How Many? Two Trillion!
Perhaps you have been reading in the major news outlets that those amazing astronomers have released new data that the universe contains two trillion galaxies, or 10 times as many as previously believed! My learned son, Chris, and I discussed this news over breakfast yesterday morning. I suspect we were the only persons in our Richmond, Virginia Cracker Barrel, a popular 'country' restaurant franchise in the USA, having a conversation on this esoteric topic.
One had the feeling that between the massive servings of bacon, eggs and grits, that most persons were talking about one of Saturday's football games or speculating on how many more women were going to reveal additional caddish behavior by Donald Trump. Maybe the subject of the size of the universe is just not something that effects the average person's life!
Right, Chris, the librarian....the son also rises.
So Chris and I did the numbers - two trillion galaxies contain say 100 billion stars each and each star has eight major planets on average as does our solar system, that means, well, I can't do the simple arithmetic, but there must be sky-zillion earth-like rocks out there.
By the law of averages that means a very large number must be in the 'Goldilocks' position from their radiation source, i.e. sun, not too hot and not too cold and have water in three forms - solid, liquid and gas - and have existed long enough in this such condition for life to develop as it has on earth.
So, then we are not alone? Or are we? There may be life on one of Jupiter's moons, but I bet it is not 'conscious life'. By definition a life form must be able to nourish and replicate itself (essential for life to continue), but to think, reason, play games, enjoy art, pay income taxes, etc, nope, I don't think so.
Further out in our own galaxy? In one of those 2 trillion other galaxies?
The odds are yes, conscious life exists. So why don't they contact us? Simple, one can't defy the laws of physics.
Nothing can exceed the speed of light, those photons that stream through the universe at 186,000 miles a second. Astronomers measure distant in 'light-years' that is how far does light travel in one earth year.
While some earthlings believe those crop circles are made by visitors from outer space and UFOs keep popping up in the minds of many, there really never has been any type of contact from other beings simply because the distances are too great. Bear in mind, it has only been 120 or so years since radio waves were generated by beings on this planet.
When Chris's grandfather was born in 1919, there was only one recognized galaxy - our Milky Way.
And about the time I was born, astronomers began hypothesizing that our universe began as a 'Big Bang' because, well, everything outside our galaxy seemed to be moving away from everything else. And since Chris was born, we have a pretty accurate figure when the initial 'inflation' occurred - about 13.7 or .8 billion years ago! That's a lot of scientific progress in just a century.
My son and I love to noodle over these issues. Wonder during the life time of his son, Derek, if these ultra-wise scientists will discover where all that matter, atoms, particle of atoms, grains of sand, etc. came from before the Big Bang? Granted our theologians of all stripes and plaids have been puzzling over this question since homo sapiens looked up at the stars and moon and wondered.
Left, Chris and his son Derek
We humans did not discover writing until about 3,000 B.C.E We are only a few hundred earth orbits around the sun since we began utilizing scientific reasoning. The past few centuries have revealed the universe as not known to all previous generations. What answers will come by Derek's old age?
Sigh....ultimate questions on a Sunday morning.
In the meantime, more coffee anyone?
Comments?
No comments:
Post a Comment