One of the big challenges in astronomy is determining the distance to
celestial objects. If a supernova shell is close to our
solar system, it will appear to be much larger than if is on the other side
of the Galaxy. Knowing the distance to an object is therefore important
in understanding its true size. Which brings us to the 5m-sized spiders
crawling over the 70m DSS-43 antenna at the Canberra Deep Space
Communication Complext at Tidbinbilla... As scary as it might seem, the
reflection in the window visible to the right of the image provides
the explanation -- the regular-sized spider is nearby, on the outside of
the window that the distant 70m antenna was photographed through. Phew!
(Image credit: @CanberraDSN)
|