If the universe is near infinite how is it possible to line up a shot of something without another planet/star/galaxy eventually getting in the way?
In: Physics
Careful planning. Well, and that doesn’t work.
So when something photobombs an image, it goes on the [Hubble photobombs web page](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/hubble-sees-nearby-asteroids-photobombing-distant-galaxies ). The images that they distribute tend to be photobomb-free, but that’s just an artistic choice.
They do, thats why it takes a lot of pictures from different angles. If you take 1000 photos and get 1 good one, that is still a win. Also it uses visible, UV and infrared light. Different wavelenghts interact differently with different types of matter. So lets say you have dust, visible light couldnt pass it but infrared could.
Space is mostly empty. The universe is near infinite in terms of space, but not in terms of matter – the mass of the universe is quite finite, and is estimated at approximately 1.5*10^(53) kg.
Space is, surprisingly, mostly empty space. Where there is matter, it often tends to localize into clumps, thanks to gravity. So you end up with relatively small pockets of matter with large distances in between – perfect for taking images of far away things!
It is worth noting though that most (if not all) of Bubbles images are directed either above or below the disk of our galaxy. Galaxies like ours are relatively thin, so if you look up or down, there isn’t much between you and the intergalactic space. If you look horizontally though, you have to peer through all the object’s in our galaxy before you can see anything outside of it.
This is because we live inside of one of those matter clumps I talked about – all of the nearby matter is inside our galaxy. If you can see past that, then there’s not much else in your way (at least, not anything big enough to cause issues).
Of note, it’s easier to study other galaxies rather than our own because we can see other galaxies in their entirety, whereas parts of our galaxy are hidden from us by closer objects. We know very little about the galaxy on the opposite side from us, because that’s the area with the most matter obstructing our view.
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