Galaxies aren't the only objects filling up the view of NASA's Galaxy
Evolution Explorer. Since its launch in 2003, the space telescope --
originally designed to observe galaxies across the universe in ultraviolet
light -- has discovered a festive sky blinking with flaring and erupting
stars, as well as streaking asteroids, satellites and space debris. One
such streaking object -- possibly an Earth-orbiting satellite -- can be
seen here flying across the telescope's sight in this sped-up movie.
This probable satellite appears during the last 5 minutes of a 13.5-minute
observation. It looks elongated because each picture frame containing the
moving object is 19 seconds long. Faint ghost images on either side of the
source are detector artifacts caused by the object's extreme brightness.
These bonus objects are being collected in to public catalogues for other
astronomers to study.
