Ok, here we go. Thought write up #2. Intimacy of Astronomy Astronomy, the study space and celestial phenomena. There seems to be a fascination for many with the sky. For generations we used the sky as a form of celestial entertainment; using these distant points of light to depict stories and folklore. The sky has been a constant for navigation allowing us to always find our way home. It is quite amazing the knowledge that these tiny distant lights have shed on our world. While astronomy has been for some time a well-respected science, it has also brought a level of romance and intimacy spanning for generations. In the scientific world there are several major branches that we hear of. These branches includes Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics and so on. Each branch brings unique knowledge to what we know about nature. While all these are important to the scientific community they tend to lack the deep levels of natural curiosity that astronomy brings out in people. Unlike its scientific cousins astronomy allows people to see first had the fast complexities that hide among the heavens. The darkness of the night sky is like looking into a vast ocean, not knowing what’s hidden in its depths. All of this, everything that astronomy is based on can be seen by just looking up. Traveling away from the city allows us to view even deeper into this ocean, seeing the sky in its purest form. There is much we can discover without the aid of any equipment at all, this is why astronomy is so unique. Stop and look up on any clear night and just look. You will find your mind will shift from the day to day and focus on the deeper questions. What is out there? Why are we here? What is this all about? The profound questions that just looking up brings is quite amazing. There is a sense of awe that looking up can bring to a person. Astronomy has an interesting ability to truly teach us things that we tend to lose in our daily lives. We learn about ourselves by looking out, like looking into a mirror without a reflection. The ability to stare into nothing can truly bring you back to your roots, as long as you are open to it. One of the major things astronomy can bring back to us is a sense of humility. In our daily lives we forget to humble and appreciate the things we have. It is interesting that so many people strive for material things that do nothing to better themselves. Looking away from ourselves reminds us that it is only for a short time. That what we have is fragile and not to be tossed away as you only have one go. The way we treat one another is also something that looking up can reflect. As a majority there are so many things that we do that come to be pointless. The decisions that are made across the world in the grand scheme of things mean nothing. When you view into the blackness of space and understand that every point has been there for billions of years. All the history of our planet takes up hardly any space the universal history book. The time frame for our species in general would barely make up the point of a needle in the grand scheme of the universe. What does this teach us? That everything we have is fragile. At this moment in time if anything happened to our home (the Earth) we would be done. We treat our home as if its trash and expect no consequence. Now if I may ask to those to treat the Earth this way, what is your “Plan B”? Because when you look back at our tiny world we have nowhere to go. We have one another and we have our home. There are certainly places we could physically go to. Mars would be a six month trip to get there. Our nearest neighboring star is 4 light years away, it would take generations to get there. Once again, viewing out allows us to reflect within and understand that all we have is this. Our tiny little world floating in the blackness of space. Astronomy allows us to look at the big picture. We spend so much time looking down that we forget what is above us. To understand life and the world you have to step back and look at the world, the only place where life currently exists. You can’t understand a story by reading one page. You need to read the entire book to understand and appreciate the entire story. The same is with astronomy, it shows you to look out to appreciate the inside. Even when looking at the big and the small, the story is always told in the same way. An atom and its electrons orbit like a solar system. Brain cells form in the same way as galaxy clusters form. So in a way looking out is just looking deeper within each other, one microcosm after another. In fact at our very core we are all a part of the stars. The very elements that compose our bodies are created deep within a star, this is in fact the only place such elements can be created. Carl Sagan famously stated,” We are star stuff”. We are a part of this universe just like every other glimmering speck out there. To not feel a connection is strange and unnatural. So many view those who think differently as strange and sometime unworldly. To look away from our society and what it deems important as odd and unnatural, shying away from the realities of the everyday life. But in retrospect the oddity of this mentality is society and those meaningless importances. The truest form of reality are those who dig deeper into nature and understand its importance. Having that connection with the natural world is the closest form of reality one can get. It is important to have that ability to take a step back and watch the world go by. To enjoy what our world offers to us in the most natural form. After all, the world can live on without us, but we cannot live without it. It is important to always remember where your roots lye and make sure you do not disconnect from that. If you do, try to come back to it and ground yourself again. Once again looking away can reflect back on what is important. Something that stopping and looking up can do so easily. No need to talk, just stop and look and let your mind take everything you see in. To understand a story you need to read the story. Don’t left life keep you from reading our story. Look up. Enjoy the view that is free to everyone no matter where you are. You never know what might catch your eye.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 18:12:39 +0000
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