A BROWN MAN'S JOURNEY

I have always wanted to become an astronomer when I was a child. But growing up in a country where the only opportunity for astronomers is to be part of the weather bureau, I learned how to be realistic with my dreams early on. In the tropical Philippines, the weather is so unpredictable, especially during the months of May to June, when we cannot really tell whether the summer is over or not. It's very sunny in the morning and then rain will fall heavily during the later part of the day, often stranding people from the office and schools because of flooded streets. I remember everybody blaming the PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) for not foretelling the weather correctly. So now, the forecast almost always say "it's going to be sunny with scattered rains and thunderstorms", what the hell was that supposed to mean?! Yes, it's going to be sunny but it might rain with thunderstorms in some parts. Since we only have 2 possibilities, then it's a safe prediction.

I remember at an early age of 10, I frequently go to the different libraries of our school to read on big bang, worm holes, the works. Even though I don't really grasp the entire meaning behind the huge numbers, formula, and probabilities at that time, I understood the meaning of light-years, and thus was able to relate how vast the universe is. I got to know who Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking were. It was a roller coaster ride with science. Star Wars and Star Trek became more interesting to watch. Sadly, I could hardly relate to anybody about these marvelous things that I was learning. I don't have anybody to talk to about them. My aspirations changed when I started highschool and got introduced with a personal computer. I wrote my first BASIC program in 1987 and never stop since then. This is where I built my career into.

But even if this is the case now, I don't think my passion for astronomy has completely disappeared. A part of me still carries that great interest about our universe, only this time, I hope to share them with my boys. Although I really need to brushed up on the latest information. If you know how and where to look, the internet is a treasure trove of facts.

With this entry, I'd like to bring you back to that time when we look up to the sky in a clear night and wonder about the number of stars and how big the universe is. We all know that the universe is big. But knowing that something is big is very different from having an idea and visualizing how big it is. I know that people tend to lose interest and sense when astronomers start blabbering about eons, millions, billions, and gazillions when they talk about the size of the universe. It's not that we don't care about the universe, it's just that these numbers are friggin' hard to understand. So please bear with me and let me try to explain how I understand it:

Kung-fu lesson: The measurement. We need to travel about 40,000 Km to go around the world in a straight line along the equator. If the speed of light is 300,000 Km per second, this means that light can go around the world 7 1/2 times in 1 second, that's uber-fast! With our distance from the Sun, it takes approximately 8 minutes for the sunlight to reach the Earth.

Now at this speed, let's imagine how far light can travel in 1 year, and that is what we mean with a "light-year", the basic measurement of distance in space. It's beyond comprehension to try to express these distances in meters or feet which we are all very familiar with. Our known galaxy, the Milky Way is comprised of billions and billions of stars like the Sun. How huge our Milky Way galaxy is? With the speed of light mentioned above, it will take 100,000 years for light to travel across it.

Fascinating, isn't it? Wait, there's more...

The Hubble space telescope was launched into orbit in 1990, although it didn't performed well at first until it was fixed in 1993, it took some great sharp images of space. Then in 1995, it was focused on a certain patch in space for 10 days. It's called the Hubble's Ultra Deep Field image, this is what most astronomers believe to be the greatest image man has ever captured in our time. This is what they found:
In that one special patch of space alone that looks utterly empty, thousands and thousands of other galaxies appeared, not stars, but galaxies. Each with billions of stars like our Milky Way! This image is nothing less than awe-inspiring and profoundly humbling. Now let's pause a bit in awe and wonder how insignificant our planet is in this universal scale. Doesn't it seem to be more likely that there may be hundreds or even thousands of other life-harbouring planets like ours out there?
This is the Pinwheel galaxy, the most detailed image taken by the Hubble Telescope of a spiral galaxy similar with our Milky Way. It's just one of the thousands of galaxies that appeared in that small patch of space above. Each tiny white spot on this image that collectively forms what appears to be clouds is actually a star, like our Sun and each having the possibility of planets revolving around them like our very own solar system. Doesn't it sound almost absurd to believe that our Earth is the only planet that can harbour life?

Pushing it a little further, the universe is so big that some stars that we see blinking during a clear night might already be dead. Why? Because they are so far away that it took millions of years for the light to travel, in time for us to see them still blinking. Unbelievable? This is how time and space are complexly intertwined. And you know what's more interesting? All of them are getting farther and farther from each other since the universe is believe to be continuously and rapidly expanding. Expanding in where? Well, I don't wanna go that far. It is estimated now that the universe is currently 47 billion light-years across. And you know that black background that we see in space or when we look up in the sky at night? We always thought that it's nothingness, but actually astronomers now believe that some parts of it or if not all is something, it's currently called dark matter.

Let me then ask you this, as a person who believes in God and the creation, is it right to think that God created all of these for us alone? If you really think so, then my friend I tell you, "what a waste". It's because the same religious people who believe that we are indeed alone, since we're created according to God's image, also believe that the end is actually near. With what little knowledge we have learned about the universe now, then the entirety of it are just plain wasted when the end comes. This really puzzles me, where's the humility in believing that premise? Isn't it so selfish for us to think that we're actually alone in the vastness of the universe?

We're so preposterous to even be selecting the most beautiful woman for the title of Miss Universe apart from Miss World.

I believe we are not alone, somebody else out there might be wondering if they are not alone too. I don't think this idea should conflict in our beliefs with a creator. Ironically, for me understanding more about the universe actually reinforces that belief. Can't the big bang theory be somewhat "influenced" or the actual "process" in which God created the universe? Or can't the other lifeforms out there be similar with us in appearance? We need to have an open mind and a humble heart to maybe understand a little further of what's in store for us and our connection in the universe.