Questions about space
After watching great gaps of blue sky blow over all yesterday afternoon it settled into thick cloud by the time it was dark and we were at the Grizedale Observatory. This happens so frequently the evening is built around other stuff so that being able to use the telescopes is a sort of bonus add on. We looked at the space Lego collection, had a great lecture, watched a film in the planetarium, viewed some meteorites under microscopes, and hung out in a shed with the big ass telescope. It was a great time and we got a mug.
Then on the drive back we saw a barn owl and a badger, and discussed the existence or not of free will. Lovely!
A reasonable question would be, why go to an observatory in the middle of a grey cloudy week so close to the solstice? To which I reply, well, we were nearby.
Another visitor summed things up as "so basically we're meaningless and nothing matters." Which to me is an extremely valid way of reacting to space. My wife is in disagreement. Thinking about space gives me an existential crisis but I keep doing it because space is cool. And also terrifying.
I'm not sure I even believe in space. Maybe astronomers and astrophysicists are just trolling us. What do you mean our universe might be inside a black hole? What am I supposed to do with this information?
They can't even figure out how to reconcile two completely different systems of physics! Get back to me when you've got your shit sorted, astrophysicists.
The very lovely astronomers at the observatory kept asking if we had any questions. Yes! Lots of questions! Again, what am I supposed to do with this knowledge? How am I supposed to conceive of things forty-six billion times the size of our sun when I can only conceive of our sun as a bright coin in the sky? How am I supposed to be chill let alone excited about stuff happening in a million years when not only my self and everyone I know and love has been well and truly obliterated from existence but almost certainly everything I know and can conceive of as well? How dare you? What the fuck?
Those would be my questions. For a start.
★ Part of It's the stars ★
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