Cheery Sunday Morning Thoughts

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Mark17

When we look at a distant star, what we're actually seeing is the light it emitted millions of light years ago. In some cases, that star may not even exist anymore. Conversely, if some being is on a planet right now that is 66 million light years from earth, if they have a telescope powerful enough to view our planet, they'd see dinosaurs walking around.

Which brings us to a recent discussion between Nork and his father, who live on a planet 120 light years from earth...

"Whatcha looking at through your telescope, Nork?"

"I'm watching that bow-legged creature with the short pants and "P" symbol on his lid. He can really hit that little ball and then he scoots around so fast nobody can catch him."

"Well, Nork, remember, you're watching events that took place 120 years ago. That bow-legged speedster probably no longer exists." Seeing the sadness in his son's eyes, Nork's dad quickly added, "But since he is obviously superior at what he is doing, compared to his peers, the creatures on his planet probably still revere him to this day. In fact, they probably collect and save pictures of him, so he'll never be forgotten."

Neil deGrasse Tyson or Carl Sagan couldn't have said it better.