# 9 Gigapixel Image of the Milky Way (also zoomable)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-gigapixel-image-of-the-milky-way-also-zoomable/639472>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 31, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-gigapixel-image-of-the-milky-way-also-zoomable/639472 "2012-10-31T19:50:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-gigapixel-image-of-the-milky-way-also-zoomable/639472/1 "2012-10-31T19:50:25Z")

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[Some of the images this page links to will hurt your browser bad if you click to display them.](http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1242a/)

You probably want [this Flash-based zoomable version, where you can drag the image around nad use your scroll wheel on individual parts to zoom in on them.](http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1242a/zoomable/) Marvel as tiny specks of light turn into star clusters, with each star being roughly as large as our own Sun on average (given that our Sun is about average-sized, correct?).

For reference, ‘Giga-’ means ‘multiply by one billion’ (American ‘billion’, so a one with nine zeroes after it). A 9 Gigapixel image has nine billion [del]points of light[/del] individual dots (picture elements, hence ‘pixel’) to it. And this image still only hits the highlights, as it were.

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**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-gigapixel-image-of-the-milky-way-also-zoomable/639472/2 "2012-11-01T03:54:04Z")

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It needs a ‘You Are Here’ pin.

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**Author:** ![starryspice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@starryspice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starryspice)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-gigapixel-image-of-the-milky-way-also-zoomable/639472/3 "2012-11-03T01:38:14Z")

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> [@Ike\_Witt](#):
>
> It needs a ‘You Are Here’ pin.

This made me chuckle :).

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**Author:** ![Oukile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@Oukile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oukile)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-gigapixel-image-of-the-milky-way-also-zoomable/639472/4 "2012-11-03T04:53:50Z")

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So cool ! It is like google earth, but the other way around.

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**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-gigapixel-image-of-the-milky-way-also-zoomable/639472/5 "2012-11-03T06:40:33Z")

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I need an astronomer to tell me what I’m looking at. Very near the center bulge, a little down and to the left, is the brightest “star” in the whole galaxy. But is it a star? What is it that can be so huge and so bright?