Number One in the Ten Great Photographs Countdown

It may not be the most beautiful picture ever taken, and it may not be the most significant, but it surely is the most astonishing.

Oh, and to answer the inevitable question: the list referenced at the bottom of the post never got written. Sigh. The dustbin of history is littered with so many of my intentions....

Mike

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Comments

[Tim Bradshaw]

That's a very good choice for best picture, but I do think the "pale blue dot" picture is probably at least as astonishing and (for me) a much more affecting image.

Both of them, also, probably mark the high-point of humanity's engineering skills: as we choose to spend a decreasing amount of effort exploring the universe around us and a rapidly increasing amount playing with computers which we like to pretend is not just wasting time, though we know it is.

[Mikey]

I think "Pale Blue Dot" gains much of it's awe not from the photograph itself, but from the incredibly moving writing that Carl Sagan used in describing it. It brings a tear to my eye every time I read it.

[Neil The Wheel]

Nope!

[Chuck Albertson]

The lens cap alone would probably fetch more than those rare Nikon lens shades that pop up on the black market from time to time.

If "Hubble 3D" shows up at an Imax theater near you, don't miss it.

[Rui Silva]

Lots of noise in the dark areas, next time use a full frame. ;)

[Barb Smith]

This has been a thought provoking exercise and much appreciated. I was around for this the first time, but time is an amazing thing and I see it so much differently now. Its been fun getting to know you. Thanks.

[Richard Howe]

Mike,

Just when was the "deep field" photo that you posted taken? Or, since apparently it's a high-tech composite of hundreds of exposures made over a relatively long period of time — a million-second exposure used to be about 278 hours — perhaps the question is: between when and when were the hundreds exposures taken, or, alternatively, when was the composite image finished or released? — Just curious (I found the post somewhat confusing in this regard, though of course I'm more often confused than not anymore, no matter what about).

Richard Howe

[Kelvin]

The Hubble has 16 megapixels at the moment. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/servicing/SM4/main/WFC3_FS_HTML.html

It's not about the (very expensive) camera, it's what you do with it :)

[Jayson Merryfield]

Finding hints of things never accomplished and forgotten about is always a good sign that one day perhaps you could once again return to that task and add it to the done pile.

Seize the opportunity, don't mourn the failure.

[James]

Fornax is above Orion from down here, encompassing the zenith even!

[David Bostedo]

Richard - Lots of detail on how the image was taken on Wikipedia, here.

[Francisco Cubas]

Still one of my favorite posts, Mike, maybe The Favorite. We live in an age of wonders, and we forget it too often.