Space – a vast expansiveness of nothing – has intrigued our imaginations for untold generations. Philosophers, astronomers, and laymen alike have pondered about the meaning of our existence and the influence of our individual actions against the backdrop of the never-ending fabrics of the universe. In the past fifty years, we learned more about space than we had since human history and the more we learn, the more we blur the lines between science fiction and reality, and the more we wonder more.
Can we travel to other galaxies? Can we travel in time, rewrite history, and merge the past, present, and future together? Is it possible to enter the ten or twenty-some other dimensions? And perhaps the most intriguing question of all, the mother of all philosophical questions and the father of countless stories: Are we alone?
Relative to the grandness of the cosmos, the Milky Way is a small speck of light. Relative to the hugeness of the Milky Way, Planet Earth is a small speck of sand. Relative to the universe, Earth is…very small. This piece of rock we live on might be a simple byproduct, a leftover, of the massive creations in the universe. The universe is over 13 billion years old, 91 billion light years wide (that’s only the size of the known universe), hosts 10 billion galaxies, each averaging 100 billion stars. The average human in a developed country lives over 80 years, is 1.6m tall, and probably within the end of this century, has travelled to Mars.
We are small compared to the universe. The next time you face a challenge or anxiety, although it is very real and pressing for you, try placing your perspective in context of the universe. This will help you feel that your challenge isn’t as difficult as you had thought and that your worries aren’t that worrisome!
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If you are interested in reading a short story about the universe, I highly recommend reading The Last Question, by Isaac Asimov.