The Universe. Whats out there?

**melvbot** · 24-04-2010, 01:06 AM

Every now and again I get this sudden realisation of how big the universe is and where I am in it. This was sparked again by watching The Wonders of the Solar System on BBC2, so Ive decided to do a thread on the universe. Pretty big subject huh?

When I was about 7 years old I was at my grandma and grandads house looking through one of their bookcases when I came across a set of encyclopedia style books with different subjects such as animals, the solar system and other stuff. I always remember reading the solar system one and seeing that the world was something like 94 million miles away from the sun. As I had recently been on a walk with grandad which he told me was 2 miles this figure pretty much blew me away. “94 MILLION miles, 94 million....???” A fact I would repeat for weeks to come to anyone who would listen.

This was the first time I had this sense of how big our solar system is and how small I am in relation to it, quite a revelation to a 7 year old who thought 2 miles was a really long way.

Over the years this happened again and it was more of a flashback to the first time rather than another jolt of how big the universe is, until a few days ago. I was sat watching the BBC2 program and it was about Saturns moons and rings. BANG! like a slap to the face from a gorilla it hit me, sort of like in a film when they zoom through the clouds from above down to street level only on a much bigger scale, 800,000,000 miles worth of it in a flash. Pretty funky thing to happen, quite freaky too.

We’ve sent up space probes for years and those nice people at NASA have a massive collection of photos that they are quite happy for other people to use, so I will. Thanks NASA. Ive spent the last few nights just going through the photos at random and just boggling my mind at whats out there and just how vast space is. Where does it end? Does it end? How can something be infinite?

I could ramble on about my childhood fascination with how far the sun was from earth but I think the pics would be more interesting (more ramblings will follow)

This is one of Saturns many moons, Mimas. Also called The Death Star Moon, pretty obvious if you've seen Star Wars. Captured by the Cassini space probe in February this year

**StrontiumDog** · 24-04-2010, 01:22 AM

Check this out....

BBC News - Audio slideshow: Hubble's first 20 years

**melvbot** · 24-04-2010, 01:23 AM

This stunning picture is of Enceladus, Saturns 6th largest moon which was thought to be just a big ball of ice but now thought to be geologically active in some way.

You can see the usual crater impacts like we're used to seeing on the moon but also fractures, trenches and ridges which are usually signs of tectonic activity such as we have on earth.

This image of Enceladus shows plumes of ice being forced out of the Tiger Stripes. The Tiger Stripes can be seen in the first picture at the bottom right, 4 parallel lines slightly green looking.

Internal heat has also been noticed escaping. An ice covered moon thats geologically active with a heat source in the core, blows me away some of this stuff.

**sunsetter** · 24-04-2010, 01:55 AM

fairplay mate, i always think about this kinda stuff, and get lost with it for days, pretty mindblowing stuff, i love it

**sabang** · 24-04-2010, 02:07 AM

The Universe is pretty big, and most of the stars you can see out your window now is a bit historical really, because the light left that star before you wuz born.

So at 186,000 miles per second, thats a fair way.

**sabang** · 24-04-2010, 02:09 AM

Canis Majoris is quite impressive really. It's around 2,000 times the diameter of our sun, and one of the brightest stars out there in our night sky.

Or was, because it's 4900 light years away. So for all we know, it may no longer exist.

**jarne** · 24-04-2010, 02:49 AM

well
when we soon will travel the universe,
it will all boil down to one thing
as always
where is the good pussy to be found
and what's your view on alien pussy
and blowjobs
great adventures ahead
Klingon 3somes in hyperspeed on intergalatic
barhopping tours

**larvidchr** · 24-04-2010, 02:54 AM

Originally Posted by sabang

Canis Majoris is quite impressive really. It's around 2,000 times the diameter of our sun, and one of the brightest stars out there in our night sky.

Or was, because it's 4900 light years away. So for all we know, it may no longer exist.

Yes quite mindblowing that, once they start the space-jumping stuff they better have an open ticket cause the destination might be long gone

**Boon Mee** · 24-04-2010, 03:12 AM

This whole subject blows me away too. I've been keeping up with the recent Hubble discoveries and it's facinating. New moons found around Saturn etc.

Great thread Mel!

**melvbot** · 24-04-2010, 03:23 AM

Originally Posted by sabang

Canis Majoris is quite impressive really. It's around 2,000 times the diameter of our sun, and one of the brightest stars out there in our night sky.

Or was, because it's 4900 light years away. So for all we know, it may no longer exist.

**melvbot** · 24-04-2010, 03:40 AM

As we're a part of this universe thing it makes sense that photos of earth are included. This is a photo of the volcano in Iceland that has caused all the disruption to air travel.

**ThaiAm** · 24-04-2010, 08:51 AM

Talk about infinite, years ago my brother asked me "did you ever think about the possibility that we and what we know about the universe are but a mere atom in this giant spoon being used by an even bigger giant to eat a bowl of celestial soup?"

**melvbot** · 24-04-2010, 02:20 PM

Jupiter. Fifth planet away from the sun and the big momma in our solar system, one of the gas giants. A big swirly mass of hydrogen, helium and other gas probably round some sort of denser core material.

The Big Red Spot (great name) is a massive storm the size of the earth thats been active since it was spotted in 1831. The stills dont do the activity on the planet justice as the rings rotate in opposite directions all over the planet.

Taken by Voyager on approach.

Whenever I see the Big Red Spot it always reminds me of an eye. Maybe something really is watching us afterall.

**Chairman Mao** · 24-04-2010, 02:29 PM

What was there before the universe?

Once man can master how to bend space and time we'll be able to travel to anywhere in the universe, including the outer edges, and if the laws of physics also rule the other side we may be able to travel outside the universe... Although at a rather large risk to everything that was ever created.

**Chairman Mao** · 24-04-2010, 02:34 PM

Of course there may well be billions of universes, billions of big bangs... Our universe just one of a billion. Each with different laws of physics and number of dimensions.

Also being generally accepted that our universe will one day collapse in on itself, and be left as nothing as it was before it created itself... waiting to create itself again via its next big bang. How many times has this happened before? Zero, ten, a million?

**melvbot** · 24-04-2010, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

What was there before the universe?

Please dont do that, it does my nut in.

**Chairman Mao** · 24-04-2010, 02:52 PM

It has to be expanding into something though.

High-precision test of general relativity by the Cassini space probe (artist's impression): radio signals sent between the Earth and the probe (green wave) are delayed by the warping of space and time (blue lines) due to the Sun's mass.

**9999** · 24-04-2010, 03:05 PM

I watched a docco on string theory, made my head spin.

Also 'The Secret' made my head spin in a different way.

**Chairman Mao** · 24-04-2010, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by melvbot

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

What was there before the universe?

Please dont do that, it does my nut in.

Yes, sorry... but as I sit in my livingroom, this space around me that exists, it had to exist before the universe came along, didn't it?

What was here?

**9999** · 24-04-2010, 03:16 PM

A donkey fukka. String theory attempts to explain this question but I don't really get it sorry. Something about the Universe being multi-dimensional and infinate, meaning anything possible is happening everywhere at the same time, meaning infinite 'you's' with infinate lives takeing infinate directions.

"The Secret" dismisses time as a perception of the human mind to enable to percieve a universe in cannot fully understand in it's physical form.

Originally Posted by Chairman Mao

it had to exist before the universe came along, didn't it? What was here?

**The Gentleman Scamp** · 24-04-2010, 04:16 PM

It's all beyond our comprehension, maybe for a reason. I've always tried to imagine a brand new primary colour in another universe, but it's impossible as it is beyond comprehension.

This stuff is far too big for most people to even entertain, which is why they make up gods and heaven etc.. which is within imagination thus within comprehension.

**DrAndy** · 24-04-2010, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by sabang

The Universe is pretty big

I will note that down

**DrAndy** · 24-04-2010, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

I've always tried to imagine a brand new primary colour in another universe

Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

but it's impossible as it is beyond comprehension.

how do you know?

**good2bhappy** · 24-04-2010, 04:43 PM

a lot of nothing

**Chairman Mao** · 24-04-2010, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by good2bhappy

a lot of nothing

moving at extreme speed into... what?

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