Something that has always fascinated me is the idea of exterior developments outside of Earth. I will probably go into further detail at a later time, I have yet to research all I would like to in depth, but here are a few of the things I find intensely interesting:
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First, a fact: 3-4 planets the size of Earth can fit inside Jupiter’s Red Spot.
Second, how much does our world truly mean to you? If you decide on a things worth based upon its size, you’ll find that you might want to rethink our standing in the universe and our ability to comprehend what our lives may mean. We are all used to the giant image of our planet in all it’s glory, depicting mountains and oceans and clouds. Even some of our own structural achievements and landmarks are present from the view outside.
Here we are as we know ourselves to be: This is called The Blue Marble photograph.
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Now, I want you to look at how we might see ourselves if we were to take a few cosmic steps backward. This is called The Pale Blue Dot photograph:
A photograph of planet Earth made by Voyager 1 from a record distance, showing it against the vastness of space
The best way I believe that the human mind can even attempt to comprehend this, which we ultimately never will, is to picture, with suspension of disbelief please, the following: You are sitting completely alone at the bottom level of the deepest ocean on Earth. I stress the word “alone”. Not just “for the time being” but forever. So here you sit at the sea floor, your world is completely black; you are sitting within a void. There is no life that you can see, all you can do is sense your own and know that you yourself are alive. And, essentially, you decide that you are all that exists.
Now look at that picture…how do you feel?
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The Solar System:
A diagram of all the planets in regards to distance from the Sun. I find this frighteningly eye-opening. When compared to the other planets not only do we appear as a simple blue dot, but it truly puts into perspective the possibility of so much more being out there; and also just how close we are to the sun.
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LBV 1806-20:
And lastly, a star named LBV 1806-20. Here is a summary of what it is and an image depicting its vastness in size.
A star that may be the biggest and brightest in the universe dwarfs the sun in this artist’s depiction, drawn to scale to demonstrate the star’s massive size. The star, dubbed LBV 1806-20, is at least 150 times larger and 5 million times brighter than the sun. Located about 45,000 light years from Earth, it is detectable only with infrared telescopes, because all of its visible light is absorbed by dust particles in space. If it was located as near to the sun as this image suggests, the star’s light would completely swamp that of the sun, making it invisible and virtually undetectable.
It is estimated at less than 2 million years old. The sun in our solar system, by contrast, is 5 billion years old. Typical stars, such as the sun, live 10 billion years.
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Now, how does this make you feel?
