Tag: cosmos
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Contemplating the Cosmos: The Martian Inquisition
“Why so many eager speculation and ardent fantasies about Martians, rather than, say, Saturnians or Plutonians? Because Mars seems, at first glance, very Earth-like. It is the nearest planet whose surface we can see. There are polar ice caps, drifting white clouds, raging dust storms, seasonally changing patterns on its red surface, even a twenty-four-hour…
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Contemplating the Cosmos: A Universe in Harmony?
“…we live in an in-between universe, where things change, but according to patterns, rules, or, as we call them, laws of nature.”[1] I am amazed at the fact that there are certain governing authorities over my existence on this earth, this cosmic shoreline. I can walk along and gravity holds me to the ground. Still,…
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Contemplating the Cosmos: The Fantastical Alien Worlds
“All my life I have wondered about the possibility of life elsewhere. What would it be like? Of what would it be made?”[1] It is easy to wonder, sitting on this cosmic shoreline and looking up into the universe, if there is any life out there whose intelligence might be similar to our own,…
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Contemplating the Cosmos: Standing on the Shoreline
I stand outside and look at the stars with wonder, noting the great complexity of systems and the great emptiness within the cosmos that I have read about. To think that I look with wonder at the same universe that is observed by great thinkers like the late Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking. Yet…
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Contemplating The Cosmos: Introduction and Preconceptions
The universe is an extraordinary place and I am, as often as I think upon it, amazed at just how intricate it is. I am just as amazed with the human capacity to discover and explore the universe. A dominant theory concerning origins is that the universe was once one, ‘very small’ singularity that…