The Universe in a Phi Shell

M74, or the Phantom galaxy... embellished with a phi shell. (G-DS-2024).

'The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."

- H. P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu, 1926.

"Messier 74, also called NGC 628, is a stunning example of a "grand-design" spiral galaxy that is viewed by Earth observers nearly face-on. Its perfectly symmetrical spiral arms emanate from the central nucleus and are dotted with clusters of young blue stars and glowing pink regions of ionized hydrogen (hydrogen atoms that have lost their electrons). These regions of star formation show an excess of light at ultraviolet wavelengths. Tracing along the spiral arms are winding dust lanes that also begin very near the galaxy's nucleus and follow along the length of the spiral arms.

M74 is located roughly 32 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Pisces, the Fish... In its entirety, it is estimated that M74 is home to about 100 billion stars, making it slightly smaller than our Milky Way."

- Via this Hubble page, we are introduced to the M74 galaxy discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1780. It is a kind of go-to spiral galaxy for those seeking spiral perfection. Of course, for the golden (pentagonal) spiral hunter, gazing at it's sinuous, twisting, mollusk-like proportions is sheer bliss... as, if there were a God and It had a face, this would be it. (God the mollusk! The Mollusk god. So, burn me at the stake. See if I care.)

"Messier 74 (also known as NGC 628 and Phantom Galaxy) is a large spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation Pisces. It is about 32 million light-years away from Earth. The galaxy contains two clearly defined spiral arms and is therefore used as an archetypal example of a grand design spiral galaxy. The galaxy's low surface brightness makes it the most difficult Messier object for amateur astronomers to observe. Its relatively large angular (that is, apparent) size and the galaxy's face-on orientation make it an ideal object for professional astronomers who want to study spiral arm structure and spiral density waves. It is estimated that M74 hosts about 100 billion stars."

- This quote was sourced from the Wiki entry for M 74, along with the galaxy image used in this post (inset left). That the Phantom is considered an "archetypal example" of a "grand design spiral galaxy" is kind of interesting... in light of the fact that it is composed of 2 near-perfect pentagonal golden spirals. (And, when discussing massive deep-space objects, "close" is about as good as it gets.)

"This Hubble Space Telescope photo of Messier 74 reminds us that spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Nearly 70 percent of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way are spirals. New research finds that spiral arms are self-perpetuating, persistent, and surprisingly long lived."

"How the spiral arms form continues to puzzle scientists. One theory suggests the galaxy arms could be the result of density waves traveling through the outer disk. Encounters between galaxies could cause such waves as the mass of the smaller galaxy could affect the structure of the larger galaxy as the two combine."

- Two quotes from this Space.com article... reminding us of how little is known - and how much there is to know - about our cosmos.

***

I'm a busy woman these days, and I hate it. All it amounts to is more stress. But, tell that to an artist's muse. Time perplexes muses. They simply don't get it.

So, I currently have five posts sitting on the back burner, an unfinished digital image - my first formal digital image since my 2022 car accident - a ceramic project that MUST go into production this month, and a number of tedious life issues to deal with... and deal with, and deal with. But, then, last night I came across this photograph (inset right) of M74, the Phantom galaxy and, within minutes, I found myself absorbed in playing with my latest graphic toy, a phi shell (rhymes with seashell)... trying to decide which color to use from my ever-growing palette. In the end, only the white shell did the Phantom any justice, and even this had to be almost transparent... to endow it with that certain marine life appeal which, for whatever reason, seemed appropriate.

Anyway, I decided to post 2 images to the blog for the (freakish) enjoyment of those who, like myself, delight in this sort of thing. (Yes, in case you haven't noticed it, we constitute a minority.)

Oh, and incidentally, the "phi shell" - my attempt to give the common mathematical diagram a little extra-dimensional pizazz - will be appearing quite often in the coming days. I confess; I'm hooked on phi shells now, and there's no help for it!

Adieu, till next time... :-)

Via the ESA: a multi-observatory view of the Phantom.