I like how this video shows the grandeur and incomprehensible enormity of our universe! It's mind boggling to know that it takes 100,000 years traveling at the speed of light just to begin to see the shape of our Milky Way (and 5 million light years away our galaxy itself becomes a mere speck of light)! One is humbled, but at the same time exhilarated. We are all a part of this amazing universe and this Sacred Mystery is a part of us.
I believe our ability to see deeply into our cosmos reflects our growing consciousness. For most of human history our vision was limited to what could be seen with the human eye. We assumed all that we saw revolved around us and that we were the center of the universe. Geocentric humans felt they were at the top of the hierarchy and that it was their right to dominate and exploit nature and others. But now we see we are no where near the top or center of anything. We see we are a mote of dust on a speck of dust spinning through an endless universe. How can our consciousness not be changed by this?
I think a journey to the edge of the cosmos also signals our journey to the deepest and truest parts of who we are. As more of the miraculousness of the universe is revealed, we will be able to more readily grasp the miracle of who we are and the role we have to play on earth.
In 2003, astronomers turned the Hubble telescope on a dark patch in the night sky, the size of a grain of rice held at arm's length. They thought they might just see more black space, but what they saw amazed them. Repeated exposures kept revealing fainter galaxies. Over 11 days, The Ultra Deep Field, called the "most amazing photograph ever taken", revealed over 10,000 galaxies in that very small part of the sky!
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| Hubble Ultra Deep Field- The Most Amazing Photograph Ever Taken NASA |
The universe we live in is one integrated, whole; all is connected, all is sacred. May its splendor continually blow our minds and shatter the illusion of our fear-based egos, so we can see once again that we are whole, good and intimately connected to the one, great web of life.
" When you try to pick out anything by itself, you find it hitched to everything else in the universe." John Muir
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| Flammarion Woodcut- Some say he is peering at the wonders within us! Wishing you a shower of blessings on this day of giving thanks. 11/25/2010 Universe in a Brain Cell  The universe is us, we are the universe. All is divine, the divine is all. As above, so below. Fascinating to see that the human brain cell looks uncannily similar to a simulated picture of our entire universe! One is micrometers wide; the other spans billions of light years. Yet a pattern is retained. There is a correspondence between the great and little worlds. Seeing the microcosm in the macrocosm helps us to shift our perspective. We are part of a much larger whole. We are all made of the same divine substance. Those we share this spinning planet with are in fact our true brothers and sisters! Silly us, how could we forget?
You are my sister, my brother: I am your sister. I believe these are the truths awakening in millions of us on our "small blue dot". May we have faith and courage to do the work that is asked of us in our collective quest for a better world.   I painted "Emergence" a few years ago, before seeing either of the other two pictures. I was striving to represent the divine mystery and deep beauty of our universe... and of ourselves! Blessings of the Very Small and the Very Large! Rare Sights and Sounds of Our Mysterious Universe!
NASA has traveled farther and captured more incredible photos in just the last ten years than ever before, but sadly, they rarely make the news in any big way. From moon mountains and Polar Aurorae to the existence of a little moon called Enceladus, located in Saturn's rings, here are a few photos to intrigue and remind us of the miracle of our breathtaking universe!
An aurora is caused by charged particles streaming along the magnetic field lines of a planet into its atmosphere, like we see on Earth with the Northern and Southern Lights. Scientists working with data from the Cassini probe called Saturn's Aurora at its North Pole "a fantastic surprise" that showed that there was something "special and unforseen" about the planet's magnetosphere. Come to find out the auorae are linked to an electrical connection between the Ringed Planet and one of its smallest moons, Enceladus. Enceladus is only one of three planetary bodies in the Outer Solar System that has eruptions- in this case, huge geysers of heated liquid and organic particles.
Scientists have even recorded the sound of these two heavenly bodies interacting! As if all that were not fascinating enough- there is more. Did you know that there is a mysterious, hexagon shape at the top of Saturn? It has been there for at least the last 20 years! And I leave you with the photo I liked the most of Enceladus!
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