Light entering Earth's atmosphere

Light from stars and distant galaxies can travel unchanged for billions of years in space. But then, in the last few microseconds before the light reaches our eyes, the acurate view of those stars and galaxies is smashed away. This is because when the light passes through our atmosphere, the ever changing blankets of air, water vapour and dust blur the fine cosmic details.

This movie is from ESA's movie "15 Years of Discovery".

More information on the movie is available on the ESA Hubble 15th Anniversary page.