Dive Into Stunning 3D Galaxy Images Like Never Before!

Sir Brian May, best known as the guitarist for Queen, has teamed up with physicist Derek Ward-Thompson and astrophotographer J-P Metsavainio to create a groundbreaking book called 'Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3D. ' This book is unique because it uses 3D photography to show galaxies in a way that has never been done before. The images in the book are not just beautiful—they also help us understand the true size and complexity of galaxies. If you have a special 3D viewer, you can look at these images and feel as if you are peering deep into space, seeing the billions of stars and clouds of gas that make up these distant worlds.

The idea for the book came from the team's love of astronomy and their desire to make the wonders of the universe more accessible to everyone. Sir Brian May, who is also a doctor of astrophysics, has written other books about space using stereo photography, but this time he wanted to focus on the hundreds of millions of galaxies that fill our universe. At the book's launch in London, the team explained how they created the 3D images. J-P Metsavainio, who has spent decades photographing the night sky, uses a special technique to make two slightly different images of each galaxy. When viewed together with a 3D viewer, these images create the illusion of depth, making the galaxies appear to float in space. This process is very time-consuming—one image of the Milky Way took Metsavainio twelve years and over 1,200 exposures to complete.

Derek Ward-Thompson, who has studied galaxies for forty years, contributed his knowledge to the book, explaining how our understanding of galaxies has changed over time. For example, scientists used to think the Milky Way was a normal spiral galaxy, but now we know it is a barred spiral, with arms that start from the ends of a central bar. This discovery was made possible by new telescopes and technology that allow us to see in different wavelengths of light. The book also highlights the variety of shapes and colors found in galaxies, from the blue and gold glow of NGC 253 to the marble-like appearance of M83. Some images even show galaxies colliding, creating cosmic 'train wrecks. ' The authors hope that 'Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3D' will inspire curiosity and make the science of galaxies more understandable and exciting for everyone. Sir Brian says the book is written in clear, simple language and features some of the most stunning images ever taken of the universe. It is now available online for anyone interested in exploring the mysteries of space.