|
A sense of wonder... (pg. 2)
|
View this Thread in Original format
| Omega_M |
| quote: | Originally posted by AirPole
Nice quote from C. Sagan. It's really, really weird when you think about it. That little dot. It appears as any other star that we see when we look up at the sky at night, yet there are so many things happening on that little dot. I have thought about this so very, very much, especially in the summer when I was watching the stars and yet my conclusion has to be that I still can not fathom it. I can't. Everytime I think I can I'm wrong.
It's incredible. To us, this planet feels like a very big place, which is completely logical and rational. Then if you see a picture like that, you know you're wrong, really.
I will never stop thinking about this. Very good thread :) |
I don't know if you are into sky observations, but one look at the sky through a telescope only increases the sense of wonder :)
The beautiful barren moon, planets, deep sky clusters, nebulae and galaxies fill you with a sense of awe.
All these philosophical questions about nature and God come to my mind when I see such things.
It's such an endless mystery. One looks at the blue dot shows us how insignificant we are in this Universe.
But we took a camera that far and made the observation in the first place !! The irony is exquisite :) |
|
|
| AirPole |
| quote: | Originally posted by Omega_M
I don't know if you are into sky observations, but one look at the sky through a telescope only increases the sense of wonder :)
The beautiful barren moon, planets, deep sky clusters, nebulae and galaxies fill you with a sense of awe.
All these philosophical questions about nature and God come to my mind when I see such things.
It's such an endless mystery. One looks at the blue dot shows us how insignificant we are in this Universe.
But we took a camera that far and made the observation in the first place !! The irony is exquisite :) |
I don't have a telescope and I don't know why really :)
I use Stellarium on my PC whenever I'm curious though.
 |
|
|
| Massive84 |
Quite facinating that this probe can send data to earth with this distance.
How far can this thing go without losing contact to it? |
|
|
| Omega_M |
| quote: | Originally posted by Massive84
Quite fascinating that this probe can send data to earth with this distance.
How far can this thing go without losing contact to it? |
I think the only way to lose contact with the probe is, if the mission control decides to stop communicating.
The probe uses a nuclear power generator. So, it can keep transmitting signals for a very long time to come.
Already, the probe is almost 30 years old. But as it goes farther away, its signals will become progressively weaker
and the earth based receiving station will need to be more and more sensitive to receive and extract the relevant information.
They might eventually stop, if the cost of keeping the communication channel open is not worth the value of information received. |
|
|
| Omega_M |
| quote: | Originally posted by AirPole
I don't have a telescope and I don't know why really :)
I use Stellarium on my PC whenever I'm curious though.
|
Yup, I use stellaruim too! Awesome software. 
You might wana check Astronomy Picture of the Day. Very cool website.
Every day, they post a new astronomy related picture. Often, its a deep sky object. But sometimes they post related interesting pictures as well. |
|
|
| Halcyon+On+On |
:stongue:
| quote: | Originally posted by Omega_M
and on a more serious note, http://paledotprovesgod.ytmnd.com/
A believer's take on the tiny blue dot. An antithesis of the link you provided. Watch it to the end. Equally good. :) |
Did Sagan even mention his views on God in what was quoted? Alright, this guy's getting downvoted. :whip: |
|
|
| Omega_M |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
Did Sagan even mention his views on God in what was quoted? Alright, this guy's getting downvoted. :whip: |
Carl Sagan was considered to be an atheist, I believe. |
|
|
| Xenocreator_PG_ |
| This is what I have been trying to teach corian people for centuries: what people say in the core is like a very small insignificant stage in comparison to the vast cosmic arena! :wtf: |
|
|
| Xenocreator_PG_ |
In the wise words of enferno:
"." |
|
|
| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by Omega_M
Carl Sagan was considered to be an atheist, I believe. |
Yeah, I know - but his words there had pretty much nothing to do with his beliefs on God - Sagan was talking about humanity and how we take up the policy to make war on one another instead of actually put in the effort that our cosmically short lives could muster to make our small world a more positive place. It's like the guy just wanted to take a random jab at atheism - it really had nothing to do with what Sagan said. |
|
|
| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by Xenocreator_PG_
This is what I have been trying to teach corian people for centuries: what people say in the core is like a very small insignificant stage in comparison to the vast cosmic arena! :wtf: |
The c0r is the centre of the universe though...
And space-time is flat!
C'mon, you are supposed to know these things! :o |
|
|
|
|
