There is much that science doesn't understand, many mysteries still to be resolved. In a Universe tens of billions of light-years across and some ten or fifteen billion years old, this may be the case forever. We are constantly stumbling on new surprises.
Carl Sagan in The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Submitted by Catalin Popescu
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Our Times
Our Times
13.7 billion years ago
4.5 billion years ago
3.5 billion years ago
200 thousand years ago
10,000 years ago
5000 years ago
3500 years ago
1800 years ago
500 years ago
50 years ago
One hundred years from now
Five hundred years from now
Ten million years from now
Ten billion years from now
We are where we are now
Where are we now?
Who are we now?
What will we be?
When?
poem by Shalom Freedman
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I Am Only One Small Name In A Universe
I AM ONLY ONE SMALL NAME IN A UNIVERSE
I am only one small name in a universe,
Of billions of names-
I am only one small bodily being
Where there are billions of billions-
I am a beginning and an end,
As all living things-
A speck in vast spaces whose specks are uncountable-
No one or nothing need save me
No one or nothing need remember me
No one or nothing billions of years hence
Need smile because I was here.
I am so small I need never to have existed-
I am not even here now,
Whoever is writing this
Lost me a long time ago.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Flyng At Night
five billion years away
a planet turns,
turning a million years
this side of the planet
and my heart beats
each beats
a million years
the other side of another planet
the distance that shortens
the years
as we watch a foreign body
five billion years away
a billion years passed
a universe caught in time
an eagle flaps its wing
each flag
a million years pass
that side of the planet
time is where you are
it walks away from you
as you walk away from it
inspired by
Flying at Night
Above us, stars. Beneath us, constellations.
Five billion miles away, a galaxy dies
like a snowflake falling on water. Below us,
some farmer, feeling the chill of that distant death,
snaps on his yard light, drawing his sheds and barn
back into the little system of his care.
All night, the cities, like shimmering novas,
tug with bright streets at lonely lights like his.
Ted Kooser
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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Of course, nobody would deny the importance of human beings for theological thinking, but the time span of history that theologians think about is a few thousand years of human culture rather than the fifteen billion years of the history of the universe.
quote by John Polkinghorne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Galaxy Song
When youre feeling inside out and insecure,
and life keeps getting you down.
When all lifes daily worrieshurry through your head.
You dont want to even get up.
You just lie around in bed.
When you feel you just cant take it anymore
And you wonder what on earth it is all foryour love lifes like a war zone
Your tvs on the blinkits enough to drive a drinking man to stop and take a
Think
just remember that you standing on a planet thats evolving,revolving at 900
Miles an hour.its orbiting at 19 miles a second, so its reckoned,
A sun that is the source of all our power.
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day.
In an outer spiral orb, at 40,000 miles an hour,
Of the galaxy we call the milky way
Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars.
Its a 100,000 light years side to side
It bulges in the middle 16,000 light years thick,
But out by us its just 3,000 light years wide.
Were 30,000 light years from galactic central point.
We go round every 200,000,000 years.
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe.
Our universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whiz
As fast as it can go, the speed of light you know, 12,000,000 miles a minute,
And thats the fastest speed there is!
So, remember when youre feeling very small and insecure
How amazingly unlikely is your birth.
And pray that theres intelligent life somewhere up in space,
cause Im afraid that weve been cheated here on earth.
song performed by by Clint Black
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Theory Of Earth First Life Forms
Science claims life on planet earth
has teemed thrived multiplied
diversified for millions of years
then when did earth life begin?
This is one of the greatest mysteries
still waiting to be scientifically unraveled
and the theory is our first life forms
were miraculous one-celled creatures
that appeared on earth about 3 billion years
ago through evolution or Transpermia?
It's life Jim but not as we know it know it?
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Hubble Spectrograph Slices Time
park dugout canoe
leave trees standing
knowledge is growing
through Hubble telescope viewing
invisible universe backbone mapping
list astounding revelations exciting
multi-wavelength colorful pictures
newly revealed far-flung galaxies
densely packed dust star clusters
biblical eerie 'pillar of creation'
beautiful 'butterfly' 'bug' nebula
birth of planets around alien stars
probing composition structures
of atmospheres on other worlds
galaxies star clusters studied objects
Hubble imaging across wide slices
of space electromagnetic spectrum
from ultraviolet to near-infrared light
spectrograph slices across billions
of light-years to map filamentary
structure of accelerated universe
to trace distribution of elements
fundamental to life possibilities
reveals never-before-seen infant
galaxies that once existed
when the universe was less
than 500 million years old
astronomers with ambitious star plans
use Hubble to make deepest-ever
portrait universe in near-infrared light
Hubble is significantly
more well-equipped
to explore probe further
characterize the behavior
of mystery dark energy
mysterious little-understood
repulsive force
that is pushing
our universe
further apart at
an ever-faster
increasing rate
mysteries
great cosmic mysteries
await solutions
poem by Terence George Craddock
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I Escape To 'The End Of The Universe
I ESCAPE TO ‘THE END OF THE UNIVERSE’
I escape to 'The End of the Universe’
‘What will be with us all? ’ I ask again and again.
But I do not answer what will be with my own children
And family in the years ahead.
It is easier to think of billions of years ahead
When I know it is not for me to do anything about it.
But in the real life
The few years left to me now
What will, what can I do
But pray for God’s Help
To keep my own family alive?
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Rising Sun
On the street of villains taken for a ride
you can have the devil as a guide
crippled by the boundaries, programmed into guilt
'til your nervous system starts to tilt.
And in the room of mirrors you can see for miles
but everything that's there is in disguise
every word you've uttered and every thought you've had
is all inside your file, the good and the bad.
But in the rising sun you can feel your life begin
universe at play inside your DNA
you're a billion years old today
oh the rising sun and the place it's coming from
is inside of you and now your payment's overdue
oh the rising sun, oh the rising sun.
On the avenue of sinners I have been employed
working there 'til I was near destroyed
I was almost a statistic inside a doctor's case
when I heard the messenger from inner space
he was sending me a signal that so for long I had
ignored
but he held on to my umbilical cord
until the ghost of memory trapped in my body mind
came out of hiding to become alive.
And in the rising sun you can hear your life begin
and it's here and there nowhere and everywhere
though it's atmosphere is rare
oh the rising sun and the place that it's coming from
is inside of me and now I feel it constantly
oh the rising sun, oh the rising sun, oh the rising
sun.
But in the rising sun you can feel your life begin
universe at play inside your DNA
you're a billion years old today
oh the rising sun and the place it's coming from
is inside of you and now your payment's overdue
oh the rising sun, oh the rising sun, oh the rising
sun.
song performed by by George Harrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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This Years Girl
See her picture in a thousand places
cause shes this years girl.
You think you all own little pieces
Of this years girl.
Forget your fancy manners,
Forget your english grammar,
cause you dont really give a damn
About this years girl.
Still youre hoping that shes well spoken
cause shes this years girl.
You want her broken with her mouth wide open
cause shes this years girl.
Never knowing its a real attraction,
All these promises of satisfaction,
While shes being bored to distraction
Being this years girl.
Times running out. shes not happy with the cost.
Thered be no doubt, only shes forgotten
Much more than shes lost.
A bright spark might corner the market
In this years girl.
You see yourself rolling on the carpet
With this years girl.
Those disco synthesizers,
Those daily tranquilizers,
Those body building prizes,
Those bedroom alibis,
All this, but no surprises for this years girl.
All this, but no surprises for this years girl.
All this, but no surprises for this years girl.
song performed by by Elvis Costello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Mysteries Of Love
All I want is you, dont you know that
Forever loving you, dont you know that its true
Im leaving you tonight but dont listen if they say
That well never meet again in the land of make believe
We cannot lose the race, breaking the secret spells
They put on us, my love
Were far out of their reach, a million years ahead
They never understand the mysteries of love
Heres the mysteries of love
Give your body to the mysteries
Tear down your uniforms
Heres the mysteries of love
All I want to be, dont you know it
All we wanna be is free like the birds of the sea
We kiss the last good byes and are sailing with a smile
cross the iron borderline that butterflies despise
We cannot lose at all
Breaking the secret spells they put on us, my love
Forever out of reach, a million dreams ahead
Theyll never understand
The mysteries of love
song performed by by Alphaville
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Missing Finger
You left us with ten fingers and,
Came back with nine fingers;
What really went wrong?
Fifteen years away from home,
We are yet to know what really went wrong;
Fifteen years away to make some money,
What really went wrong with your missing finger?
You made enough money and thought that,
You were richer than the President;
Today, you've returned home poorer than before!
There is time for everything,
A time to gain and a time to lose;
What really went wrong?
From a flight to your plight,
Who will help you now?
Fifteen years awayto make some money,
But today you can't even eat well at home;
From a flight to your plight,
Today you can't even sleep well at home;
Fifteen years away to make some money,
The very colours of the rainbow with a view;
You left us with ten fingers and,
Came back home with nine fingers;
What really went wrong?
From a flight to your plight,
Fifteen years away to make some money;
From the land of red, gold and green! !
From a flight to a plight,
It's all part of a lesson;
You are now at home at last.
The President was at the stadium but,
Where were you?
It is better to be humble than to boast.
Flight, sight, might, bright, tight, light;
You're poorer than fifteen years ago!
Bite, kite, height, fight, eight, plight;
You're poorer than fifteen years ago!
Quiet, rite, white, night, site, write;
You're poorer than fifteen years ago!
Today, the President is better off than you.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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It Is We Who Are Now
IT IS WE WHO ARE NOW
It is we who are we now
Us in this world as we are now
Which truly matters.
The rest
The billions of years of what will be
Or what was.
All the rest
The billions and billions of people
And minds and nights and galaxies also
All that otherness we will never know
It doesn’t matter.
We as we are in our own lifetimes
With those we love
This is what matters
Only this
Our life our loves
The time we have
Before we won’t have any.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Science Fiction Woman
She was my science fiction woman,
I was her science fiction man,
Yet our love was no fiction
In our science fiction land.
I wore my science fiction spacesuit,
She wore a spacesuit just like mine,
While we were floating together
In our science fiction minds.
She said her name was Taylor Trippy-
A flower child light years beyond-
She was a science fiction hippy-
A spacey and vivacious blonde.
She told me of our global warming,
Greenhouse gases, acid rain,
She told me everything I know
About the structure of the brain.
So we cruised through constellations
In our science fiction ship,
Transcending time and generations-
Forever free, forever hip.
She came from some unknown planet
In some uncharted galaxy,
And we were both kindred souls
In our cosmic fantasy.
And I don't know how I knew her
Or how we came to meet that night-
She was my science fiction woman,
Who traveled at the speed of light.
At night I look upon the ocean,
The distant stars where she might be-
She was my science fiction woman,
Who set my heart forever free.
June 17,2008
poem by Alexander Shaumyan
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What I have done is to show that it is possible for the way the universe began to be determined by the laws of science. In that case, it would not be necessary to appeal to God to decide how the universe began. This doesn't prove that there is no God, only that God is not necessary.
quote by Stephen Hawking
Submitted by Catalin Popescu
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Physics is the science of all the tremendously powerful invisibilities - of magnetism, electricity, gravity, light, sound, cosmic rays. Physics is the science of the mysteries of the universe. How could anyone think it dull?
Dick Francis in Twice Shy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Light
You make it sound easy
You say just hold your hand out dont you
You just hold your hand out dont you
That hope never leaves you
cos a light shines on that helps you to steer
Makes everything clear
(well it might)
Well it might in your world
(but it doesnt)
But it doesnt in mine
(Ive been stumbling)
Ive been stumbling in the dark for years
And the light just made me blind
You say it lights every pathway
Shows me how to live life
For the rest of my days
For the rest of my days
(but I cant)
But I cant put my faith in
(your words)
Your words and demands
(I believe)
I believe in God alright
Its folk like you I just cant stand
You dont have to try and scare me
To reinforce my faith sir
cos I know that one day
Ill stand before my maker
(and it Im found)
And if Im found wanting
(when my case)
When my case is heard
(itll be)
Itll be by the author
Not some interpreter of his words
You make it sound easy
You say just hold your hand out dont you
You just hold your hand out dont you
That hope never leaves you
cos a light shines on that helps you to steer
Makes everything clear
(well it might)
Well it might in your world
(but it doesnt)
But it doesnt in mine
(Ive been stumbling)
Ive been stumbling in the dark for years
And the light just made me blind
Yeah the light just made me blind
song performed by by Proclaimers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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There is no rational reason to doubt that the universe has existed indefinitely, for an infinite time. It is only myth that attempts to say how the universe came to be, either four thousand or twenty billion years ago.
quote by Hannes Alfven
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Flying at Night
lost in the universe
counting stars
hurtling through space
this spaceship
for six billion years
shunting through
crevices, corners
dark as the dark sky
the stars its guiding light
from corner to corner
this realm ever expanding
casting mysteries of its origin, vastness
only one or two manage to touch
its workings in figures and letters
einstein leading the pack
but the spaceship waits for no man
the realm waits for no one
every sphere expanding
moving us to somewhere
the corner of our mind
the corner of the realm
inspired by
Flying at Night
Above us, stars. Beneath us, constellations.
Five billion miles away, a galaxy dies
like a snowflake falling on water. Below us,
some farmer, feeling the chill of that distant death,
snaps on his yard light, drawing his sheds and barn
back into the little system of his care.
All night, the cities, like shimmering novas,
tug with bright streets at lonely lights like his.
Ted Kooser
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Big Bang with Horizon Problem
The crocodile rested idly on the Nile bank.
The Sun rose toward the zenith in the sky,
The hot air was trembling over unstirred grass
And an Egyptian plover landed near the river.
“Long time no see”, the crocodile said.
“Oh, I am very busy”, the wading bird answered.
“Is that so? ” the crocodile inquired.
“Oh yes”, the plover said, “I study astronomy.”
“Have you ever heard of the Horizon Problem? ” the plover asked.
“No, this is the first time that I hear that the horizon has a problem”.
“Well, we talk here about the horizon of the universe
And it is a scientific mystery. Mind you, the primeval atom
At the beginning of time exploded in the so called Big Bang
Nearly 14 billion years ago. Now, as you might know,
Nothing can travel faster than light. But when you look
Across the vast space of the visible cosmos, from one edge
To the other, you ought to consider that these two edges are
Approximately 28 billion years apart.”
“So what? ” the crocodile asked.
The plover took a deep breath. “Well, if nothing can travel
Faster than light and the universe is 14 billion years old,
How can the two edges of the universe be 28 billion years apart? ”
“Oh, I see”, the crocodile said.
“Maybe the Big Bang Theory is wrong”.
“Why”, the bird said, “the problem involves the exchange
Of information, energy and heat because these also
Can only occur at the speed of light.”
“I am somewhat at a loss to follow you”, the crocodile said.
“Look! Different distant regions of outer space in the cosmos
Are very far from each other and cannot communicate.
In spite of this, the microwave background radiation
Filling in the universe seems inscrutably uniform.
It measures the same temperature everywhere.”
“So, to me”, the crocodile said, “this just proves again
That the Big Bang Theory is wrong”.
“Not necessarily”, the plover objected.
“Consider, for example, the possibility that at its birth,
In less than a second after the Big Bang,
The early universe underwent an extremely rapid process
Of exponential expansion so that all its parts originated
In a casually connected region. Astrophysicists call this
Exponential expansion the Theory of Cosmic Inflation”.
“I am very impressed by your erudition”, the crocodile said.
“Thank you”, smiled the bird. “Also, Cosmic Inflation Theory
Can explain why the universe appears to be flat, isotropic
And homogenous, that is to say uniform in all orientation.”
“Flat? How can it be flat? ” the crocodile asked.
“My understanding is”, said the bird, “that when scientists
Talk about a flat universe, they mean a doughnut shaped
Three dimensional topological object known as torus.”
“Wow”, the crocodile exclaimed. “This is really amazing.
Yet I have another hypothesis. How about the possibility
That the speed of light has changed throughout the ages
After this colossal firecracker event of the Big Bang happened.”
“I think we should end this conversation now”,
The plover said, “because some humans are watching us
And they look like hunters rather than biologists.”
“Do not worry”, the crocodile said,
“They have no idea that we are aliens.”
poem by Paul Hartal
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