The Hubble Telescope: My Take Away

What I take away from the Hubble

Posted Aug. 22, 2011

The Hubble has shown us the most amazing pictures any human has (or likely will) ever see with the human eye. There is this thing called "The Observable Universe". The "Observable" in this case pertains to the visibility of light. This is where it gets all so overwhelming.

Our own section of the universe was created almost 14 billion years ago. We've determined that because our best optical telescopes (like the Hubble) can only see that far. However, is there something that exist beyond 14 billion years?

We shall never know other then through math equations and assumptions. This is so because we've only been around this neck of the universe for about 14 billion years. That's how long it takes for light to reach us here in our current position.

Had we been around for 30 billion years, we might be able to optically see 30 billion years into the past.

The whole concept over powers the imagination. Why not 100 billion?
Why not infinity?

On top of that since we are moving, at who knows what speed, away from other stars, light may never reach us from the presumed edge of the universe even if we exist 10 billion years from now.

Say for example, even if we were a 100 billion years old. We still may never observe stars that are moving away from us at the speed of light. This because the light would never get here.. EVER!

Then there's this whole speed thing. Just how fast is our galaxy traveling?
And relative to what?

Suppose our true galaxy speed was half the speed of light, would not our own references of time last approximately twice as long as another galaxy's who was not?

See this time thing cracks my mind wide open. If one were to travel at the speed of light itself, theoretically time would stop.

A biblical passage in Daniel said that each day with God is as of 1,000 years of man. Years ago I did the math. Through a transitional equation of numbers, that work's out to 99 percent and a fraction to that of the speed of light.

Is this why biblical passages keep keeping referring to the creator as "the light"?

So every time I stare at one of the Hubble pictures, this is all the stuff that comes to mind for me. It's also the kind of stuff that puts everything into perspective for me.