Milky Way Galaxy (Click Image to Download)
We’ve all heard the universe is a very big place, but this image from Alex Grossman really drives that concept home.
The question: How far has humanity’s influence reached?
The very first thing created by humanity that left our tiny planet wasn’t a satellite or space ship, it was the broadcasts from a world obsession with radio. This image shows how far radio broadcasts will have reached in our galaxy, the Milky Way, by the time that technology is 200 years old. Considering we only started broadcasting in 1880, this map actually represents our reach in 2080.
In the vacuum of space radio waves travel at the speed of light, so our entire influence on the universe has now traveled just 135 light years away from Earth (1 “light year” equals the distance light travels in 1 year). That’s right, the tiny blue dot in the image below is how far every single action by humanity has reached. Feel tiny yet?
How does that compare to our furthest traveling spacecraft? The Voyager 1, which is now traveling almost outside the influence of our Sun, is only about 18 light hours away from the Earth. That’s about 97,000 times smaller than the blue dot in these pictures.
Now for the real kicker.
How many galaxies like our Milky Way are in the entire Universe? No one knows the actual figure because we can’t see to the outside edge (if there is one), but the amount we can see in the observable universe is estimated to be… wait for it…
…more than 170 billion galaxies.
There it is. We are really, really, very, amazingly, incredibly, so, small.
Milky Way galaxy rendering by Nick Risinger
Source : www.visualnews.com
This is absolutely fascinating. We think of ourselves as being the center of the universe, but we have less effect on the whole of it than a newborn baby has on the whole of human civilization.
When I look at something like this, I always think; do we exist at all! I mean in the large measure of things we are too small to be thought of as of any significance. It’s absolutely fascinating. And it really does make one think.
Reblogged this on DrWeb's Domain.
Just incredible. This really puts it all into perspective; doesn’t it??
Truly humbling.
If this is true does anything matter???? Or are we only seeing what we are allowed to see??????