As some of you may know, over the summer I went to Space Camp. I didn't go just because it sounded cool (well, maybe that's part of the reason). I went because I have a genuine interest in the Universe. There's something about our Universe that has intrigued me for as far back as I can remember. Growing up, I loved looking through telescopes and researching the most mysterious things about our Universe. The size of the Universe absolutely boggles my mind. Think about this: the Big Bang happened billions of years ago. Ever since then, our Universe has been ever expanding. Everything in the Universe (all planets, stars, galaxies, etc.) have also been moving outward at a constant, but very fast, pace. Another thing that is quite amazing is the size of the stars, even some of our closest neighbors. Take a look at this amazing image. Click on the picture to see a bigger version.
These sizes are very hard for my mind to process. To think that these stars actually exist in our Universe. The following picture shows the Eagle Nebula, also known as The Pillars of Creation.
These may not look very big, but they are bigger than your mind can imagine. Everyday, millions of stars are born in this giant cloud of multicolored dust. Each purple speck of light is a Supernova, or the birth of a new star. Each of the following pictures show different parts of space, and keep in mind, all of these are real photographs.
It is incredible how amazing our Universe is and how spectacular everything inside it looks. There's just something about our Universe that I can't explain, but it makes me so interested in it. It's almost a passion of mine. I could learn about space everyday for the rest of my life and I would be perfectly content with my life.