From where we are now, to where we really are, to where we used to think we were, join us as we explore how the universe is way bigger than you think it is. 10. Center Of The Universe?
If humanity has proven anything over its many years of existence, it's that if it can find a way to make itself sound important, it will endeavor to do so. And few points prove this more than the notion that was held as fact for many centuries in that the, "Earth is the center of the universe!"
. Because of what they saw, and felt, and believed in terms of religion, they felt that everything revolved around the earth. Legendary astronomer Copernicus later helped prove that the Earth revolved around the sun, and not the other way around.
This was backed up by the popular Big Bang Theory..
9. Perception Does Not Equal Reality
8. Colonizing Mars
Continuing our trek through our solar system, let's talk about Mars for a bit. The "red planet" as it is know is one that many people consider the next planet that humans will colonize. But have you wondered why it's taking so long to make that happen? That would be in part due to the distance between Earth and mars.
While Earth and Mars are technically "neighbors", their distances apart is anywhere from 225-401 million kilometers away. So if you remember the last entry, and you convert the Mars distance to miles, you'll see that to travel to the Sun is actually 2.5 times easier than it would be to travel to Mars in terms of distances. Comparing Mars travel to the moon travel, that's 986 times farther.
7. Pluto
While I would love to break down every single planet distance from Earth, let's just skip to the end of our planetary solar system, shall we? Depending on where you stand in the realm of science, Pluto is the 9th and final planet in our solar system. It is a small, cold place where you can see the sun, but you can't feel its warmth. It's a frozen wasteland with not much to see (as Magic School Bus proved).
Which was NASA's one and only direct mission to Pluto
6. Voyager 1 Space Probe
I hope by this point you're starting to see just how big our universe really is. Which is interesting because we haven't even left solar system just yet. And we still aren't, but need to take one more look at something still within it before moving on. But no a planet, or a moon, or even a star, but a space probe called Voyager 1.
And that's just one solar system, so what's beyond that?
5. Lightyears and Galaxies
To look beyond where our solar system is, you now find yourself in the legendary Milky Way Galaxy. A place so vast that there's a unit of measurement that perfectly defines it: Lightyear. That measurement becomes even more important when you realize some of the things that are "closest" to us in terms of this galaxy. For example, the next star that we are close to is known as Alpha Centauri. But that is 4.24 lightyears away.
Remember Voyager 1? If it tried to make it to Alpha Centauri? It would take 70,000 years give or take.
Oh, and as for signs of life? Well...
4. Radio Silence
One of the big reasons that people think aliens don't exist is that we would've heard something from them by now. But given the distances between just about everything in the universe, that's not exactly true. For example, if you look at Earth at its position in the Milky Way Galaxy, and then draw a circle around the area where our communication waves and other devices have reached, you'll notice that it is a very small dot on the larger scale of the galaxy. ( astronomy)
3. The "Local Group" and Superclusters
The Milky Way Galaxy may be massive, but it's just one in a large set of galaxies that comprise the "local group". This Local Group is 10 million lightyears across, and contains 54 galaxies within that massive distance. To try and calculate the travel time it would take to get to any other point in this place would be irrelevant, because it's impossible on a grand scale. But even then, this is just a point on a map that is in the Virgo Supercluster.
The Virgo Supercluster is defined as a space that has many other groups of galaxies within it. Over 100 groups of galaxies, not singular galaxies, GROUPS of galaxies. And the
2. The "Observable Universe"
I hope you're feeling pretty small right now. Because the universe is truly massive, and it's still growing. What we define as the "observable universe" is merely just a guess based on our instruments and other devices to try and define what is technically indefinable.
1. The Unknown Universe
The reason that we can see what is on parts of the edges of the "universe" is because the light has reached the Earth. But given distance and the speed of light, that also leaves the possibility that there are objects BEYOND the observable universe that has yet to be witnessed by man. (ufo)
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