butterfly

As I was diddy-bopping through some of my bookmarks this evening, I stumbled across one I had forgotten: images from the Hubble Space telescope. Incredibly beautiful pictures of other worlds, of our world, of galaxies which are truly far away.
The featured image is of the Butterfly Nebula. Quite striking, is it not? How amazing it must have been for the astronomers who first saw this otherworldly, incandescent insect. Can you imagine? Downloading data from the instrument and having THIS appear? Not only are the wings clearly evidenced, but the dark, fuzzy body is also well-defined. What thoughts would such an image evoke when viewed from one's spacecraft hurtling in its direction?
How amazing if the butterfly were actually in the vicinity of the Rosette Nebula! Bearing in mind that space is more vast than the mind can comprehend, perhaps a distance of some hundred light-years is no greater than that between oceans on this pretty blue-green orb. Given the correct perspective, of course.
Sometimes, I wish I could see more of the stars which light the sky, not just at night but at all times. We must take care to remember that bit: the stars are always there, even when you cannot see them. Beloved friends and family are, like stars, always in your personal galaxy, even though great distances of either space or time may intervene.
I have other pictures from this site which I'm going to add to my beach. After all, it is MY beach, MY world, and I can populate it as I will. Things of beauty are always welcome here, with "beauty" being defined by MY eyes.