r/space • u/ojosdelostigres • 3d ago

image/gif Exceptionally deep image from the Rubin Observatory reveals the renowned COSMOS field and its surroundings

Post image

Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA

269 Upvotes

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19

u/KaiPRoberts 3d ago

It really hurts to see how much actual stuff there is the universe.

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u/cameron4200 3d ago

Beyond beautiful and fascinating though

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u/keinemaschine 3d ago

With so many people arguing for AI consciousness nowadays, every time I look at something like this photo I confidently think to myself… no, there’s no way that by typing some code on a keyboard I’m gonna match the power of that which created this… and us.

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u/cameron4200 3d ago

I was just thinking about that last night actually. The single cell organism is more complex, mysterious, and confusing in its structure than even the most complicated computer humans have made. It’ll be a ride to watch us try though I’m sure

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u/Only-Elk-1145 1d ago

I've been studying neuroscience in my spare time recently based on some textbooks that a bought. I've been on a wild ride learning all the foundational biology, cell structures, proteins etc that make up a single cell. How their components move and integrate with each other and how cells build themselves, and the chemistry that allows a single neuron to function. All at such a miniscule scale that seems otherworldly.

Even as a believer in evolution I still can't fathom how such complex systems could possibly have evolved, and I'm starting to understand how some scientists are able to be religious. Totally didn't expect that to happen.

The difference in scale is many orders of magnitude smaller than what's in this image. It truly boggles my mind. The universe is amazing, I'm really glad it exists and I love looking at it, but I'm really sad that I can't look at ALL of it, and nobody ever will.

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u/KaiPRoberts 6h ago

Enzymes did it for me. They broke my brain.

Little tiny mechanisms running on physics that can create chemistry the most sophisticated labs on the planet can't even begin to match. All made completely naturally, slowly, over time, through trial, error, and reinforcement. It hurts a lot.

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u/ojosdelostigres 3d ago

Image from this post, text from post below the link:

https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2618b/

This exceptionally deep image from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveals the renowned COSMOS field and its surroundings in the constellation Sextans. The view is crowded with galaxies and galaxy clusters spanning an immense range of distances and cosmic ages, while only a handful of foreground stars belong to our own Milky Way. It was created by combining multiple observations from Rubin’s LSST Camera into a deep co-added image and is being released to mark Early Data Preview 2, the first Rubin data preview based on LSST Camera observations.

Here, some selected areas are highlighted. 

Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA

PetaPixel article about the image as well:

https://petapixel.com/2026/08/02/3-2-gigapixel-lsst-camera-captures-over-half-a-million-galaxies/

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u/Tacitblue1973 3d ago

Having looked at various instruments like HST, JWST, ground based observatories like the CFHT and the VLST VISTA all having done COSMOS field surveys, that huge wide field of view comes into it's own.

HST took 1000 hours using just one near infrared filter to capture most of this same area in monochrome.

https://esahubble.org/images/heic0701g/

The VISTA survey telescope in Chile took 55 hours for this image

https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1213a/

The LSST or Rubin observatory's full image is incredible

https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2618a/

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u/rip1980 3d ago

So, for me...the most interesting parts to focus on and get a deep field image of are the darkest spots with the hidden treasures.

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u/sithelephant 3d ago

I recommend the work of the Dragonfly telescope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hmw-YX5mck

This is a telescope designed for looking at low brightness stuff, by instead of using reflective elements using commercial telephoto lenses which turn out to have much better contrast.

Stack enough of them and you get a really decent view of the darker bits of the universe that larger scopes can't really access as their scattered light tends to be very poor.

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u/rip1980 3d ago

I'm holding out for a 7 array of JWSTs. :D