How deep the Universe

[YosemiteSam]

The following is a blog post by Philip Plait of Bad Astronomy. He is discussing the scale of the Universe. Good stuff.

======================================

The Universe is a big place.

I mean, really big. Big enough for anything. Literally, big enough for everything. Everything you see, everywhere you go, it’s all inside. And there’s room for all of it, with space to spare. I get used to it sometimes, and then, suddenly, I’m thrown into a state where I’m forced to remember just how much of the Universe there is.

Let me show you something:

https://lh5.***BROKEN***/-gmDeYXhkty8/T0fHrvsbp1I/AAAAAAAAB-E/9aIZ9cKUoWw/w402/hst_ngc1345.jpg

Complete Blog Post (with high res image)

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Sort of related to this....

http://mathpages.com/home/kmath522/kmath522.htm

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

The Thought of a Thought - Edgar Allan Poe



Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is best known as a literary figure, a writer of short stories and poetry, but a surprising amount of his thought was devoted to natural science, with which he seems to have had a love-hate relationship, as illustrated by his "Sonnet to Science"

Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!
Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.
Why preyest thou thus upon the poet's heart...?

In this attitude Poe is somewhat reminiscent of Goethe (1749-1832), who spent so much time and effort on his own private theory of colors and the indivisibility of light, trying to overthrow the teachings of Newton (1642-1727). Indeed, Goethe himself is said to have valued his "scientific" work more highly than his literary creations (an opinion not shared by anyone else). Another artist who struggled with the emerging scientific culture was William Blake (1757-1827), who wrote

Mock on, Mock on, Voltaire, Rouseau,
Mock on, Mock on, 't all in vain...
The Atoms of Democritus
And Newton's Particles of light
Are sands upon the red sea shore
Where Israel's tents do shine so bright.

The fascination and ambivalence these men felt toward Newton, the personification of Science, is well illustrated by Blake's famous painting "The Ancient of Days", showing a kneeling God-like/Satanic figure spanning the darkness with a compass of light. Remarkably, Blake's illustration of "Newton" is essentially the same figure, in the same pose, viewed from the side.



This gives some idea of how great, throughout the 19th century, was the prestige of Newton as the discoverer of the only true laws of nature, the indisputable confidant of God, especially among intellectuals, including poets and artists as well as scientists. It's not surprising that many creative and independent men felt, as Blake put it, that

I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man's.
I will not reason and compare, my business is to create.

http://mathpages.com/home/kmath522/kmath522.htm


=====

It's amazing what Edgar Allen Poe contributed to science.

 

[DFWJC]

The notion of an expanding universe has always amazed (and somewhat confused) me. If the universe includes everything then how is there space for it to expand?

I guess it's as confusing and complex as the question regarding God. If he is the alpha and omega, who created Him to begin all this? I say that and I'm a believer.
I realize that time as we know it is not reality--we are unimaginabley primative in our knowledge....but it's confusing nevertheless.

Oh well.

 

[JonJon]

Reminds me of this:

[youtube]mcBV-cXVWFw[/youtube]

 

[burmafrd]

The human mind is just not really able to comprehend the Universe.

To mankind, there are limits to everything. We live in a world of limits.

But there is none to the Universe.

There can't be.

And we really just cannot come to grips with it.

 

[Tabascocat]

For those who are still in college, I highly rec. taking a course called The History of Science, parts 1 and 2. Even if not needed for the degree, still take it, it was the best/most amazing class I ever took. It puts all of this into perspective and is truly astonishing of what is out there.

 

[reddyuta]

The notion of an expanding universe has always amazed (and somewhat confused) me. If the universe includes everything then how is there space for it to expand?

I guess it's as confusing and complex as the question regarding God. If he is the alpha and omega, who created Him to begin all this? I say that and I'm a believer.
I realize that time as we know it is not reality--we are unimaginabley primative in our knowledge....but it's confusing nevertheless.

Oh well.

there is the theory of Multiverse where each universe has its on big bang and keeps expanding(inflation).

 

[Chocolate Lab]

--we are unimaginabley primative in our knowledge....

I think that's the key.

One day we will realize that what we believe today was totally wrong.

And even that will probably be "proven" wrong later.

 

[YosemiteSam]

The notion of an expanding universe has always amazed (and somewhat confused) me. If the universe includes everything then how is there space for it to expand?

Nobody knows the true answer yet about what is outside our Universe, but one thing to remember is empty space isn't really empty.

In say String Theory, even empty space is made up of strings. That's how space stretches around large objects like blackholes, planets, suns, etc. (what causes the lens effect) The strings are stretching due to the immense energy (mass) that is consuming the space around it.

So a guess would be outside of our string based "space", it is probably (a wild guess) a complete void.

Now one thing you must understand though is space doesn't just have the three dimensions we observe. The thought you put out is placed in a three dimensional context. Space is not just three dimensions. So when thinking what is possibly a void outside of space. What exactly is that? I can't even fathom because strings give us dimensions, yet if it is a void (stringless) what exactly is that and how could / would it even be perceived by us if we could actually experience whatever it is?

The best I can understand it, we couldn't experience it because matter (our mass) is string based. If there are no strings there. We can't exist there. :laugh2:

 

[YosemiteSam]

there is the theory of Multiverse where each universe has its on big bang and keeps expanding(inflation).

...and each blackhole in one Universe is actually a new Universe forming elsewhere.

So every time a blackhole is created, a new Universe is born.

Of course, that is just a theory. :laugh2:

 

[Faerluna]

More importantly, how deep in your love?

/BeeGees

 

[YosemiteSam]

Since we are talking about the awesomeness of space.

Preview of a Forthcoming Supernova

NASA's Hubble Telescope captured an image of Eta Carinae. This image consists of ultraviolet and visible light images from the High Resolution Channel of Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The field of view is approximately 30 arcseconds across.

The larger of the two stars in the Eta Carinae system is a huge and unstable star that is nearing the end of its life, and the event that the 19th century astronomers observed was a stellar near-death experience. Scientists call these outbursts supernova impostor events, because they appear similar to supernovae but stop just short of destroying their star.

Although 19th century astronomers did not have telescopes powerful enough to see the 1843 outburst in detail, its effects can be studied today. The huge clouds of matter thrown out a century and a half ago, known as the Homunculus Nebula, have been a regular target for Hubble since its launch in 1990. This image, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys High Resolution Channel, is the most detailed yet, and shows how the material from the star was not thrown out in a uniform manner, but forms a huge dumbbell shape.

Eta Carinae is one of the closest stars to Earth that is likely to explode in a supernova in the relatively near future (though in astronomical timescales the "near future" could still be a million years away). When it does, expect an impressive view from Earth, far brighter still than its last outburst: SN 2006gy, the brightest supernova ever observed, came from a star of the same type, though from a galaxy over 200 million light-years away.

Image Credit: ESA/NASA

 

[Rynie]

The human mind is just not really able to comprehend the Universe.

To mankind, there are limits to everything. We live in a world of limits.

But there is none to the Universe.

There can't be.

And we really just cannot come to grips with it.

I was just about to say basically the same thing. We'll never really wrap our heads around the vastness of space. It's mind-boggling.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Reminds me of this:

[youtube]mcBV-cXVWFw[/youtube]

My astrophysics professor, Donald Winget, reiterated the importance of the Hubbell deep field photo as the most important photo in science. He also reminds us that the photo captures about as much as if you were holding a grain of sand at arms-length. Which means there is a whole lot more to see.

 

[Rynie]

Reminds me of this:

[youtube]mcBV-cXVWFw[/youtube]

I really enjoyed this video, which has now found its way onto my Facebook. Thanks for posting this.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

I really enjoyed this video, which has now found its way onto my Facebook. Thanks for posting this.

It's really important to consider. We base our knowledge of the universe and assume the laws of physics are the same everywhere. That's probably true. But if so, chances are, there could be other forms of life.

 

[Rynie]

It's really important to consider. We base our knowledge of the universe and assume the laws of physics are the same everywhere. That's probably true. But if so, chances are, there could be other forms of life.

Oh, I totally agree.