The first pictures have just been published:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62122859
Absolutely stunning. The distances involved are mind-boggling.
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The first pictures have just been published:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62122859
Absolutely stunning. The distances involved are mind-boggling.
Such things should make us realise how incredibly parochial we are, living on just one of the trillion planets in our universe - and it's estimated that there are trillions of galaxies in the universe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gofer Blue
Space isn't really my thing - once you realise how vast the distances are, it is hard to comprehend it all. And also, I'll never go there. I don't even really know whats bigger -a galaxy? A universe? What's the milky way? How does that fit in?
Is there a useful kind of map or chart that visually demonstrates all these things to highlight what TBG and Gofer rightly say above about how small and insignificant etc we are?
You don't know if a galaxy or a universe is bigger?Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
Nope. I'd guess universe?Quote:
Originally Posted by lardy
As a young kid, I used to imagine sitting on the moon and looking at Earth and knowing that people had different languages, customs and religions depending on when and where they were born on this planet. That attempt at an overview has never left me but I didn't have any concept of just how tiny our speck of dust is in respect of the firmament as a whole - and let's not imagine that this speck of dust will be habitable ad infinitum.Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
There was a clue: "and it's estimated that there are trillions of galaxies in the universe."Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
Would suggest starting here (and especially the last line):Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
https://youtu.be/buqtdpuZxvk
do you mean metric or imperial galaxies?Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
Some studies suggest there's likely to be at least a septillion stars in the universe, let alone planets which would on average raise the figure by a billion or two! So it's quite possible there may be at least 10^27 planets in the visible universe. Of course the other parts of the universe we can never see will contain an awful lot more. This is the chief reason I don't believe in the Rare Earth hypothesis.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie
I missed that bit cos my brain just processed it as someone rabbiting on about space again.. which is probably how I got in this mess.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie
I enjoyed the film gravity and made lego space ships as a kid but thats as far as I get with space.
Saw this the other day, which was a bit of an eyeopenerQuote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
https://www.tiktok.com/@flamingo6686...=1657629470646
You cannot be Sirius!Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
To be fair, Cadbury never made a 'Universe' chocolate bar so it's impossible to compare really.Quote:
Originally Posted by lardy
So your general knowledge about space is limited to confectionary!? I give you Mars, Milky Way and Toblerone (spot the odd one out).:hehe:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuerto
Toblerone? It's not in the Aero?Quote:
Originally Posted by Citizen's Nephew
Definitely in the right Orbit but I'd say you'd have to throw Starburst into the Starmix too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorcus
Something you aren’t an expert in or have an opinion on.Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
Never thought I’d see the day!
Ha ha, you're beating me. I've given up eating sweets now in an effort to lose weight lol. I don't want to be totally weightless though. That might be a massive mistake.Quote:
Originally Posted by Citizen's Nephew
The University of Leicester has scored another hit - first inventing DNA and now this.
They invented DNA?Quote:
Originally Posted by Vindec
Screenshot this page :ayatollah:Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Paget Flashman
It's my new desktop wallpaper! :ayatollah:Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesWales
I think you must know what I meant but, as you probably know, genetic fingerprinting is the correct term.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie
I thought this comparison with Hubble was pretty cool.
https://petapixel.com/2022/07/12/com...at-hubble-saw/
I wasn't totally sure. For all I know, new DNA structures could be designed by man. I'm no expert in these matters.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vindec
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gofer Blue
Courtesy of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.Quote:
Bigger than the biggest thing ever and then some. Much bigger than that in fact, really amazingly immense, a totally stunning size, real 'wow, that's big', time. Infinity is just so big that by comparison, bigness itself looks really titchy. Gigantic multiplied by colossal multiplied by staggeringly huge is the sort of concept we're trying to get across here.
And scientists have even worked out how the universe came about - "well, there was this big bang and everything appeared..." Wow.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorcus
There’s a lot more behind the theory than that in fairness but it’s not unlike you to present your ignorance as a source of prideQuote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
I think you'll find that I'm correct in saying the scientific consensus is that everything began with a 'big bang'. If the scientists say that's what happened, then they're right.Quote:
Originally Posted by rudy gestede
do you understand why they think that?Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
Has anyone here ever been to CERN?
Mrs Citizen has been pestering me to go for a visit for years and it's on the (her) bucket list. Just wondered if anyone had been?
Scientists worth their salt declare that they do not know what happened before the Big Bang. I don't think they necessarily state that is was the starting point, as such. Science means knowledge - and at the current time, we do not seem to have the evidence or knowledge to go back before the Big Bang. Have you read any scientific non-fiction books about what evidence there is about how things develop "post-Big-Bang" ?Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
I haven't got a fu**ing clue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rjk
Actually the theory postulated by the scientific community when asked that question, was that before the 'big bang' there was another 'big bang'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie
On the question of science, what is everything made of ?
Have a read of short history of nearly everything by bill Bryson if you’re genuinely interested. It’s a nice summary and pitched at a level that’s understandable and entertaining.Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
A 'postulated theory' suggests that it's a case of not having enough evidence to state that something is definitively the case - and not necessarily the opinion of the scientific community as a whole.Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
As for what everything is made of, I suggest a bit of light reading. I'm no scientist (and there will be far greater minds regarding this subject in the CCMB firmament) but this simple soul is currently reading two different books about the cosmos....
I've read it [-as I have all his books]. Also Sapiens, etc, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by rudy gestede
Good luck with that ! To answer my own question, once we've reached down to the absolute smallest known/identified 'particle', it turns out it's 'energy'. And 'energy' can only really be identified by how everything else reacts. So in essence, everything is actually nothing. Energy is a 'concept'. Just that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie