PERSPECTIVE
NASA image of Earth taken by Voyager 1 from 3.7 billion miles away as it was speeding out of our solar system
“We are each alotted a sliver of space-time, wedged between not yet and no more. Which we fill with a lifetime of joys and sorrows; immensities of thought and feeling, all deducible to electrical impulses coursing through us at 80 feet per second, yet responsible for every love poem that has ever been written, every symphony ever composed, every scientific breakthrough measuring out nerve conduction and mapping out space-time. ”
The most distant human-made object, Voyager 1, is currently located a whopping 25 billion miles away out in interstellar space, having exited the solar system after a tour of the nearest gas giant planets. A journey lasting 46 years to date. To conceptualize just how far away this probe is from us, communication both to and from Voyager 1 traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) takes an astounding 22.5 hours each way. Meaning one simple command and response results in a full two day waiting period to complete. During it’s time within the solar system, Voyager sent back some incredible images of our closest planetary neighbors and furthering our understanding of the universe. The resilience of these probes and the fact that they continued to function for so long beyond their anticipated lifetimes is a testament to the craftsmanship of those involved in their creation and has given us much to study and learn from.
Visual representation of the paths taken by Voyager 1 and 2.
Launced in 1977, Voyager 1 (actually launching 16 days after it’s twin, Voyager 2) began a long journey among the planets traveling to Jupiter, Saturn, and studying their moons before going to where no human object has ever gone before. During the celestial tour, the probes sent back amazing photos of the planets giving us new perspectives of our planetary neighborhood. But perhaps the most notable photograph was of something more familiar to us all. On February 17th of 1990, NASA sent one final command to the probe to turn and direct it's cameras towards earth and snap the very first selfie from outer space. This iconic image became known as “The Pale Blue Dot”: as the image shows our entire world as a tiny speck, barely visible, but interestingly caught in a ray of sunlight. Highlighting both the seemingly insignificant position we hold against such an incomprehensibly large universe as well as the fragility and uniqueness we possess against such an immense background, this image is the epitome of what it is to understand the value of perspective.
The Radiolab podcast has done a couple of amazing stories on the Voyager probes, highlighting some of the amazing ingenuity of the brilliant crews who have cared for these stellar explorers and have extended their lives beyond whatever could have been imagined the day they left the launchpad. I highly suggest checking those out - you will definitely develop an admiration and fondness for these technological marvels.
Visual information on Voyager and “The Pale Blue Dot”
As I’ve said many times, and which is so true in all areas of our reality, multiple things can be both true and not true at the same time. Humanity is quite special and we should celebrate our existence and the lives we get the privilege to live out while at the same time being humbled as we gaze out at the night sky at the literal billions of other stars and planets that are out there of which we still know very little about. Check out a previous blog post I did (The Fragility of Certainty) where I discussed the concept of epistemic humility as it definitely applies here as well. Perspective.
All that being said, we should all take a moment from time to time to reflect on what a gift it is just to be alive. As the well-known physicist, Neil Degrass Tyson, pointed out once: of all of the unique arrangements of DNA that have historically existed and that currently do exist, including you and I, the majority of them will never exist. So congratulations, you and I both won the physical lottery and were awarded the rare gift of physical reality! The mere fact of our existence is a rare blessing we’ve been given and our only objective is to explore our talents and learn ways in which we can use our gifts to serve others, which will naturally lead to finding meaning and purpose in the world. The fact that you are alive is proof that you’re needed here at this time for a reason, otherwise you would not exist, plain and simple. Perspective.
Life is difficult and painful, but also all a part of the human experience. When things seem dark and bleak, look for what can be learned from the difficulty rather than being consumed by it. As cliche as it sounds, things will always improve as you gravitate closer towards the things that appeal to your unique nature and act on what you intuit what is in your best interest. Perspective.
I for one am thankful for these perspectives such as The Pale Blue Dot or the Earthrise photos taken from the moon, which provide a perspective which the majority of humanity never got the ability to see. Understanding that we are all in this together, regardless of country of origin or nationality, we are all on this tiny speck on the surface of a tiny sphere living our lives under a razor thin atmosphere, which is the only thing between us and the darkness of space helps reinforce the fact that we are all a part of the human family. We are all connected in such profound ways it makes sense that the most important lesson from the scriptures is to love your neighbor as yourself. Whatever you do to others, you are essentially doing to yourself. The qualities we would like to see others exhibit must first be seen in our own actions. What you give is what you get. Perspective.
