Lost in space
The Hubble telescope is sending data from far away places. Great photo at the link.
[More posts daily at The Detroit News]
Myriad galaxies, including some of the cosmos's remotest objects, are caught by the Hubble Space Telescope, providing astronomers with key information about the universe's early history. The newly-released image was one of the last taken before this week's repair mission to the telescope, which orbits Earth, by the space shuttle Atlantis.It never fails to knock me out that we can see into deep space in my lifetime. [h/t Moonbootica]
[More posts daily at The Detroit News]
Labels: science, technology
posted by Libby Spencer at 3:06 PM
6 Comments:
Being aware that the near infinite vastness we can see is only an infinitesimal part of a bigger one that the laws of physics forbid us ever to see should at least make one less likely to be so sure that it's all about us and our "sins."
Being aware that we're looking into a time machine is equally as threatening to our concept of primacy.
the linked article seems to doubt the usefulness of manned missions, and I also have my doubts, but I remember the same sentiments being expressed in the early days of the space program. "give the money to the poor" was an idea that prompted people to march in the streets, but of course the money we investigated in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs turned out to be the most profitable investment since the Louisiana Purchase and was arguably the source of our prosperity and technical superiority for the following 30 years.
It's hard to predict, of course, and investments in robot technology may be as profitable as was the development of integrated circuits that propelled us into the information age.
I've always supported space programs, manned and unmanned. It's the pioneer in me. Not to mention I'm fascinated by the idea of space travel. It is a very big universe.
Me too. I look at these pictures and I'm in awe and unable to speak and I wonder at the fundamentalists with their tiny little universes and I'm sad.
There's a real limit to where we can go though and less of a limit to robots. I'm sure there will come a time when we can explore more of the universe vicariously through them.
I saw the shuttle take off today, BTW.
You saw the shuttle take off? I'm so jealous. I've seen it twice. Once at night, through an airplane window.
During the day, you can see the contrail, but at night it's just spectacular.
The night one knocked me out. Of course I was seated on the other side of the plane and nearly climbed into someone's lap across the aisle to watch it.
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