How can someone take a picture of a solar system 50 million light years away, but not a coin sized rock on the surface of the moon.

Question

I recently saw a photo somebody posted of a galaxy 50 million light years away. I have always wondered, why doesn’t he point it at the moon or even a planet 10 light years away and see the surface up close? We might see water or certain organisms. I have yet to see a picture like that in my lifetime. Thanks in advance for the answer.

In: Other

Answer 1

is about what can be resolved with the imaging technology

>**Hubble’s** 94.5-inch mirror has a resolution of 0.024″ in ultraviolet light, which translates to 141 feet (43 meters) at the **Moon’s** distance. In visible light, it’s 0.05″, or closer to 300 feet.

so objects smaller than 300′ across are simply too small to be resolved, they would be smaller than a single pixel in an image generated by the hubble