"Space is big - really big...." - Democratic Underground

pokerfan

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Thu May-01-08 09:31 PM
Original message

"Space is big - really big...."

"Space is big - really big - you just won't believe how vastly, hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. You may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space." - Douglas Adams

A short journey from the earth to the outmost visible part of the universe showing the scale of the universe compared to the size its most fundamental constituents: protons and neutrons:

http://www.youtube.com/v/6rUfJG4yWLg&hl">Cosmic Voyage to Elsewhere: The Scale of the Universe (05:57)

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nomorenomore08

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Thu May-01-08 09:52 PM
Response to Original message

1. And with current technology it would take, what, 100,000 years to travel even ONE light-year?

Multiply that by 13.5 billion (the approximate distance from here to the edge of the visible universe), and let your jaw drop in amazement.

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pokerfan

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Thu May-01-08 10:13 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. Voyager 1 is the fastest of the four probes that have left our system

and it will eventually reach 1 ly in about 20,000 years.

Jaw dropping, indeed.

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Tue May 14th 2024, 04:53 AM
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