The Smallness of being in our Universe!!!

I got this from a friend at work. This is really fascinating !

Kind of dazzling to see it presented this way. This is certainly enlightening and makes one realize how small we are in comparison to the universe. It's a big, big universe. Hope you can read the small print.

All images are relative in size and to scale of actual size.


Not bad. Earth is looking pretty majestic aren't we.

But wait. This is a large solar system we are in. Look on.

Now we don't look so big anymore compared to our big brothers in our solar system.

Our sun will put them to shame!!

Jupiter is fairly puny and our earth? Hardly a dot on the picture. Are you feeling small yet?

There is more!!

Whoa!! I had no idea how small our sun really is and our magnificent planet is not even visible at this scale. How does Heavenly Father find us?

You should be feeling pretty small by now. Let me help you feel even smaller.

The size of our universe is frankly, unfathomable to our minds. I find this some of the best evidence yet that we are not alone in the huge universe we are part of. It staggers your mind.

And if you want to be even more amazed Antares is the 15th brightest star in the known universe. It is over 1,000 light years from the earth. (a light year is the distance light travels in a year....do the math)

Reminds me of the movie Contact at the opening scene when they pull back starting with Jodie Foster's eyes and keep going out and out and out. That truly was one of the better scenes you'll see in a movie, I think.

If you aren't feeling smaller than you were, you should be.

Dad

40th High School Reunion

I just got back from attending my 40th high school reunion in Tucson. I have to say, though I enj0yed much of it, the most fun I had was with Jeff and Angie and Cal. Cal is getting more and more attached to Angie and I think when I went in to wake him up and he saw me, it kind of scared him. (imagine waking up and seeing a big beast like me standing over you) He is sure cute and doing so much more than even this summer. That boy will be walking before we know it and then look out world!!

My reunion was good in a couple of ways. I met a couple of my best friends in high school that I literally had not seen in about 35 years. That was so much fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I'm sure the stories we shared were a bit embellished but it was still great to share them with these guys. The best time I had was on Friday night where a bunch of us (about 20) met for dinner and general banter. I was a bit hesitant to just go in (I was 45 min late) but once I was there it was just great. Many that live in Tucson and knew about the reunion just chose not to come. Many just have no interest in reliving old times or renewing old friendships. (not even curiosity about what happened to old friends motivates them to come.) Don't understand that totally and it is kind of maddening but such is life.

I noticed that there was very little of "look at what I have accomplished in my life...what about you?" I have seen that at other reunions. People wanting everyone to know about their careers, how successful they have been...kind of an ego boost for them I guess. This time it was mostly just visiting and catching up...very little one upmanship at this one. I think we are at the point in our lives (all are 58 or 59 years old) where that kind of stuff just isn't as important to most of us. Most talk was about kids, grandkids and what they are doing in retirement. (yes there were several already retired) And then of course...the stories, the embellished stories of the stuff we did as teenagers. I couldn't remember most of it and probably didn't want to hear most of it due to the embarrasments I suffered in those days.

The next night was the big deal with dinner and all. It was a bit disappointing as many of my best friends were unable to attend. Reunions are a funny thing. Everyone comes up to you and asks your name and vice versa and in some cases you have a recollection of the person but most of the time not. You realize that this person had absolutely nothing to do with you in high school and now it is like you are old friends. Kind of weird as all I really wanted to do is visit with those people that were a big part of my life at that time and many of them were not there. Still those that were, it was a kick catching up and seeing the changes and talking about what has happened to them.

A couple of observations I had were that there were a few that had not divorced but most had been through a marriage or two or three. Most had 2 or 3 children but none had 8 and all continue to be amazed at the size of my family. I was amazed at how many still had children in their teens. That is because many had not started there families until they were in their 40's. One woman (Laura Dooley who I had a huge crush on in the 8th grade!!) had her only child when she was 48 years old!! Her child was only 8 1/2 years old. (she won a prize for having the youngest child)

As I read the bios of everyone who responded, it was amazing to me how many of my classmates were involved in efforts to help others with various causes and foundations they were involved in professionally and personally. I think part of that is the era we grew up in....the 60's and the "make love, not war" philosphy that came out of that. Amazing. While it is a wonderful thing in many ways, it also reflects the tremendous effect that the 60's, the Vietnam War and the feminist movement has had on my generation and the way life has been approached by many of us. I don't know for sure but I would bet that a good number of my classmates are quite liberal in their political leanings. I didn't ask and in fact didn't want to know as it would have only degenerated from there!!

Anyway, it was great seeing some of those I did and I'm glad I went. I thought I was in the wrong place for awhile as many of the people looked so old!!!

Love,
Dad