this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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I wonder if anyone here knows - I looked this up to learn more and saw this photo on the wiki, and the whole thing is flipped (the stretched out galaxy, which is just incredible, that is lower left in op is upper right on wiki). Is this just down to where/when the images were captured, or have the gravitational lenses shifted or otherwise caused it?
I don't know, but suspect it's entirely possible the
everything is always movingproperty of the universe combined with different times the photos were taken might explain it.I have a feeling it's probably the position more than the time, I'm not sure that much movement can happen in the time span between the two images, can it? I guess that applies to my idea about the lenses too, unless we got really lucky like we do when we happen to just be in time to see a supernova explode
That is one hell of a shot! Wow
It's just rotated, right? Since there is no universal up direction in space, you can just rotate your camera to rotate the image
I suppose you're right, not sure why I thought it was flipped rather than just rotated. I also assumed for some reason op was a new JWST photo, but both are Hubble.
So is it just Hubble floating at a different angle resulting in images at different rotations?
Well, not a different angle exactly, but spinned a different orientation. It would be.. well.. rotated.
Since there is no friction in vacuum, spacecraft usually use reaction wheels to keep their orientation stable relative to a point together with thrusters to release built up angular momentum.
But basically, in space, it's very easy to rotate due to no friction, so taking images at different orientations is very easy to do without further corrections. ..or one could just digitally rotate stuff. It's just artistic choice more than anything.
I think this must be it. I guess we're generally presented with images always facing the same way to help with recognisability of the objects, but someone seems to have made the choice not to this time, for whatever reason. And here I am imagining all sorts of space nonsense, when it's such a mundane explanation.. 😂
Yeah haha, not everything in space has to be complicated!