by Paul Gilster | Dec 31, 2014 | Culture and Society | 3 comments
And for those of you who’ve been asking about the videos of presentations at the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop, they’re now online. 2015, with New Horizons at Pluto/Charon and Dawn at Ceres, is shaping up to be an extraordinary year. Here’s to the continuing effort to advance the human and robotic effort in deep space.
In Centauri Dreams, Paul Gilster looks at peer-reviewed research on deep space exploration, with an eye toward interstellar possibilities. For many years this site coordinated its efforts with the Tau Zero Foundation. It now serves as an independent forum for deep space news and ideas. In the logo above, the leftmost star is Alpha Centauri, a triple system closer than any other star, and a primary target for early interstellar probes. To its right is Beta Centauri (not a part of the Alpha Centauri system), with Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon Crucis, stars in the Southern Cross, visible at the far right (image courtesy of Marco Lorenzi).
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Thanks for the link Paul and a very happy New Year to you and everyone else here… here’s looking at you, 2015!
Happy New Year to you, also, Paul.
Even though the TZ-CD readership is generally aware of the estimated 10 EXP 23 stars in the portion of our universe within our cosmic light-cone, I thought I’d give the number some visceral perspective.
Did you know that the number of stars within just the observable portion of our universe is about equal to the number of grains of fine grained table salt which would completely cover the entire United States land mass including all 50 states to a depth of about 33 feet? Now, that is a huge amount of territory to explore. The number of planets in the observable universe may be 10 times greater yet and thus about equal to the number of such grains of salt which would cover all 50 states combined to a depth of 330 feet. The number of planetary moons may be a factor of 10 greater yet and thus be about equal to the number of such grains of salt which would cover all 50 states about 1 kilometer deep.
For our friends in the EU across the pond, did you know that the number of stars within just the observable portion of our universe is about equal to the number of grains of fine grained table salt which would completely cover the entire European land mass including all EU member countries to a depth of about 20 meters? Now, that is a huge amount of territory to explore. The number of planets in the observable universe may be 10 times greater yet and thus about equal to the number of such grains of salt which would cover all EU countries combined to a depth of 200 meters. The number of planetary moons may be a factor of 10 greater yet and thus be about equal to the number of such grains of salt which would cover all of Europe about 2 kilometers deep. So, right here within our cosmic light-cone, we’ve got some serious exploration to do in the coming next 10 billion years or so. Oh, What Dreams May Come!
Most appropriate short film to visualize what Paul Gilster wrote as New Year wish narrated by no one else than Carl Sagan. Stunning visuals. Absolutely inspiring work of art.
Happy New Year to everyone!
http://vimeo.com/108650530