Thursday, July 19, 2012

A thousand miles an hour...

Sometimes I don't think we stop often enough and think about how amazing the Universe actually is.

Take a look at this animated representation of what our solar system looks like.  It's so easy to forget that not only are the planets revolving around the Sun, they're all moving together through space.

It's like they're dancing.




It reminds me of a quote from the first Doctor Who episode (well, the first from the new series), where the Doctor is talking to Rose.
"It's like when you're a kid, the first time they tell you that the world is turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still.  I can feel it ... the turn of the earth.  The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour.  The entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour.  And I can feel it.  We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world.  And if we let go ..."
Trippy, huh?

31 comments:

  1. That IS pretty trippy - - although I'm a headacher and it could just be my brain right now :)

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    1. It made me go a bit cross eyed the first time I watched it.

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  2. I love this kind of stuff, and I love the animation!

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  3. WOW, if you stare at that video long enough you can really get a great free buzz. Thanks!!! Oh and guess what arrived yesterday- My vegemite. My family is so excited to try it!!!

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  4. Reminds me of the concept of "The music of the spheres" -- hey, I bet that's what the planets are dancing to!

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  5. I love it! And it's a great reminder for all of us to just pause in awe.. And to think of this entire universe, look at all of us connecting with one another.. Awe-mazing! And so are YOU! Sending lots of love my bloggee pal! :) - Great post!

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    1. Wouldn't it be amazing to see a representation of a whole galaxy moving like that! Kind of mind blowing.

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  6. I think about this crap all the time, to the point of freaking myself the hell out. (What's the meaning of infinity?? What was there before the 'big bang?' 'What happens to me after I die? etc etc... mind-benders...) :)

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    1. How long is a piece of string ... if a tree falls in the forest and no one's around to hear, do the other trees laugh at it ...

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  7. Wow, what a fabulous quote and cool animation! And you’re right, of course, about our amazing universe. :)

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    1. I thought immediately of that quote when I saw the picture.

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  8. I thought you were going to break out into the Monty Python song from The Meaning of Life. I'll take Dr Who though, still a good quote.

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    1. I'll confess, I was tempted to use Monty Python, but I decided to go with deep and meaningful :D

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  9. It's amazing that we can ever forget it! But we just go on with our lives, oblivious. And we never fall off!

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  10. That gyration is way cool. I didn't imagine it like that, so see I learned something new thanks to your post!

    Thank you for the hug thru the computer!! I toyed with sharing that and it was taken so warmly, I really appreciate it.

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    1. I'm glad you liked it, when I found it I just knew I had to share. If I thought it was awesome, I knew everyone else would too.

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  11. You got a thing for that doctor, don't ya?

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    1. I firmly believe that one day a big blue box will land in my front yard and the Doctor will whisk me away to have adventures in space and time. Well, a girl can dream...

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  12. I watched that animation for a bit. Then I got up and fell down. Perhaps it just made me dizzy but I think maybe the planet was cut off in mid-orbit and had to come to a sudden stop.

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    1. Maybe it's the end of the world! Maybe the planet has stopped spinning because it's 2012 and everyone knows the world will end in 2012!

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  13. Reading this first thing in the morning is better than wake-and-baking. Look at my hands, they're so big. And if we all jump at the same time, will we mess up the Earth's orbit, man? Oh man, you got any Funyuns?
    In all seriousness, I loved this. I love being reminded of the amazing things happening around us all the time.

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    1. I kinda want to try that whole "jumping at the same time" thing and see what happens. I'm going to assume that we all end up in a parallel universe!

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  14. What a great quote from the ninth doctor...Mmmm, Christopher Eccleston *drools like a perv*
    And that image is strangely hypnotic. I have always had this constant fascination with the world and all it's magic, ever since I was a child. I remember being really depressed at the age of 13 because I desperately wanted answers to what it was all about and didn't receive any. Now I just marvel at it's creation.

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    1. I don't think we're supposed to work out what it's all about. I think maybe the point is to experience it, not dissect it.

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  15. I really have to watch this show. I was under the impression that it was about a homicidal doctor. Am I wrong here?

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    1. Start with the Christopher Eccleston episodes and go from there. Try to forgive the poor quality of the first episode, it gets dramatically better in the second and through the rest of the first season. Then, if you're like every other red blooded girl out there, you'll fall in love with David Tennant when he becomes the Doctor in the second season. Trust me, go watch them!

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  16. I think the comedian Louis C.K would agree with you. 'Every things amazing and no one is happy.;
    http://youtu.be/8r1CZTLk-Gk
    I try to do what he suggests every time I get on a plane...am waiting to be kicked off one any day now.

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