There is wonder around you: The Pillars of Creation
Every time when I see this picture I am amazed.
The pillars are some 4 light years long. 4 light years...
If you are wondering about how large this is, think about our nearest star Alpha Centauri. It is also about 4 light years away from us. Now, that probably didn't help very much because we can't even imagine how big that distance is. We literally can't compare it to anything meaningful.
It takes the light of the sun about 8 minutes to reach the earth. 8 minutes...
So if you imagine that beam traveling for another 3 years 364 days 23 hours and 52 minutes, you'd get a distance of 4 light years.
Perhaps we just can't imagine such a thing. But what I think everybody feels when thinking about this is awe and humility.
Can we truly say that we have discovered most things about life and our universe? Can we truly think that we are some sort of pinnacle in the evolutionary stream?
It is important to ask these questions once in a while in order to not lose sight of the grand scale of things that exist beyond our selves. It is important to question the nature of thought and our tools of inquiry if we want to discover the world around us.
Oh, the Pillars are amazing! One of my absolute favorite pictures in all of space! Add that to the Sombrero Galaxy and Jupiter and it's amazing the creations of this universe! I so wish that we could travel to these places. A terrible shame that we have such short lifespans. I would travel the universe forever if I could. I don't even think we've scratched the surface of life or the universe. There's so many new things to see, learn and do that it'll take millenia and countless lifetimes to get through it all. This is one reason I wish I was immortal. But then the question becomes, if you're immortal, would the questions have the same interesting pull or would they just be a background noise that you wouldn't care about? Okay, getting philosophical here. lol Great post though, thank you!
hey @kimberlyann :)
thank you for this great comment! Yes, we have only scratched the surface... But perhaps if we are aware of this limitation we might remain humble which is something that is a bit lacking in today's world...
I have wondered about the problem of immortality as well :) I guess what it comes down to is to stay curious and appreciate that vast world that we find ourselves in ;)
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