The Heavens declare the Glory of God

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“The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Continuing with last week’s theme, this time on h2bh we are reflecting on the spellbinding size of the observable universe. An article on this topic could easily be solely centred on the facts; how far the sun is, how large the milky way is, etc. The raw numbers are mind-boggling, but it is also useful to reflect philosophically, by considering how the dramatic sizes illustrate some of the avatars of how2behuman.

For example, when one considers the vastness of the universe, you cannot help but be humbled. When one considers how celestial events such as supernovas cause ripples throughout the heavens, it pulls you into thoughtfulness.

The universe is, quite literally, incomprehensibly big. It isn’t really possible for us to consider it from our vantage point and worldview. In a helpful video on YouTube, Professor Brian Cox discusses the difficulty in reflecting on the size of the cosmos. When we think about the size of something near us, we judge it compared to something we regularly experience. For example, we assess a tree by how many feet it is, that is, measurement derived from a similarity to human feet. If we size up a small beetle, we might say it is as big as a fingernail.

These measurements simply don’t equate when discussing the universe. Take the following: approximately 1.3 million earths can fit into the Sun. Our Sun is a yellow dwarf star, which means it pales in comparison to some of the larger stars such as a blue giant or red supergiant. One of the largest known stars in the universe, a red supergiant named UY Scuti, supposedly has space for 5 billion of our suns, meaning that the earth could fit roughly 4 quadrillion times.

As you can see, it is hard to even comprehend the numbers, so for us on our blessed third rock from the Sun, it is perhaps most helpful to sit back, reflect, and be humble.[1]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwpEk-fhZjY