters,” he said. “I just happened to glance at a region of sky that I’ve browsed many times before, but I’d never zoomed in on. Sometimes if you just crop an area differently, it brings out something that you didn’t see before. It was the eyes and mouth that roared ‘Godzilla’ to me.”

Spitzer, which was retired in 2020, used infrared to view many objects in the universe, but was particularly good at finding nebulae that were too cold to radiate visible light, or those that were hidden behind dust clouds. Therefore, this isn’t the first time “spooky” things have been found in Spitzer images: other scientists have spied a black widow spider, a Jack-o-Lantern, a snake, an exposed human brain, and the Starship Enterprise, among other things.

NASA says this nebula is located is in the constellation Sagittarius, along the plane of the Milky Way. It was imaged by Spitzer as part of the GLIMPSE Survey (short for Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire). Stars in the upper right (where this cosmic Godzilla’s eyes and snout would be) are an unknown distance from Earth but within our galaxy. Located about 7,800 light-years from Earth, the bright region in the lower left (Godzilla’s right hand) is known as W33.

If you like both astronomy and art, check out this Spitzer Artistronomy web app, which features drawing tools and pictures of nine nebulae captured by Spitzer, so users can illustrate their own visions of cosmic creatures.

You can see all of the data and images collected by Spitzer during its lifetime at the Spitzer data archive. Maybe you’ll find your own spooky views!



[ad_2]

Original Post

32 thoughts on “Apparently, This Nebula Looks Like Godzilla. Do you see it? – Universe Today

  • 25 September 2022 at 9:54 am
    Permalink

    A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I do think that you should publish more about this subject matter, it may not be a taboo matter but typically people do not speak about these subjects. To the next! Kind regards!!

    Reply
  • 14 December 2022 at 4:43 am
    Permalink

    Hi my family member! I wish to say that this article is awesome, great written and include approximately all significant infos. I would like to see extra posts like this .

    Reply
  • 25 December 2022 at 8:29 pm
    Permalink

    Thanks for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I am very glad to see such magnificent info being shared freely out there.

    Reply
  • 10 April 2023 at 6:47 pm
    Permalink

    Very good written post. It will be beneficial to everyone who utilizes it, including yours truly :). Keep up the good work – for sure i will check out more posts.

    Reply
  • 14 April 2023 at 4:21 am
    Permalink

    Hello.This article was extremely remarkable, particularly because I was looking for thoughts on this matter last Monday.

    Reply
  • 15 April 2023 at 6:50 pm
    Permalink

    Good – I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your site. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs and related info ended up being truly easy to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it at all. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, website theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Excellent task..

    Reply
  • 25 April 2023 at 12:02 am
    Permalink

    Good site! I truly love how it is simple on my eyes and the data are well written. I am wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. I’ve subscribed to your RSS which must do the trick! Have a great day!

    Reply
  • 3 May 2023 at 2:40 am
    Permalink

    Hello there, You have done a great job. I will definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this web site.

    Reply
  • 5 May 2023 at 9:20 pm
    Permalink

    Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is truly informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

    Reply
  • 9 June 2023 at 8:06 pm
    Permalink

    I like the valuable information you supply for your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and take a look at again here frequently. I am somewhat certain I will be informed a lot of new stuff right right here! Good luck for the next!

    Reply
  • 18 December 2023 at 10:26 pm
    Permalink

    you could have a fantastic weblog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my weblog?

    Reply
  • 28 February 2024 at 6:58 pm
    Permalink

    There may be noticeably a bundle to know about this. I assume you made sure good points in options also.

    Reply
  • 11 March 2024 at 6:28 pm
    Permalink

    Super-Duper website! I am loving it!! Will be back later to read some more. I am bookmarking your feeds also

    Reply
  • 9 April 2024 at 5:32 pm
    Permalink

    What Is Puravive? The Puravive weight loss aid is formulated using eight clinically proven natural ingredients.

    Reply
  • 15 April 2024 at 11:20 am
    Permalink

    Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all people you actually realize what you’re speaking approximately! Bookmarked. Please additionally consult with my site =). We can have a hyperlink exchange agreement between us!

    Reply
  • 27 April 2024 at 11:29 pm
    Permalink

    Great site you have here but I was wanting to know if you knew of any discussion boards that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really love to be a part of group where I can get feed-back from other experienced individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Kudos!

    Reply
  • 30 April 2024 at 8:59 am
    Permalink

    I am curious to find out what blog system you are using? I’m experiencing some minor security issues with my latest site and I would like to find something more risk-free. Do you have any solutions?

    Reply
  • 30 April 2024 at 11:53 pm
    Permalink

    It’s actually a great and useful piece of info. I’m satisfied that you simply shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *