ATLAS / 02
WHAT THE
DARKNESS HOLDS.
Stars are born in clouds of gas and dust. Galaxies evolve over billions of years. Every observation changes our picture of the universe.
002 / 006Original artistic visualization, not scientific photography.
THE SCALE OF EVERYTHING
From one photon
to billions of galaxies.
01 / FACT
13.8 billion
yearsThe approximate age of the universe, inferred from cosmological measurements.
02 / FACT
9.46 trillion
kmOne light-year: the distance light travels through a vacuum in one year.
03 / FACT
~100,000
lyApproximate diameter of the Milky Way’s stellar disk.
Based on NASA — Universe ↗
SMACS 0723 / WEBB
“To look far away is to look back in time.”Read the storyOriginal artistic visualization, not scientific photography.
UNIVERSE / METHODS
What can we see?
01
Stellar nurseries
Stars take shape in dense clouds of gas and dust. Infrared observations let us look into regions opaque to visible light.
02
Galaxy clusters
The gravity of massive clusters bends light from background objects, creating gravitational lenses.
03
Ancient light
Light travels at a finite speed. Looking at a distant galaxy means looking back into its past.