The ultimate astronomy picture cache

July 16, 2009

logoFor a few years, I’ve been following a picture site that is managed by NASA. It’s been a source of contemplation for me, as well as a great archive of information. There’s a new picture every day, and the list goes back to June 16 1995. You could spend hours on this if you like to study astronomy. There are many pictures of distant galaxies and stars, along with lots of other stuff related to our planet’s position in the universe. Go to the Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive for some of the best pictures of outer space that you will ever see! If you like science, you don’t want to miss out on this one.

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We’re probably not alone.

July 14, 2009

Michio Kaku’s Civilizations of the Cosmos

Tma1_tycho_3 “What does it mean for a civilization to be a million years old? We have had radio telescopes and spaceships for a few decades; our technical civilization is a few hundred years old … an advanced civilization millions of years old is as much beyond us as we are beyond a bushbaby or a macaque.”

Carl Sagan

Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at City University of New York, in the current issue of Cosmos writes that Sagan’s question is no longer just a matter of idle speculation.

Soon, humanity may face an existential shock as we discover Earth-sized twins of our planet orbiting nearby solar systems. This may usher in a new era in our relationship with the universe, so that we will never see the night sky in the same way. Realizing that scientists may eventually compile an encyclopedia identifying the precise coordinates of perhaps hundreds of Earth-like planets, gazing at the night sky, we will forever after wonder if someone is gazing back at us.

Kaku takes up where some/one of the world’s pioneer astronomers left off with a definition of civilizations in the universe that mimics the work of Read More »

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