Ever wonder how tiny and insignificant we really are...

[fraga]

Watch this.

[JudynTX]

Very cool.

[baseline bum]

Cool video. I still love the old classic Powers of 10 too, since it gives you an explicit logarithmic scale:

[1369]

It's a NASA hoax.

Sincerely,
Mouse/Blue Jew/Cosmored

[TDMVPDPOY]

the part where it zooms out of the milkyway galaxy, isnt that just a cloud with bunch of stars, where earth is inside one of them clouds, or are we on the other side of the milkway galasy?

[fraga]

It's all just an illusion...

[CubanSucks]

Meh, I've seen bigger

[bus driver]

the thought has not crossed my mind

[4down]

Cool video. I still love the old classic Powers of 10 too, since it gives you an explicit logarithmic scale:

[jaffies]

The Ms. Universe pageant is a fraud.

[baseline bum]

The Ms. Universe pageant is a fraud.

You'd prefer the pageant was open to the Multiverse?

[DarkReign]

You'd prefer the pageant was open to the Multiverse?

Greatest topical retort in history.

[sabar]

Just as amazing as how gargantuan we are compared to the tiny machines that define our very existence.

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/

[Cry Havoc]

"Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

--Carl Sagan

To anyone with even a passing interest in astronomy, I recommend you check out some dobsonian telescopes. You can get amazingly decent scopes for the price. I have a large, 10" dobs, and it only costs around $500 for the scope itself and a starter pair of eyepieces. Worth every penny. The first time you see the rings of Saturn (let alone the Cassini Division, which is also visible in a scope 8" or larger), it is a moment in your life that you will never forget.

[sabar]

"Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

--Carl Sagan

To anyone with even a passing interest in astronomy, I recommend you check out some dobsonian telescopes. You can get amazingly decent scopes for the price. I have a large, 10" dobs, and it only costs around $500 for the scope itself and a starter pair of eyepieces. Worth every penny. The first time you see the rings of Saturn (let alone the Cassini Division, which is also visible in a scope 8" or larger), it is a moment in your life that you will never forget.

[baseline bum]

"Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

--Carl Sagan

To anyone with even a passing interest in astronomy, I recommend you check out some dobsonian telescopes. You can get amazingly decent scopes for the price. I have a large, 10" dobs, and it only costs around $500 for the scope itself and a starter pair of eyepieces. Worth every penny. The first time you see the rings of Saturn (let alone the Cassini Division, which is also visible in a scope 8" or larger), it is a moment in your life that you will never forget.

You should go out to the McDonald Observatory up by Alpine some time. It's either a couple of times a month or once every two months (blame the dyslexia) that they open a 108" telescope to the public for a $50 entrance fee (you get a meal too). Also, 2 to 3 times a week they do star nights (I think admission is $9) where they do a presentation and let you look through a 36" telescope. There's also another very large telescope, somewhere from 60 to 90 inches that is also occasionally open for public use for a $50 admission fee. Plus, you get to go to Alpine, which is maybe the coolest city in Texas.

[baseline bum]

While we're on physics, anyone who is at all interested in the subject should see this really cool video about some incredible research Walter Lewin did many years ago in looking for sources of X-ray radiation.



Walter Lewin is probably the second greatest physics teacher I have ever seen, second only to the legendary Richard Feynman. Man, do I envy anyone who went to MIT and got to take his classes (or Caltech 45 years ago in Feynman's classes).

Here's a teaser of the kind of things he talks about in the lecture.

[sabar]

Too much light pollution for sky-viewing in San Antonio.
90% of the nights are starless. The city creeps up over the years. A lot of land that was just wooded area is all apartments, housing, and paved streets now. I haven't looked through a telescope in years since.



I make due with Celestia though

[sonic21]

nice video

[baseline bum]

Too much light pollution for sky-viewing in San Antonio.
90% of the nights are starless. The city creeps up over the years. A lot of land that was just wooded area is all apartments, housing, and paved streets now. I haven't looked through a telescope in years since.



I make due with Celestia though

Wow, thanks for the link. That looks really cool. As for San Antonio viewing, I used to go by Natural Bridge Caverns for all the amazing comets like Halley's, Hale-Bopp, and Hyakutake. It's still not very developed out there. I don't remember much about Halley's Comet (too young), but it was dark enough there that either Hale-Bopp or Hyakutake (can't remember which one) had a tail I could see across literally 2/3 of the late night sky in my line of vision (with the naked eye, when I had the head at one edge). I'll die a happy man if I make it to mid 2061 see Halley's Comet again.

[DarkReign]

Here comes the geek in me...

I knew that was Sagan when I read "Look again at that dot."

Opening to God Particle or was it from his old science shows in the 70s? That I cant remember.

Sagan, for as brilliant as he is, has a nice speaking voice fit for radio and television.

[DarkReign]

I make due with Celestia though

Whoa, friggin awesome link.

[DarkReign]

When I was a kid, I was out on Hubbard Lake (northern lower penninsula) spear-fishing and got to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Lights).

It was the most amazing natural experience of my life. It was pretty cool, when spear-fishing, you use a light to shine in shallow water to see the pike/muskee (sp?). There were more than a few boats on the water at the time but just as soon as the Aurora appeared, one by one you saw the lights turn off.

I like to think everyone was looking up that night.

[Cry Havoc]

You should go out to the McDonald Observatory up by Alpine some time. It's either a couple of times a month or once every two months (blame the dyslexia) that they open a 108" telescope to the public for a $50 entrance fee (you get a meal too). Also, 2 to 3 times a week they do star nights (I think admission is $9) where they do a presentation and let you look through a 36" telescope. There's also another very large telescope, somewhere from 60 to 90 inches that is also occasionally open for public use for a $50 admission fee. Plus, you get to go to Alpine, which is maybe the coolest city in Texas.

Sadly, I don't live in Texas. Come on, bb, how can you not know this about me yet? :P

I do intend to get out to an observatory soon though.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...e/scopie01.jpg

Old pic of me and my scope, btw.

When I was a kid, I was out on Hubbard Lake (northern lower penninsula) spear-fishing and got to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Lights).

It was the most amazing natural experience of my life. It was pretty cool, when spear-fishing, you use a light to shine in shallow water to see the pike/muskee (sp?). There were more than a few boats on the water at the time but just as soon as the Aurora appeared, one by one you saw the lights turn off.

I like to think everyone was looking up that night.

I hate you. So jealous.

[I. Hustle]

Just wait till I tell mouse about this thread. You guys are going to get it!