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March 07, 2010
A question of perspective.
Since recent earthquake in Chile, time has speeded up.
Literally. According to NASA scientists, the power of the quake may have shifted the Earth's axis, causing faster rotation resulting in shorter days. The time and space has been altered, or should it be 'may have been altered'?
But since the amount of time lost is calculated to be 1.26 microseconds (1,26 millionths of a second!) per day, this isn't really anything to write home about. Nobody will notice and our lives will not be affected by it. So It is big news and quite an insignificant one at the same time.
It's all a question of perspective. I was reminded of the 'pale blue dot' - the famous photograph of the Earth from Voyager's mission taken from the edges or our solar system in1990. Famous astronomer Carl Sagan was moved to say some wonderful things upon seeing it:
"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.
The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands od confident religions, ideologies,and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, every hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar', every 'supreme leader', every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."
You can see the picture and read the whole text online - it's worth the time it takes.
Looking at that picture of a cosmic vastness does freak me out - we're so small, so insignificant, so much like.. nothing..
And then I think: YEAH, NOTHING, EXCEPT TO EACH OTHER..
Posted by Marzena at March 7, 2010 05:09 PM