Who likes to feel small? Well sometimes I like to remember how small I am in the context of our solar system — our galaxy — neighbors to the Milky Way — even beyond, you get the point. One of my favorite exhibits is back up at STScI – the huge panorama of the Andromeda galaxy.

My cell phone photo does not do it justice.

Through 16 days worth of exposures Hubble was able to see down to individual stars across Andromeda in multiple filters, as a part of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) program.

I like to pick a spot on this poster and get very close to see the individual points of light. I like the the reminder of how vast our universe is, something that can be easy to forget on day-to-day routine, even if you’re studying it. Beyond the awesome science coming out of these observations, it’s a fantastic example of not only what we are capable of doing, but what excites us, scientist or otherwise. If you see the exhibit, I’d definitely recommend taking a few minutes to admire.

More info about the project: http://www.astro.washington.edu/groups/phat/Home.html