The universe is much, much, much bigger than you may think it is. I personally find it inconceivable – my finite brain does not register infinity. The observable universe, as we know it today, is 14 billion years old – this means that we can see 14 billion light-years into the universe. Within this universe are billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars. The Earth, and our Solar System, is nothing but a microscopic dot within the universe. Here are some mind-blowing facts about the universe that may help you put its vastness into perspective.
- There are more stars in the universe than the number of individuals grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth combined.
- The universe began at a single point in time and space (the Big Bang), but has been expanding since the beginning of time.
- Its diameter spans across 150 billion light years.
As I contemplated about the universe, a couple thoughts came to my mind. Maybe the readers of this post can ponder them too.
- How did the big bang happen? How did we go from nothing to something? How did we go from absolutely zero to infinity?
- Are we just mere coincidence? Are we just products of atom collision and random chance? Or is there more meaning to life?
- What is the likelihood of us being here at this moment? It seems like every collision had gone just the right way for us to exist? Is there a Creator behind the universe? Is there a design to it?
We may never know the answers to these questions for certain, but they’re worth thinking about for sure.
Phillip, these are great philosophical questions. I love that astronomers surrender to the fact that there are things that they will never be able to comprehend, calculate or observe!
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