To wonder how anyone can read this without their head exploding!

[lemonsandlimes123]

Not literally obviously! But the ideas and scale of space I just find completely mind blowing! After a few minutes I just have to think about something else!


www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/16/astronomers-witness-neutron-stars-collide-global-rapid-response-event-ligo

[araiwa]

stuff like this blows my mind but also gives me great hope

[lemonsandlimes123]

Doesn't it just make you feel so tiny!

[araiwa]

They discovered where gold comes from!

Every person currently wearing any gold jewellry should look at it now and soend a moment to contemplate the journey of their ring, necklace etc

And how fucking smart was einstein!!??

[lemonsandlimes123]

I know! My tiny brain is now struggling to understand how the gold, platenum etc that is whizzing about 130million lights years away/ago got into the Earth! I do realise that this makes me sound like a bear of very little brain! Honestly I am quite intelligent, post grad quals and everything but this stuff just makes my brain implode!

[StoatofDisarray]

OMG it's Roy from the IT Crowd! Also, YANBU, it's fascinating and exciting news.

[lemonsandlimes123]

platinum! Don't know where that errant e came from!

[araiwa]

I like to watch the likes of lawrence krauss give talks.

I dont understand a lot but it comforts me that we have people like him that do.

[BeyondThePage]

"Every one of us is made of stardust." Ever since I read that in a book, the wide, wildness of space has felt more "home" to me, so I love the discoveries we are constantly making about our home.

[lemonsandlimes123]

There's also a tiny part of me that wonders if they are just making it all up!

[CigarsofthePharoahs]

I've always loved astronomical science. Most of it just so… well there isn't words for it! Colliding neutron stars. Which came from supernovae, which are exploding stars.
[baffling emoticon]

[araiwa]

I like how recently that 2 things- gravitational waves and the higgs-boson, that were theorised many years ago have now been proved due to hard work of many great minds

[Mishappening]

I know how you feel - it truly is mind-blowing!

[OnlyParentsAreReal]

I mean it's just confirmation of things they already knew and have been expecting to prove for a while now.

[lemonsandlimes123]

onlyparents - I wish I could be as blasé as you! I am a bit more goldfish like in my response!

[araiwa]

Yeah- predicted 100 years ago- its hugely impressive

Like darwins theory when he had no idea of dna yet now weve mapped it all and he was right

[safariboot]

The progress is remarkable too. The first time any gravitational waves were detected was only two years ago, and already we're doing astronomy with them.

In the next decade it'll probably go like finding other planets has. We knew hardly any, and then the discoveries just come at a faster and faster pace.

[viques]

It is extraordinary isn't it.

I find the whole time/distance thing fascinating and incomprehensible at the same time. I went on a visit to the astronomy centre in kielder during the summer and the astronomers there were great at explaining, but I really can't understand it at all, though their enthusiasm was inspiring. I don't think I ever realised the size of our galaxy, and then to see an image of the furthest visible thing from Hubble and realise it is from another galaxy was extraordinary. 13.4 billion light years if you are interested!

When you are looking at images from across space of stars that might not even exist any more because of the time and distance I go all blurry around the brain area! I suppose it works the other way too, aliens looking at images of our planet from 65 million proper years ago might think , hmm, nice dinosaurs, shame about no life forms with opposable thumbs (or tentacles)

[lemonsandlimes123]

viques - you have just bent my mind round again!

[Shakey15000]

When I learnt, years ago, that the stars we were "looking at" weren't really there I honestly couldn't get my head around it. I know it to be true etc but it just staggers me.

[OlennasWimple]

Have you heard the recording of the sound of the explosion? Spine tingling

[OnlyParentsAreReal]

lemons I guess if they had found something different than what they had expected it would be more interesting/exciting, but they've been hammering on about this for months now. I'm much more interested in the moon base as there are so many unknowns right now

[soupforbrains]

Yes Viques!

That side of things fascinates me too. It's one of the reasons why when people talk about the various radio signals that emit from this planet as part of the hunt for ExtraTerrestrial life and people say "well it's been running continuously for 10 years and hasn't found anything" and you have to remember that actually even if another lifeform has developed at a similar rate to our species and has developed similar technology at a similar time it would take thousands/millions/ even billions of years for their signal to reach us and vice versa.

You should all listen to the Infinite Monkey Cage podcast. It's SO good for teaching you things in a genuinely scientific but also humorous way. That podcast has blown my mind more times than I dare count. You can get ALL the episodes from the beginning on free download, I only discovered it about a year ago and listened to the entire back catalogue to catch up.

[TheSnorkMaidenReturns]

It's just the most amazing news. I mean we 'knew' before but this is something else. My mind was blown by astronomy many years ago .

[Youshallnotpass]

The universe is absolutely fascinating, as someone above said - every bit of gold and platinum came from 2 Neutron Stars colliding. Things we wear on our person.

Also an incredible thought is that Earth doesn't gain or lose mass (apart from the odd comet) so you are made of particles/atoms which are billions of years old, possibly since the Big Bang.

[KickAssAngel]

The idea of infinity blows my mind. I mean, everything has to end, doesn't it? There must be an edge somewhere, right? If space is infinite, and goes on forever, then where does it go to? But if it isn't infinite, then what's beyond it?

And yet, getting home to the UK to see my family, just 4,000 miles, seems like such a long journey.