Morning perspective

[bobhamlin]

Crisp 25 degrees on the way in today, crystal clear sky with the moon in a crescent shape. AAA battery went out on the radio, so, other than the background hum of the bike and the constant wind, things were silent.

As I rode down I-270, the sky began lighting up with dawn. To the right of the moon, there were two morning stars. I know one of them was Venus.

Have you ever just absorbed what you are seeing? Out there in space, the light from the sun that is still under the horizon is lighting up several large chunks of rock that are tethered by gravity and inertia in their orbits. Venus is millions of miles away-- just going round and round-- as we are.

Every day earth travels 1/365th of the way around the sun, a circumference of (pi)*93million² miles (you can do the math)-- that's hauling ass. We're spinning about 1000 mph.
Our solar system is moving within the Milky Way, which is one of billions and billions of galaxies moving in infinite space.

And I'm doing stop and go on a highway marked at 65. Wow!

[pirate]

Cool, I definitely know what you are talking about! I find myself thinking about the awe and wonder I'm in when riding quite often. It makes a person feel kind of small when you realize how big the universe is, and all that we don't know about it. Pretty dang impressive...

[ringadingh]

We are just a speck of sand in a huge ocean. :)

[Yellow Jacket]

I wonder if they have Nomads in any of the other galaxies?

[ells]

Originally Posted by Yellow Jacket

I wonder if they have Nomads in any of the other galaxies?

Cosmic Nomads

<marquee></marquee>

[bobhamlin]

Originally Posted by bobhamlin

Every day earth travels 1/365th of the way around the sun, a circumference of (pi)*93million² miles (you can do the math)-

I had forgotten my formula for circumference: 2 Pi R. So we are traveling roughly 67,000 mph around the sun.

That does not factor in the 10% speedometer inflation.

[watchman]

A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away;............

[jamiep24]

I've enjoyed learning about space, stars and planets the last 15 or so years. Some of the photographs I've seen are breathtaking. Most people don't realize that almost every night of the year you can see Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, sometimes simultaneously. And they are some of the brightest lights in the sky. To give one an idea how big space is: The closest star to us is 4 light years away. That's over 25,000,000,000 (25 trillion)miles from Earth, and the farthest from us is over 15 billion light years away. That's a lot of zeroes, folks. So, if you want to travel to the edge of the Universe, you better pack a lunch.....And the Moon is the closest thing to us and if you could drive a car straight to the Moon (going 60 mph) 24 hours a day, it would take you 6 months to get there. Don't get me started, I could ramble all day about that stuff.

[ridemslow]

Like.. REALLY HUGE!

Originally Posted by Ringadingh

We are just a speck of sand in a huge ocean. :)