Perspective

Hello readers, ADW here!

I must confess that I have a fascination with space. Ever since I was a young boy, I have wanted to be an astronaut. One thing on my bucket list is "Go into space", and I'm seriously hoping I will have that opportunity some day. Now that I have been properly introduced by my better half and invited to share my own thoughts on this blog, I feel like I have a space (pun intended. Har har!) where I can share a bit of my fascination.

Today, I’d like to discuss the size of our universe. I have often marveled at the enormity of our universe and dreamt about the many mysteries we have yet to uncover. Space is big, and there are likely lots of amazing things we have yet to learn. 

First, let’s start by looking at the celestial bodies in our solar system… Our Sun is approximately 1 million times larger than our little planet Earth.

And our Sun is small when compared to other stars within our own galaxy…

At this point, the relative sizes being discussed are too vast for my puny human brain to comprehend, but let’s continue this exercise anyways because I find it fun, and it’s my blog entry. Below is a comparison of more stars in our galaxy. Some of you who are rabid Star Trek fans (like me) will recognize the name Rigel, famous for the planetRigle VII. Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy may recognize Betelgeuse.

Next, we have a depiction of our very own Milky Way Galaxy. Within our galaxy, there are approximately 200 to 400 BILLION stars!

And within the universe, researchers now estimate that there are at least 176 billion galaxies, based on what we can observe with our telescopes! But, there are likely many times that number.

When you really try to think about how big the universe is, it can be quite humbling. This isn’t to say that what we do doesn’t matter, because I believe our actions matter within the context of our own world and the people around us. However, it does help to know that when something just isn’t going quite right or you’re having a crappy day, the universe will go on. Besides, chances are good that some poor alien in another galaxy, whose planet is about to be destroyed by a supernova, is likely having a worse day.