Universe Map – click here for a larger version
Artist: Pablo Carlos Budassi

The new year is already well under way and I’ve been tardy in sending ChampagneWhisky wishes for a good 2016.

The brilliant ‘map’ of the observable universe above, created using NASA images based on astronomical surveys provided by Princeton University, is the work of artist and musician Pablo Carlos Budassi.

It makes sense to me that since this is a vision of the observable universe, it is viewed from the perspective of where we live: Earth and our own solar system.

Budassi then works outwards, through the circle of the Milky Way, through neighboring galaxies, through the myriad of star clusters and finally, encircling everything with the plasma remnants of the Big Bang.

Is it a ‘true’ representation of the universe?

Maybe.

Engraving from Flammarion’s 1888 book L’atmosphère: météorologie populaire

At least, one of the main steps we can do when we view the world around us is to acknowledge that we are each at the center of our own personal observatory.

We can hope our own view resonates with others, that our personal data reflects what others have been gathering from their individual observatories on the universe, and that we can learn from the information gathered from other viewpoints as well as our own.

As a new project, I’ve started a rather different blog, Favorite Skies, which welcomes submissions of your favorite skies in photos, words, and other images, and invites you to share what those skies mean to you – even if it’s just a feeling or a few thoughts. The blog is still a work in progress – I ask for patience while I get it fully functional.

I hope my thoughts on the world around us, on the environment, on champagne, whisky and the outdoors, all seen from my ChampagneWhisky observatory, continue to interest and amuse, and I look forward to seeing you all through this new year on Planet Earth.