16 June 2020

We are all part of something greater



Don't scroll past.  Watch this.

Addendum:  Even astronauts are affected by the "overview effect."  Hat tip to reader kklutzke.

15 comments:

  1. Have these people never before seen pictures of the moon?!?!?!?!

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    1. From personal experience I can say that seeing a photograph and seeing through a telescope are far different experiences.
      It's the difference between a ham and a hammer

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  2. Very enjoyable. It was almost surreal watching this type of positive interaction when the news is constantly reporting on all of the division, hatred, and polarization around us. It almost felt like a movie from another era. Sadly, I'm afraid that all of the issues surrounding recent events (COVID, riots) may well be a dividing line in history like 9/11.

    Admittedly, I am not an expert on astronomy, but I have never seen a telescope like that one. A few years ago, we discussed getting my junior-aged son into this. But I never saw a unit like that.

    On a side note, it is always interesting to me when videos like this bleep out words like sh*t (a crude expletive, and I don't use it), but no one ever bleeps out "Oh, my G*d!" I mean . . . one of the Ten Commandments is actually "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain." Anyway, that is always puzzling to me.

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    1. I think if you check, you'll find it's not a total prohibition but a warning not to put the Lords name to "Ill use".

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    2. > Anyway, that is always puzzling to me.

      Not everyone is Christian.

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    3. @Rocky - I have checked. Quite a few times. :) I understand that the phrase "Oh, my G*d" is not forbidden to be said. There are numerous examples of that phrase being used throughout Psalms. The point is that it should not be said vainly. The 1828 Webster's definition of "vain" is "1. Empty; worthless; having no substance, value or importance." Whenever we use God's name, it should be done in reverence and respect. Most of the time that you hear people use that phrase, it is just a mindless interjection.

      @Anonymous - I realize that not everyone is Christian. My point is just that I am puzzled that they bleep out "sh*t" but not the other. If people are offended by taking God's name in vain, they probably aren't offended by "sh*t" either.

      In the end, that comment was just a side note about an otherwise enjoyable video. :)

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    4. I would certainly say most if not all of the exclamations in this video express either awe or reverence.
      Absolutely not "Empty; worthless; having no substance, value or importance."

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    5. I agree with you. Most seem to be awed by what they are seeing - quite understandable.

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  3. Absolutely. Have you heard of the overview effect? https://www.businessinsider.com/overview-effect-nasa-apollo8-perspective-awareness-space-2015-8

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  4. Brilliant stuff... I am always telling people it's easy to forget that while the Earth is a mere mote of a universal dust spec, we are also the stuff of stars and must revel in that significance. It makes our Terran woes seem so transient and therefore easy to resolve. Hey... a guy can dream, can't he? Thanks to Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clark for centering my 14-year-old mind almost 50 years ago. https://gortnation.blogspot.com/2012/03/1970-space-odyssey.html

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  5. Just a note on the Scope.
    It is a collapsible Dobsonian. Designed for exactly the purpose he's putting it to.
    Public demonstrations.

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  6. This video makes me think of A Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan and the best expression of it that I have even found is here: https://www.zenpencils.com/comic/100-carl-sagan-pale-blue-dot/

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