Overthinking Clearly

Here's a few facts I learned (or better said - picked-up) during my long-time fascination with the Universe. I am not an expert in any of this, but I like to acquire information. I also like to share with others what I learned. So, here goes ...

1. Universe is big. Really BIG.

To start thinking about the size of the Universe we don't need to immediately start thinking about billions of light-years to have an idea that Universe is really big. For the start, it's enough to think only about the distance between us and the star that is closest to the Earth.

The closest star to the Earth (outside the Sun) is Proxima Centauri, at 4.22 light-years distance. So, how much is a light-year?

I'm not a scientist and I don't claim to understand a lot about this apparently HUGE scientific discovery, but I don't think this should stop me in sharing some videos I watched and articles I read. After all, here I'm assuming the role of a mere messenger, a messenger that was always fascinated by space and science. I also believe that every scientific discovery is a sign of mankind's progress towards a better future.

Gravitational waves are "ripples" in spacetime which behave like waves when you throw a stone in water, going outwards from the source. Now for the first time this effect has been observed on Earth.

As passionate Twitter users would say "Facebook is for connecting with people you went to high school with. Twitter is for connecting with people you wish you went to high school with".

This is my small collection of interesting twitter accounts you should follow. It is sorted in no particular order.

United Nations - @UN

"The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after WW II by countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights."

"I wish you health, happiness & success in the Year of the Monkey" - Ban Ki-moon on Lunar New Year - #ChineseNewYearhttps://t.co/OiPzaJiiqY

— United Nations (@UN) February 6, 2016

Here's a video where Bill Gates unveils his vision for the world's energy future. Find 30 minutes of free time to hear Bill Gates talk about ecology and climate.

At TED2010, Bill Gates unveils his vision for the world's energy future, describing the need for "miracles" to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he's backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The necessary goal? Zero carbon emissions globally by 2050.

You can read more about Innovation to zero emissions on Bill Gates' website.

(Copyright 2010 The Gates Notes, LLC.)

In this TEDx talks video Lucianne Walkowicz explains the importance of preserving our dark night sky from the perils of light pollution and other lesser-known factors. In Lucianne's eyes, "Our night sky is a natural resource, it's like a park you can visit without ever having to travel there."

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More about Lucianne Walkowicz:

She studies the inscrutable faces of the stars for clues to the inner workings of their hearts. She got her taste for astronomy as an undergrad at Johns Hopkins, testing detectors for the Hubble Space Telescope's new camera (installed in 2002). She also learned to love the dark stellar denizens of our galaxy, the red dwarfs, which became the topic of her PhD dissertation at University of Washington.

(Video and Lucianne's biography taken from: TEDxPhoenix - Lucianne Walkowicz - Look Up for a Change YouTube video.)