Galaxies like grains of sand. {pic}

Found this picture today and it reminded me of the Hubble's ultra deep field image of the billions of galaxies than can be found in the smallest speck of our skies. This image was taken by the Herschel’s SPIRE instrument and it also shows billions of galaxies as they were like 10 billions years ago.



Source

It amazes me at all the other galaxies out there and we fight and squabble on, in, and about our 1 galaxy that we haven't explored outside our own solar system, our single star.. in what I would describe as an infinite amount of stars in an incomprehensible universe.

With such vastness unexplored and unknown, all our little problems seem so insignificant. To me such as image should bring humanity closer together as one so that we can work in unison and reach our goals as a civilization.

If we are the only intelligent life in the universe, why not be the beginning of that galactic or universal federation? Why not seed all the other planets and they can grow up looking for us...

I just wish this planet's people would get their head out of their own ass and look up. Look at their potential and actually achieve it more effectively by working as a whole instead of against or in a race with each other.

[edit on 27-5-2010 by SeeingBlue]

I'm starting to think that existence is scaled and like matter, consciousness scales as well.Are their "lonely" stars, "happy" galaxies, a "compassionate" universe and beyond? Think for a moment, what if matter really does exist only to facilitate a cognitive outcome!

I also have a strange craving for fruity pebbles...



[edit on 27-5-2010 by SmokeandShadow]

Thats all fine...but what this shows is that aliens can and will be hostile.

With so many galaxys out there....there must be some life.

BUT this also proves statistically that there would have to be hostile aliens as well as neutral aliens.

there is no such thing as a benevelont alien.....if there was it would not survive very long.

Originally posted by tauempire


there is no such thing as a benevelont alien.....if there was it would not survive very long.

Please explain why not ?

Originally posted by tauempire
Thats all fine...but what this shows is that aliens can and will be hostile.

With so many galaxys out there....there must be some life.

BUT this also proves statistically that there would have to be hostile aliens as well as neutral aliens.

there is no such thing as a benevelont alien.....if there was it would not survive very long.

Yeah, but to overcome the vast distances as well as the ability to refrain from self destruction (which we teeter on) requires SOME level of decency. So unless we land on rigel 7 and get beat down by galgamaks, we shouldn't be too worried.

reply to post by SmokeandShadow


I must disagree. What about a race like Klingons ?

Wow, what a stunning picture. Almost makes me feel like crying. Think of all petty stuff we kill eachother over, and then look at that. Mind blowingly awesome picture.

reply to post by tauempire


I'm sorry but you're wrong. Statistically cooperation is always more efficient then competition for both parties involved. As long as you don't run into the problem of motivation. I think that any advanced species would have to be self motivated.

Originally posted by SeeingBlue
With such vastness unexplored and unknown, all our little problems seem so insignificant. To me such as image should bring humanity closer together as one so that we can work in unison and reach our goals as a civilization.

I suppose you could look at it that way. On the other hand, you could also say that faced with such vastness in both time and space, not only our individual lives, but the existence of our own species, or planet, is fundamentally inconsequential.

Nothing we do, or will ever do, matters. And since there is no good proof of any sort of afterlife, the only reasonable response is to become a bloody hedonist, seeking as much pleasure as we can pack into our pointless, worthless existences and enduring pain (like exercise) only to such an extent that it might allow us more pleasure in the "long" run.

reply to post by tauempire


It also shows how unlikely an alien species will ever find our little planet, never mind in the ridiculously small time frame that humans have been here.. the size of the universe works in favor of many intelligent civilizations existing, but it also works against them ever finding earth, and like i said...if that's not improbable enough it's even harder to imagine them finding earth when we inhabit it.

And blue shift, the point that our lives are meaningless in the grand scheme of things is what makes it special imo. No afterlife or God needed, just how it should be.

[edit on 27-5-2010 by Solomons]

You guys should read "The Kolob Theorem" it is one mans observation on galaxies , pretty cool.

IMHO I think we should thinking about aliens from other galaxies all together.

Our own galaxy is just as unimaginable big as all the galaxies put together.
We don't even understand what it's like to visit another solar system.

If there are aliens then they are close.


@ the OP Star and flag Nice pic.

If there are other intelligent beings out there then we can not place their civilization in the same upbringing as our own. Who knows what kinda of history they have and how they arrived to where they are now. So maybe they were never oppressed, turned to slaves and had their technologies hidden from them. We can't model them after ourselves when pondering their nature, we have to be more open minded about it.

Besides I believe once we emerge victorious from our masters and take control of our own world then we can start using our technologies for health and stability instead of war and destruction.

And Blue Shift you may not have proof of an afterlife but that does not mean there isn't one. If life has no purpose then what would have been the reason for starting life in the first place? What motivation would life have to begin if there was no purpose? I don't think if could have started without a reason.

This is by far, IMHO, the greatest image of space that exists.

Earth is like a single plankton in a monstrous ocean. There has to be other intelligent life out there. No doubt what so ever.

Out of all those galaxies, there must be planets orbiting suns at a distance that supports life.

Distance and Time restricts us/them so much.

Awesome thread. S&F.

G.

It's amazing what you see when you stare at it long enough!!

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c573164c882f.jpg[/atsimg]

Wow just wow!

This is one of those jaw dropping moments which comes once in a year. Though this image is millions of years old, just wondering How many of those specs are looking back at us?

Kind regards, Ency

reply to post by grantbeed


haha brilliant! I went back to the original picture and now I can't stop seeing it :p

reply to post by grantbeed

Holy crap! I can actually see that in the original pic haha. Nice.

Beautiful pic btw, I just wish it was one of those that you could zoom in on and actually see the individual galaxies. Stunning none the less.

Originally posted by SeeingBlue
If we are the only intelligent life in the universe, why not be the beginning of that galactic or universal federation? Why not seed all the other planets and they can grow up looking for us...

I don't object to that but we could pick less ambitious goals to start with...like trying to survive the next ELE (Extinction Level Event). The dinosaurs didn't have the technology to prevent their own extinction. We might, but we so far have dragged our feet in our endeavor to stop humanity from realizing the same fate as the dinosaurs.

Sure we might be able to deflect a planet killer meteor, but that's far from certain we could deflect it and that would only even be possible if we see it far enough in advance.

One way to increase our chances of survival over the dinosaurs is to become at least a 2-planet species, so if one planet has an ELE, the other planet will still perpetuate our species. In 1970 colonization of space seemed inevitable. In 2010 I wonder how long it will take to even get a man back to the moon, much less another planet.

Wouldn't it be a sad footnote in the history of the Milky Way galaxy, that on the Earth, a species finally evolved that had the capability to prevent its own extinction....but didn't? It's a sad thought to have such great brains and not apply ourselves enough so we don't end up just another pile of bones in the ground like the dinosaurs.

By the way, great photo!

reply to post by Wuwei


yep, I am the same now. I have to stop looking at this pic now. ...