Weekend Diversion: Sleeping in the Stars

From cloudy nights to clear, and even during the day, this beautiful bedding brings the beauty of the Universe to you!

“The probability of success is difficult to estimate; but if we never search the chance of success is zero.” –Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison

Most of us will never know the joys of either escaping the Earth’s atmosphere or our gravitation bond to our home world, yet looking towards the sky and being filled with a sense of wonder is something accessible to us all. Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring that home to our daily experience, somehow? For some of us, it would be fantastic! Have a listen to Catie Curtis as she sings her song Wallpaper Dreams,

while you consider that not only can you turn your favorite astronomy images into fabric, but now one company has made it easy to take the greatest images of nebulae, stellar remnants and space art to bed with you!

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Galaxy-Printing-Bedding-Matching/dp/B00KND86QE/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BHBQ8YMVBSMEZYWVZKR.

This combination of duvet cover / flat sheet / pillowcases may be a little on the pricey end, but the image quality simply can’t be beat, as this absolutely nails the Eagle Nebula, including the famed Pillars of Creation in all their glory!

Image credit: T.A.Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOAO/AURA/NSF) and B.A.Wolpa (NOAO/AURA/NSF), via http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0725.html.

For some reason, being able to see some of these designs and immediately identify them with not only the nebula but the actual image that they were sourced from gives them an extra sense of legitimacy to me. Sure, they have artistic renditions of space as well,

Images credit: selections from Anlye’s bedding store, at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A1055398%2Cp_4%3AAnlye%2Cn%3A%211063498%2Cn%3A1063252%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A362281011&bbn=1063252&ie=UTF8&qid=1417936275.

but why would you settle for a beautiful fake when you can have the real deal of a bona fide piece of the Universe brought to you for the same price?

Image credit: Ken Crawford from Wikimedia Commons, via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NGC6960.jpg.

There’s the Witch’s Broom in the Veil Nebula, also known as the Western Veil Nebula or NGC 6960, which has been beautifully converted into bedding here.

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Bedding-Printing-Matching-Pillow/dp/B00L70N798/ref=sr_1_48?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1417936275&sr=1-48.

The fabric appears to be of good, solid quality and durable as well, which is great to know. This way, you won’t just be paying for looks; you’ll actually get a product that you can use rather than just look at! I wish it weren’t 100% polyester, but at least it’s satin, which is (at least for me) farther up the comfort scale than pretty much any other polyester product.

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Design-Bedding-Printing-Sheets/dp/B00L70PWP0/ref=sr_1_39?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1417936275&sr=1-39.

They have the flame nebula, which I recognize immediately as being one of the brightest, most prominent reflection nebulae, lit up by the bright, blue star at the end of Orion’s belt: Alnitak.

Image credit: Matija Pozojevic with additional (hydrogen alpha) data from Boris Stromar, from HRAstro at http://www.hrastro.com/B33_HorseheadNebula/.

Also close by to the flame nebula is the even more famous horsehead nebula, which they had the good sense to turn into bedsheets as well!

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Bedroom-Bedding-Printing-Pillowcase/dp/B00JWJQD4W/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_20?ie=UTF8&refRID=1Z8CR7WNA5PXM20WVVQJ.

It’s also worth pointing out that they claim to use “real 3d print” to create these bedsheets; I’m not entirely sure what that means in this context. (Maybe this FujiFilm service or technique?) However, I am pretty sure of what this means:

[W]e use environmental ink to print the pattern, to make a blight, clear and never fade craft to you. Duvet cover and pillowcase are both sides printed, flat sheet can only be one-side printed.

Makes sense! What else do they have that caught my eye?

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Purple-Bedding-Printing-Matched/dp/B00L70RGPO/ref=sr_1_41?s=bedbath&ie=UTF8&qid=1417936275&sr=1-41.

The amazing pulsar at the center of the Crab Nebula, as imaged by the Chandra X-Ray telescope with Hubble data (in red) overlaid!

Image credit: Optical: NASA/HST/ASU/J. Hester et al. X-Ray: NASA/CXC/ASU/J. Hester et al.

There’s also the unmistakeable Carina Nebula, the only product of Anlye bedding that I’ve found that get’s a one star review!

Image credit: Anyle, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Galaxy-Printing-Bedding-Matching/dp/B00KND1SSM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_27?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BHBQ8YMVBSMEZYWVZKR.

Why? It’s not because it’s low quality, because it’s a poor print or because it doesn’t match the Hubble original precisely. It does!

Image credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team.

It got that review because it took too long to ship for the reviewer to be comfortable with. However, this shouldn’t have been a surprise, NY, since they explicitly warn you:

3).Order Detail
A).we have no stock, all the items will be made after we get the order.
B).working time:3–7 work days
C).shipping time:5–15 days,depends on your country(festival seasons such as NOV DEC will be a little delay)

So be aware, if you order it today, it might not get here in time for Christmas.

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Galaxy-Sheets-Bedding-Matching/dp/B00KFG6ZY4/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BHBQ8YMVBSMEZYWVZKR.

Still, there are some amazing other prints from our Universe, including the Rosette Nebula (above) and the star cluster in the newly forming region NGC 602 (below).

Images credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ.Potsdam/L.Oskinova et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech (L); Anyle at http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Galaxy-Sheets-Bedding-Matching/dp/B00KEMP84C/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_25?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BHBQ8YMVBSMEZYWVZKR (R).

There are others, too, that I can’t quite place my finger on, but I know I’ve seen them before. See if you recognize any of them for yourself!

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Galaxy-Sheets-Bedding-Matching/dp/B00KFFPW9O/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_14?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BHBQ8YMVBSMEZYWVZKR, of what I *think* might be another view of the Carina Nebula.

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Bedding-Printed-Coverlet-Bedroom/dp/B00L70NKUO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_12?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BHBQ8YMVBSMEZYWVZKR. This one I don’t have a good guess for.

And there’s this last one, which came with the most darling review from Grandma:

The bedding was purchased for my grandson. When it arrived he was so excited to see the beautiful quilt and sheets that matched. Whow, he says it is so soft and silky and more comfortable, not as hot as other sheets. He let his friends take a look and they decided it looks like a “space rainbow” which is fitting for what he likes. The colors are very rich and I think it will wear and wash well. Anlye answered all questions I asked and was very helpful during the purchase. Thanks for the opportunity to give a gift that was completely appreciated.

Image credit: Anlye, via http://www.amazon.com/Anlye-Galaxy-Sheets-Bedding-Matching/dp/B00JY5P36S/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BHBQ8YMVBSMEZYWVZKR.

Some of these are really spectacular, and I hope that — if you’ve got $200 to plunk down on a new bedding set — you consider doing something that brings an awareness and an appreciation of the Universe to you. Happy holidays and happy weekend to you, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow for more wonders and joys of the Universe!

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