Humbled by the Universe

[Atlanteanlost]

Being a cynical and sarcastic f**ker, there are few things which amaze or humble me....

THIS SORT OF THING DOES

[sifi]

Fascinating. Of course I'm going to completely ignore it, because as Douglas Adams said it's very important that we'd don't have a sense of perspective with regards to this sort of thing. Mainly because we'll realise how utterly insignificant we really are.

[tomdsjames]

I love things like this.

I watched a show recently called 'The Universe' (imaginative, I know) which travelled from Earth all the way to the 'edge' of the universe where it was still expanding.

It's mind-boggling!

[rabid]

Fascinating. Of course I'm going to completely ignore it, because as Douglas Adams said it's very important that we'd don't have a sense of perspective with regards to this sort of thing. Mainly because we'll realise how utterly insignificant we really are.

We are. Get over it. I find life much simpler that way.

[Shinny]

discoveries like this make me feel that it is all the more possible that my greatest dream will be realised within my lifetime, and that is to know whether we are alone in the universe.

I know that, statistically, we aren't, because, by mathematical theory, something like 11% of the planets in mearly OUR galaxy, the Milky Way, will be habitable by "humanoid" species, and that is without going into the possibility of high pressure life-forms that could, in technicality, form within the medium two layers of gas giants (though obviously, there is no way to prove that there are, but there is also overwhelming evidence that high pressure life-forms do evolve, look at the depths of the ocean)

I'm all for the Star Trek style, aliens and humans working together... but in the same breath, I think we may meet any aliens because the Large Hadron Collider destroys the known galaxy, and these hypothetical aliens come to extract their revenge by enslaving us before we all die - though that may be a very pessimistic view of it.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Shinny

[sifi]

We are. Get over it. I find life much simpler that way.

I did try that for a while. I just ended up ignorning myself.

[strudders]

5-10 times the mass of Jupiter

Wow, that is..err Big.

[Shinny]

I found it!

wowzers.

[The Nal]

Jupiter "has a mass slightly less than one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all of the other planets in our Solar System combined."

[strudders]

You mean massive, or heavy? Nothing to do with size.

Way to go on correcting my witty comment.

However, irrespective of the size it is still going to be big given Jupiter....

Jupiter "has a mass slightly less than one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all of the other planets in our Solar System combined."

So whilst I may have been loose in my use of the word "big"

and given that these are planets and not dead stars....

it is going to be big...... Very BIG

[The Nal]

So whilst I may have been loose in my use of the word "big"

and given that these are planets and not dead stars....

it is going to be big...... Very BIG

Agree with you. "Mass", "Size" etc. With the kind of stats Jupiter has either measurement is mighty impressive. A freak of a thing.

[Atlanteanlost]

something that occurred to me not long ago, is that when we see planets/solar systems/etc far far away, 'they' say that we're looking further towards the beginning of time...

now, here's where I get confuddled... (not for the first time )...

if, every direction is towards the beginning, does that mean we're looking in every direction AND one direction (to the big bang) at the same time?

The Ultra Deep Field image.....galaxies up to 13 billion light years away. That's light that is 13 billion years old

[strudders]

something that occurred to me not long ago, is that when we see planets/solar systems/etc far far away, 'they' say that we're looking further towards the beginning of time...

now, here's where I get confuddled... (not for the first time )...

if, every direction is towards the beginning, does that mean we're looking in every direction AND one direction (to the big bang) at the same time?

MMmmm heads going to start hurting in a minute

So given that the UDF shots taken by Hubble of the distant galaxies are of about 13 billion years old (its starting)... if you turn 180 degrees then look again how old are the galaxies there? cos if one side is 13 billion years old and the other side is something else then the distance from the farthest galaxy to the farthest galaxy must be great than 13 Billion years and that not much older than the big bang.......

its gone sorry, head pain........

[worm]

I know ... its not called 'space' for nothing!

It literally is though.

[worm]

The Ultra Deep Field image.....galaxies up to 13 billion light years away. That's light that is 13 billion years old

That's beyond comprehension. Ergo, I can't comprehend. Can I put it down to being 'a canny long time'?

[llcoolphil]

...

No matter how imaginative or fantastic any sci-fi/fantasy image is, there'll be something more amazing in 'reality'

Everytime

[Purple Monkey]

Your mum humbles the universe.

[strudders]

Apologies ... I wasn't trying to be too pedantic about it.

Aye I know, but I've find it easier to relate to mass than how big something is, mainly because we have a better perception of mass. I mean, how do we really know how big earth is (you and me, I mean), as we have no point of reference. Perhaps its just me though.

When we talk about size or distance, once you go beyond a certain level (or distance), it becomes incomprehensible. Whereas you can 'feel' mass ... it works visually and physically.

No I agree, but given the mass of Jupiter (even though it is a gas giant,) also given that these are not collapse stars (where we know the mass get into very very silly numbers) it must by definition be of quite a large size..... I like this vid to show the mass and over all size of things in the universe...

Now we really are small, and they are really massive !

[worm]

we're nothing (insignifficant) and everything...

What rubbish.

We invent 'significancy'. Without us, it doesn't exist as significant. But even saying that 'it' doesn't exist gives it too much meaning.

[worm]

Everytime

Same to you Coolio. Those images are sci-fi/fantasy. How else do you access them? Through the part of the mind that contains the fantasy space. Once you fill that up with images you internalise them, get bored of them, make fantasies about them, get bored of them, and then along comes another image provided by science or whatever which reinvigorates that fantasy space and the sense of both 'awe' and 'real'. This latest picture is tomorrow's screen saver.

[strudders]

What rubbish.

We invent 'significancy'. Without us, it doesn't exist as significant. But even saying that 'it' doesn't exist gives it too much meaning.

You make my time on here very difficult.......

After reading that 20 times though..... you are right.......

[Shinny]

I know ... its not called 'space' for nothing!

well... technically it is...

The Ultra Deep Field image.....galaxies up to 13 billion light years away. That's light that is 13 billion years old

that picture is so saved!!!

That's beyond comprehension. Ergo, I can't comprehend. Can I put it down to being 'a canny long time'?

it's a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, long time

[Purple Monkey]

I love space, it puts absolutely everything in a different perspective whenever you think about it.

[worm]

hence the contradiction

Well, we can't reallly be nothing and insignificant given that it's us (you in particular) that created this meaning.

[Radar]

Ooh, pretty picture!

(about my level)