I'm storing a galaxy in my freezer.

I hope this isn't news to anyone, because I've known it for a while.. But photos retrieved from NASA's satellites and telescopes are free for download on their site.

What leads me to this is a discussion that took place in physics class yesterday. I had never really done any research about the galaxy other than looking at the pretty pictures on the website. So we got to talking about the future of the universe i.e. oscillating galaxy theory.. The theory that pertains to the fact that the universe is slowly being stretched outward, away from the sun. There is a theory that the matter in our galaxy will reach a certain point on the stretch outward, then be pulled back in by the gravitational force of the sun into a tiny mass. Much like when you throw a rock in the air, it goes up, but it eventually comes back due to gravity. So our galaxy is due to either stretch to a certain point and come back, or just keep going according to the forces of nature and space that we are aware of. Apparently there is what scientists refer to as "dark energy" only because they have no clue what it actually is, but whatever it is, it keeps the universe together and centralized.. Otherwise, apparently by the laws of physics, the galaxy should have, for the lack of a better term, fallen apart? by now.

Then ofcourse the sun could burn out and create a black hole... Which i learned that it wont suck the planets in because the magnitude of the gravitational force will be the same.. It will just get very cold and dark. Hm. Think Iceland. Or Antarctica.. But worse. Not that I'm worried about that happening in my lifetime, because i'm not.. but I just like to imagine what it would be like. To say it's pretty fascinating, would be an understatement.

Now along with that, there has to be some sort of container that the universe is contained in, right? Like some sort of tupperware container in the refrigerator of the gods. When does it end? Where is it? Is location even a feasible in consideration to the entire universe? Wow. I love retorical questions.

Now check this out... Taken with the Hubble telescope.
hundreds of thousands tiny little galaxies that really arent tiny at all. They're probably about the same size as ours. Incredible.

some other insanely hard to percieve images..
(go here.. http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/)