Pale Blue Dot - The entirety of humanity

[yongrel]

I think we need a little perspective here at RPF. Many of us, myself included, lose sight of the truth of our existence in the universe. How small we are, and simulatneously how large our responsibility is.

Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

[Truth Warrior]

Try out this one too:

Our Earth in Perspective (http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/earthperspective.pdf)

;)

[AmericaFyeah92]

how can people stay religious after seeing those pictures? we are so insignificant and small, we can't even comprehend it

[amy31416]

Thanks yongrel and TW. It keeps things in perspective.

[Meatwasp]

We are a blue speck in a very blue sky

[amy31416]

We are a blue speck in a very blue sky

And I am very glad to see you again. xoxooxoxoxoxoxo!

[Meatwasp]

And I am very glad to see you again. xoxooxoxoxoxoxo!

Thank you.

[amy31416]

Thank you.

You are, quite simply, one of the coolest folk to join up with the rest of us rag-tag individuals. So glad to see you back.

Hope all is well.

[Truth Warrior]

how can people stay religious after seeing those pictures? we are so insignificant and small, we can't even comprehend it
As far as we can tell, life is pretty unique in the Universe. ;)

[Meatwasp]

Well you are nifty yourself Missy.. We have been under a cloud of smoke . All of Northern Calif is burning. We all thank the Forest Service for it. ugh

[yongrel]

As far as we can tell, life is pretty unique in the Universe. ;)

:rolleyes:;)

[Truth Warrior]

Content of the Universe


http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/Truth_Warrior/UniversePie75.jpg




Of that 4% atoms, 90+% is hydrogen. ;)

[torchbearer]

Content of the Universe


http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/Truth_Warrior/UniversePie75.jpg




Of that 4% atoms, 90+% is hydrogen. ;)

everything above hydrogen would have to be created in a nuclear furnace like stars.
heavy elements came from the stars, so its total mass can't exceed that of all the stars, and is probably a small percentage of that matter.
So- how rare is life?

[Monolithic]

i like this version too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pfwY2TNehw

sagan really raised the bar on what is to be human

[torchbearer]

i like this version too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pfwY2TNehw

sagan really raised the bar on what is to be human

we are like a beacon of unique light in a very dark universe.
Imagine if our perception was that of one oasis in a desert of chaos.
We need to work together to keep this thing going.

[Truth Warrior]

everything above hydrogen would have to be created in a nuclear furnace like stars.
heavy elements came from the stars, so its total mass can't exceed that of all the stars, and is probably a small percentage of that matter.
So- how rare is life?
Next most common atoms are helium at ~5%, that leaves about 5% of the total atoms for every THING else. ;)

[torchbearer]

Next most common atoms are helium at ~5%, that leaves about 5% of the total atoms for every THING else. ;)

We are indeed lucky to get to this point of life development into sentient beings. That thought will blow ones mind alone.

[Truth Warrior]

The Cosmic Calendar is a scale in which the lifetime of the universe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe) is mapped onto a calendrical year; that is to say, the Big Bang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang) took place on a cosmic January 1 at precisely midnight, and today's date and time is December 31 at midnight.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Calendar#cite_note-astrosocietyorg-0) On this calendar, the solar system did not appear until September 9, life on Earth arose on September 30, the first dinosaurs appeared on December 25th, the first flowers on December 28th and the first primates on December 30. The first humans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humans) did not arrive until around 10:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and all of human history has been recorded in the last 10 seconds. The Middle Ages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages) to the present is a little more than one second. On this timescale, an average human life is about 0.15 seconds. The scale was popularized by Carl Sagan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan) in his book The Dragons of Eden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragons_of_Eden) and on the television series Cosmos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos), which he hosted.

[torchbearer]

The Cosmic Calendar is a scale in which the lifetime of the universe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe) is mapped onto a calendrical year; that is to say, the Big Bang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang) took place on a cosmic January 1 at precisely midnight, and today's date and time is December 31 at midnight.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Calendar#cite_note-astrosocietyorg-0) On this calendar, the solar system did not appear until September 9, life on Earth arose on September 30, the first dinosaurs appeared on December 25th, the first flowers on December 28th and the first primates on December 30. The first humans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humans) did not arrive until around 10:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and all of human history has been recorded in the last 10 seconds. The Middle Ages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages) to the present is a little more than one second. On this timescale, an average human life is about 0.15 seconds. The scale was popularized by Carl Sagan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan) in his book The Dragons of Eden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragons_of_Eden) and on the television series Cosmos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos), which he hosted.

Where can i get a copy of Carl Sagans "Cosmos"?

[yongrel]

Where can i get a copy of Carl Sagans "Cosmos"?

Barnes and Noble sells it for 8 bucks. It's one of my favourite books.

[Truth Warrior]

http://www.shekpvar.net/~dna/Publications/Cosmos/cosmos.html

[torchbearer]

http://www.shekpvar.net/~dna/Publications/Cosmos/cosmos.html

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! input!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/cortneyhead/johnny5isalive.jpg

[torchbearer]

Barnes and Noble sells it for 8 bucks. It's one of my favourite books.

I thought cosmos was the tv series.?

[yongrel]

I thought cosmos was the tv series.?

Its both a book and a TV series. THey are companions. The book is a masterpiece of science literature, and the series likewise for its medium.

You should be able to pick it up on amazon, and your local library probably will have a copy.

[klamath]

Even though he was a socialist Sagan had some really good ideas as did Arthur C Clark. They made a person think much deeper than average human conflicts and drama.

[torchbearer]

I watch this video, almost nightly: http://www.amnh.org/rose/spaceshow/cosmic/
Kind of a genisis story of the new generation.

[James Madison]

how can people stay religious after seeing those pictures? we are so insignificant and small, we can't even comprehend it

It is by seeing these pictures I can see that this vast universe and everything in it could never have come about by chance but must have been influenced by someone...something.

[Hiki]

I think we need a little perspective here at RPF. Many of us, myself included, lose sight of the truth of our existence in the universe. How small we are, and simulatneously how large our responsibility is.

Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

This video is one of the most important things i've ever seen. Sends shivers down my spine and brings a tear to the eye everytime I watch it.
Every single human being on this planet should see this, it might really bring about peace and care for each other and this planet.

The Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw) This is along the Sagan-video one of those that just make you gasp.


Originally Posted by AmericaFyeah92
how can people stay religious after seeing those pictures? we are so insignificant and small, we can't even comprehend it

The Sagan-video and the Hubble Deep Field-video at least for me make that point. Religion really seems bullshit after those, but not to all. To some, that vastness proves that there has to be someone who made this. The videos might destroy religion, but not the concept of God. It really depends on your worldview.

[Mach]

Pale Blue Dot has been one of my favorites for a long time now, don't forget this one.... Pale Blue Dot II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47EBLD-ISyc)and make sure to listen all the way to the end..... Carl Speaks, People Listen....

and here is his Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (http://berbb.com/cosmos/) ("medium") if you are interested.

[Nirvikalpa]

how can people stay religious after seeing those pictures? we are so insignificant and small, we can't even comprehend it

If that's the case, if we are so insignificant, why are we bothering with this movement? Why not just let our country crumble, and eventually the earth crumble?

Brilliant movie though - I've watched a lot of his narrations in class.

[torchbearer]

If that's the case, if we are so insignificant, why are we bothering with this movement? Why not just let our country crumble, and eventually the earth crumble?

Brilliant movie though - I've watched a lot of his narrations in class.

insignificant would be the wrong word to use.
our problems in everyday life are insignificant compare to those of others in the world. but to be insignificant you have to have something to compare.
In this case, the comparisons are at most suppositions.

[CUnknown]

It is by seeing these pictures I can see that this vast universe and everything in it could never have come about by chance but must have been influenced by someone...something.

For me, it makes me feel how immense and powerful the forces outside our understanding must be. The incomprehensible vastness makes me feel awe and reverence for the universe. God's out there, alright. He may not give a crap about us, but he's there.

What is God? To me, He's an all-powerful entity outside our understanding. Well, seeing these pictures, we know for a fact that something like that exists, right? We don't know hardly anything about it, but we know that it exists. Our small and insignificant intelligence is going to say for sure that that is not God? :confused:

[yongrel]

For me, it makes me feel how immense and powerful the forces outside our understanding must be. The incomprehensible vastness makes me feel awe and reverence for the universe. God's out there, alright. He may not give a crap about us, but he's there.

What is God? To me, He's an all-powerful entity outside our understanding. Well, seeing these pictures, we know for a fact that something like that exists, right? We don't know hardly anything about it, but we know that it exists. Our small and insignificant intelligence is going to say for sure that that is not God? :confused:

http://artesecuencial.blogspot.es/img/manhattan.jpg

[WarDog]

Whoa

[AmericaFyeah92]

http://artesecuencial.blogspot.es/img/manhattan.jpg

that movies gonna be sweet.

[AmericaFyeah92]

If that's the case, if we are so insignificant, why are we bothering with this movement? Why not just let our country crumble, and eventually the earth crumble?

Brilliant movie though - I've watched a lot of his narrations in class.

So you're saying that if there was no God you'd be content to let the constitution, America, and the Earth go down the tubes? Wow.

It seems u care more about pleasing the Almighty than the welfare of humanity, or your responsibility to future generations.

[mediahasyou]

I love that dot.

[torchbearer]

I love that dot.

this is the best dot thus far.

[yongrel]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/2705110745_b1befcceb3_b.jpg
-from Watchmen, Chapter 9, page 28

[Truth Warrior]

Life is the antientropic force of the universe.<IMHO>

[torchbearer]

You are here:
http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/060227_sp_arms_02.hlarge.jpg

[Truth Warrior]

GALAXY SONG

Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour,
That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned,
A sun that is the source of all our power.
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour,
Of the galaxy we call the 'Milky Way'.
Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars.
It's a hundred thousand light years side to side.
It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick,
But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide.
We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point.
We go 'round every two hundred million years,
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe.
The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whizz
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know,
Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is.
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth,
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth.

[Agent Chameleon]

So you're saying that if there was no God you'd be content to let the constitution, America, and the Earth go down the tubes? Wow.

It seems u care more about pleasing the Almighty than the welfare of humanity, or your responsibility to future generations.

I think you are making mountains out of molehills...

[dirknb@hotmail.com]

Good video.

[torchbearer]

//

[pacelli]

George Gordon rules. Nobody on these forums seem to have picked up on him yet, but there's always hope.

Gordon routinely impersonates Sagan's "BILLIONS and BILLIONS" line :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkl8-UMJb3g

[Deborah K]

I think we need a little perspective here at RPF. Many of us, myself included, lose sight of the truth of our existence in the universe. How small we are, and simulatneously how large our responsibility is.

Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

Thank you for this, Yongrel. Carl Sagen was more than a scientist, he was also a philosopher.

[torchbearer]

+1

[Anti Federalist]

how can people stay religious after seeing those pictures? we are so insignificant and small, we can't even comprehend it

How can people not accept the concept of a higher power after seeing those pictures?

:p

[torchbearer]

How can people not accept the concept of a higher power after seeing those pictures?

:p

Atronomy is what brought me back to a divine.
Man made religions pushed me away from the divine.

I just watched the entire cosmos collection recently.
When you have even the slightest grasp on how huge the universe is.. and when you start to understand the life/death cycles of solar systems and galaxies..
YOu have to stand in awe.

[torchbearer]

http://www.bav-astro.de/sterne/monv838/monv838-hubble-20040304.jpgGenisis

[torchbearer]

http://uk.gizmodo.com/hubble.jpg

[torchbearer]

one small view into empty space...
http://www.astronomybuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/hubble-abell.jpg
revealed that the galaxies are numerous and go on for as far as light has had time to travel.

[Perry]

I think we need a little perspective here at RPF. Many of us, myself included, lose sight of the truth of our existence in the universe. How small we are, and simulatneously how large our responsibility is.

Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

Are you saying we are insignificant or less important than the universe?
I think you are making the false assumption that big is more important than small. What law of physics tells us this?
Sagan was a small thinker.
A good atheist knows this and that "importance" is of little consequence and is merely a human idea.

A good atheist will tell you that life is what you make it.

[torchbearer]

Well, if you listen to Sagan closely, i think at the beginning and end of the first episode... he talks about how we are very special.
We are made of "star stuff" and that we are a way for the universe to know itself. (basically we are born from within the stars, we are products of stars, we are the stars children)
That is a pretty powerful statement and makes us very important.
Especially if this is the only planet with life.

[torchbearer]

You can watch the first Cosmos episode here: http://www.berbb.com/cosmos/1/
you can find that speech by Sagan at the beginning and end of this episode.
To find the exact place- 6:00-6:30
To understand it in context, listen to the entire intro. it ends at 7:00.

[Kotin]

thanks yongi!!

[torchbearer]

updated

[Theocrat]

It always amazes me how people can view the expanse of the universe and come to the irrational conclusions that:

There is no God.

The universe evolved from nothing.

Man is the absolute standard of all things moral, logical, scientific, metaphysical, beautiful, and knowledgable.

Everytime we look at the heavens, it should drive us to our knees in awe-inspiring, soul-shaking reverence for the Creator of all things in adoration of His eternal power and sheer magnificence that He would regard His creatures worthy of His presence and made stewards of His creation.

[torchbearer]

It always amazes me how people can view the expanse of the universe and come to the irrational conclusions that:

There is no God.

The universe evolved from nothing.

Man is the absolute standard of all things moral, logical, scientific, metaphysical, beautiful, and knowledgable.

Everytime we look at the heavens, it should drive us to our knees in awe-inspiring, soul-shaking reverence for the Creator of all things in adoration of His eternal power and sheer magnificence that He would regard His creatures worthy of His presence and made stewards of His creation.

In that, we share a view in common.
Some people think i'm an athiest(i'm not). I consider myself someone not bound by earthly works. I study the handwriting of God.. in the stars. (not astrology, but astronomy)

[Hiki]

It always amazes me how people can view the expanse of the universe and come to the irrational conclusions that:

There is no God.

The universe evolved from nothing.

Man is the absolute standard of all things moral, logical, scientific, metaphysical, beautiful, and knowledgable.

Everytime we look at the heavens, it should drive us to our knees in awe-inspiring, soul-shaking reverence for the Creator of all things in adoration of His eternal power and sheer magnificence that He would regard His creatures worthy of His presence and made stewards of His creation.

Does exactly the opposite for me.

[Truth Warrior]

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/Truth_Warrior/deep_field.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/Truth_Warrior/andromeda-bg.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i304/Truth_Warrior/hbomb2.jpg

[Kade]

It is by seeing these pictures I can see that this vast universe and everything in it could never have come about by chance but must have been influenced by someone...something.

And let me guess, that someone, something, traveled the great magnitude of nothingness and manifested itself into a human and allowed itself to be killed in order to save humanity from the superior judgment of itself?

[Truth Warrior]

Parallel Universes

The concepts of parallel universes, multiple dimensions and parallel worlds are no longer the sole province of science fiction.

The 'Many Worlds Interpretation', originally formulated by the brilliant physicist Hugh Everett, is fast becoming accepted by a growing number of leading physicists.

The implications of numerous parallel universes expressing infinite versions of you are so far-reaching that they require a complete reassessment of everything you thought you knew about yourself and your world.

The world that seems so solid and separate from you has been shown by quantum physics to be a trick of the senses.

Quantum physics can also show that the apparent 'materiality' of the world is no more 'real' than a dream-image; that 'consciousness' is a vital element in understanding the true nature of reality.

However, these concepts are not just of academic interest to scientists; they have dramatic consequences for your life.

Understanding the true nature of reality will completely change your view of who you think you are and what life really is.

Reality is stranger than you can imagine.

http://www.thenatureofreality.com/parallel-universe.htm

[torchbearer]

And let me guess, that someone, something, traveled the great magnitude of nothingness and manifested itself into a human and allowed itself to be killed in order to save humanity from the superior judgment of itself?

I wouldn't make that assumption of all people. You can search for a divine presence/matrix/meaning without prescribing to old world views.
When i talk of god, i don't mean a beard man in the clouds looking down on everyone every second of every day.
It may not even be an entity, it may be our realization of our true status in the universe.
Either way, I am firmly convince our answers lie among the stars.

[torchbearer]

Parallel Universes

The concepts of parallel universes, multiple dimensions and parallel worlds are no longer the sole province of science fiction.

The 'Many Worlds Interpretation', originally formulated by the brilliant physicist Hugh Everett, is fast becoming accepted by a growing number of leading physicists.

The implications of numerous parallel universes expressing infinite versions of you are so far-reaching that they require a complete reassessment of everything you thought you knew about yourself and your world.

The world that seems so solid and separate from you has been shown by quantum physics to be a trick of the senses.

Quantum physics can also show that the apparent 'materiality' of the world is no more 'real' than a dream-image; that 'consciousness' is a vital element in understanding the true nature of reality.

However, these concepts are not just of academic interest to scientists; they have dramatic consequences for your life.

Understanding the true nature of reality will completely change your view of who you think you are and what life really is.

Reality is stranger than you can imagine.

http://www.thenatureofreality.com/parallel-universe.htm

I hope these aren't the same scientist that don't believe in a divine because their is no emperical proof.
parallel universes could indeed exist, but as of yet. no one has traveled to one and proved they exist.
http://classicscifi.com/images/stories/features/sliders1.jpg

[Truth Warrior]

I hope these aren't the same scientist that don't believe in a divine because their is no emperical proof.
parallel universes could indeed exist, but as of yet. no one has traveled to one and proved they exist.
http://classicscifi.com/images/stories/features/sliders1.jpg

Perhaps that why it's merely called "theoretical" physics. The reconciliation and resolution of the relativity theory and quantum mechanics disputes by the use of super symmetry "string theory" and "M theory", is indeed intriguing.<IMHO> :)