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The concept of space is so intriguing that it fascinated our ancestors, and to this day, humans have been trying to figure out the big mysteries that it possesses. Even with all the technology that we have, we barely know anything about it.

However, what we do know for sure is that it’s scary as hell, literally! From black holes to monster moons, space comprises so many disturbing things that our brains won’t even be able to digest a few of them. If it still fascinates you, then scroll down to check out some terrifying facts about it that netizens have shared!

#1

Two people using telescopes to observe a starry night sky, highlighting how space is scarier than we think. Time is not linear due to the constant expansion of space therefore time is expansive.

Phytanic replied:

also time is a function of gravity. the earths core is ~2.5 years younger than the crust

Velocity_Rob replied:

I can relate to that. I feel like my core is still only 28 but my crust is definitely 40.

Argybargyass , ahmadzada Report

Slapdash1
Community Member
4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Big bowl of timey-wimey stuff

Hilary Davis
Community Member
4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff"

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ColdSteelRonin
Community Member
4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Time is an abstract concept of something that doesn't really exist. Yes, it can be marked and measured, but only by devices which we have fashioned to do so to suit or concept.

Abel
Community Member
4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

F**K EINSTEIN 😡 /j

Michael Largey
Community Member
4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Time is expansive. It always expands to the amount of time allotted to the job.

RELATED:
    #2

    Vast deep space with stars, galaxies, and cosmic dust illustrating terrifying facts about space's unknown dangers. That the universe is expanding, but not into anything. Space itself is stretching, and there’s no edge, no center, no “outside.” It’s not just vast, it’s fundamentally beyond how our brains are wired to understand reality.

    TheLegitimateGoose Report

    Martin Kaine
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

    Spidercat
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes but wait till it ends. You can have a nice sit down with a lovely meal and a great view. I hear the steak is excellent but a poor conversationalist.

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    Joy
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Space might actually be the eternity we can see

    Chicken Nugget
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The center of the universe is the big bang

    Abel
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Call it singularity.

    Son of Philosoraptor
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We are on the expanding three dimensional surface of a 4 dimensional sphere.

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This should be heard in the voice of either Carl Sagan or Rod Serling.

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    #3

    Three people wearing crowns outdoors at sunset, reaching toward floating balloons, illustrating space is scarier than we think. Terrifying? Maybe not terrifying…but the fact that all the stupid stuff we are doing to earth and each others doesn’t mean squat in the grand sense of things. Our earth could suddenly be destroyed by so many things in so many ways by some extraterrestrial event….and it won’t matter, we won’t matter. This is all we’ve got and we’re making a right mess of it all.

    IronRakkasan11 , freepik Report

    Bonnie Blue Bird
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It does matter ... and we need to do better

    Peter Bear
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It only matters to us. We are not capable of 'destroying the world'. The world was here before us and will continue long after we are gone. We are, however, capable of destroying ourselves, and doing a scarily good job of it.

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    Abel
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is a quote from Asimov: "There are two possibilities: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying"

    No Man
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Human beings CAN'T destroy the Earth. We can certainly make if nearly uninhabitable for human beings, but even if we irradiate the planet, the planet will endure. People won't.

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sometimes the fact that something doesn't matter itself doesn't matter.

    Nina Milevoj
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    “If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.”

    I literally had goosebumps when I was scrolling through the list because some of these facts are so destructive, it honestly put me in an existential crisis. Now you might wonder why that happens, but the truth is that the universe is something completely unknown. While science continues to push the boundaries of our understanding, the deeper we delve, the more we uncover how little we truly grasp.

    It has been observed that humans thrive on sameness, repetition, and ritual, but fear the unknown, the unfamiliar, the uncertain. When confronted with facts that challenge our perception of reality or highlight the fragile nature of our existence, it’s only natural to feel disturbed, isn't it? After all, we are trying to find order and meaning in a universe that offers neither!

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    #4

    Large diverse crowd sitting outdoors on stone steps, illustrating how space is a lot scarier than we think. If we are truly alone in the universe and mankind wipes itself out, the universe will continue to exist without any life, no one to comprehend the universe. That seems sad and scary.

    If we are not alone, then that is an equally scary prospect.

    northernbloke , EyeEm Report

    Bonnie Blue Bird
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wonder if aliens are better to their planet than we are to ours

    JayWantsACat
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    IIRC, there is that theory that is one explanation for Permi's Paradox in that every civilization that gets to a certain point, technology wise, ends up destroying itself. Which explains why we haven't found evidence of aliens and why they may never find us.

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    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If mankind wiped itself out, there still would be other forms of life existing (and grateful that their trashy neighbors have gone).

    Phil Green
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Mankind is the only life on the planet? There was life before humans came along, there will be life long after we've gone. Perhaps the OP means sentient life? Something will evolve to take its place at the top of the tree.

    Grm Moore
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No-one? Pretty arrogant to think only we think in the vastness of the universe, you don't understand how big it is and how insignificant we are. Not just our planet, us, a recent species in the long line of species that have come and gone.

    SkippityBoppityBoo
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've a cartoon photo someone made during 2020. It was an alien holding it's chin with Earth in the palm of its hand and the thought bubble said "Erm, nope!"

    Ravenkbh
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Aliens don't come here cause they know if they touch my wife I'm going to f*ck them up

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    #5

    Astronaut in red space suit inside dark cave, illustrating why space is a lot scarier than we think with eerie lighting. There are voids in the universe that are so big that if you were teleported to the center with a spacesuit on, you would just see pitch darkness in all directions.

    EDIT: Whoah. This blew up quickly. Thank you for the silver! EDIT: And the Wholesome! And the Helpful!

    Ronald_Deuce , freepik Report

    nut nibbler
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My foot would still find the only piece of Lego for light years.

    Cora Han
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Unless your space suit had it's own light source, you would see *nothing*

    Ravenkbh
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I see this when I fall asleep at my cubicle and the janitors turn the lights off

    Yousef Wacko
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Forget the darkness in all directions; if you held your hand one inch in front of your eyes, you would not see it. You literally would be blind because there would be zero light for your eyes to perceive.

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    #6

    View of Earth from space showing city lights with sunrise and starry galaxy, highlighting how space is scarier than we think. It's a big bunch of stuff zipping around with no regard for us and there's almost nothing we can do to influence it.

    A giant rock could be flung into our planet and wipe out all life, and the universe would go on without a blip. We don't matter in the least.

    NetDork , tawatchai07 Report

    Arabiata Arabiata
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Don't worry, the President will send the National Guard into space to protect the nation's interests.

    Oerff On Tour
    Community Member
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And Bruce Willis will sacrifice his life to save the money [edit:I mean planet]

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    Ravenkbh
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why doesn't congress DO something????

    Joy
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And where are the Democrats? They've disappeared.

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    Beth H
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Maybe for once a conversation doesn’t have to devolve into a political discourse? Let’s just talk about space. So much anxiety and negativity in the world.

    As wild and unsettling as some of these things might sound, just imagine actually seeing them in person. Being an astronaut might seem like the ultimate dream job, and in many ways, it is, but the reality of going to space is way more intense than most of us realize.

    In fact, research suggests that space travel can take a heavy toll on astronauts, ranging from positive effects like ‘the overview effect’ to negative effects such as sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression. The overview effect is when astronauts see Earth from space and get this deep, almost spiritual sense of how fragile Earth is, and how they are connected to it.

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    #7

    Group of people sitting around a campfire under a vast starry sky, illustrating how space is a lot scarier than we think. On a grand scale, everything is getting further and further apart. Stars will one day disappear from the sky.

    sunbearimon , freepik Report

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Everything is getting farther and farther away - peace of mind, financial solvency, the rule of law, ...

    Kate
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The U.S. constitution and Bill of Rights.

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    Trophy Husband
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This isn't true. The stars within our own Galaxy are not getting further from us. And that's most of what you see up there. The other galaxies, almost all of which require a telescope to see even in the darkest of locations, are what will eventually go away...

    Bored Seagull
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The stars will disappear due to reaching the end of their life, but not due to cosmic expansion. Almost all stars we can see with the naked eye are part of the Milky Way, and thus gravitationally bound to it. This prevents the stars from passing outside of our cosmological horizon.

    Freddy M. (He/Him)
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think eventually the expansion is supposed to get so fast that even light can't keep up with it, preventing the light from the stars from reaching earth because the space between the light and earth is growing larger faster than the light is moving

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    SkippityBoppityBoo
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is true from the TV programmes I've watched but we don't have to worry about it because by the time it happens? Chances are we humans will have been extinct for a few millennia 👍🙂

    Abel
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Or the big crunch? Who knows...

    JayWantsACat
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    IIRC, I think the craziest thing I've read about expansion is that it's growing faster than light so there are parts of the universe that we'll NEVER be able to see because the light will never reach us.

    Tom Brincefield
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Cosmological horizon or cosmic event horizon. There are actually a few different kinds, with lots of math in their definitions.

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    #8

    Woman wearing glasses with hair in a bun appearing to hold the sun in her mouth against an orange sunset sky, space concept. The sun is unbearably loud. All stars are very loud.

    Enough_Estimate7141 replied:

    This is a stunning thought.

    anon Report

    Bonnie Blue Bird
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I agree, I would love to hear the sun

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Very loud and very bright. So, an unusual combination.

    ColdSteelRonin
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    From Astronomy.com: One heliophysicist crunched the numbers and estimates the noise would be around 110 decibels, or about the same volume as speakers at a rock concert.

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    #9

    Vivid view of space filled with stars, nebulae, and a glowing galaxy highlighting the vast and terrifying nature of space. How incomprehensively large the universe is.

    UrdnotZigrin replied:

    There are about 400 billion stars in our galaxy, with an average of slightly more than one planet per star. That means that within our galaxy, there are over 400 billion opportunities for life to have evolved. This isn't even counting all of the moons, comets, asteroids, etc. within our solar system, or even the idea that life could evolve twice on the same world.
    On top of that, we live in a pretty average-sized galaxy that is one of over two trillion galaxies estimated to be within the observable universe. Given that the Cosmological Principle essentially says that space is the same in all directions, that would mean an average of over 400 billion chances for life to appear, 2 TRILLION times.
    There is life elsewhere in this universe. No matter how rare the existence of life is, even if it's a 1 in a trillion chance, that's still more than 800 trillion chance of life appearing.

    Routine_Mine_3019 , wahyu_t Report

    April Pickett
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    To me, it's impossible for there not to be more life in all of the the universe. We may never know about them, but they are out there, somewhere.

    Trophy Husband
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "And still it's all a speck I'm at 100 billion stars in a galaxy we call the Milky Way. It's 60,000 trillion miles from one end to the other and still that's just a fraction of the way. Cuz there's 100 billion galaxies that stretch across the sky filled with constellations planets moons and stars. And still the universe extends to a place that never ends which is maybe just inside a little jar."

    Jeremy James
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "We are thinking in a way that separates intelligence from the rocks. Where there are rocks, watch out! Because the rocks are going eventually to come alive, and they'll have people crawling over them." --Alan Watts

    SkippityBoppityBoo
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think that it can be pretty arrogant of us to think we're the only intelligent type of life form in the whole universe. There's probably life out there but not life forms as they are on Earth. They may just be single cell organisms or whatever. Bacteria...

    Yousef Wacko
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The Fermi Paradox explores why this huge probability of life elsewhere without us having yet made contact with it actually means we never will. It is a really interesting topic to delve into, if you are interested.

    respulero
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Imposible to concur in time and space. Moreover, a blink of an "alien" could be longer than the solar system life. Or the opposite, all the existence of that galaxy with some type of life could happen in a fraction of second for us

    Miki
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

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    While something like the overview effect might seduce you, let's not forget that the astronauts are in an environment where day and night don’t exist in the usual way, are cut off from family and normal life, and know they're floating in a vacuum. It can be a lot to take in, so while space travel is incredible, it's also incredibly challenging on a human level.

    Strange is it not that despite knowing all the dread that space has in it, we still just can't stop thinking about it, learning about it and knowing about it? There’s probably something in us, some deep, restless curiosity, that makes us keep reaching out.

    We build bigger and better telescopes to see farther. We launch robots and satellites to explore planets we’ll probably never walk on. We send things into the void, just in case someone, or something, is out there listening. Humanity just keeps trying!

    #10

    A fiery black hole in deep space surrounded by swirling cosmic clouds, illustrating how space is scarier than we think. The sheer size of everything. There is a black hole called TON 618 that has a diameter 30 to 40 billion times our solar system with a mass of 40 billion suns.

    psycharious , freepik Report

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.” ― Douglas Adams

    Grenelda Thurber
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    John Q. Public doesn't even fully grasp how far away the moon is from the earth, let alone the scale of the solar system. I blame all the pictures/graphics/videos that are used when explaining/teaching astronomy. I also think that's how a lot of flat-earthers get started down that rabbit hole. They don't have any concept of the physical reality beyond the earth (and sometimes not even upon the earth).

    Miki
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This numbers are extremely wrong and a bit wrong. Nebula around it is 2x our galaxy, but black hole size is 40x Neptune orbit. So much less then 30 to 40 billion times our solar system;D. Mass is 66 billion times out sun so 1.5 more then in here. Much smaller error.

    Bored Seagull
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The original estimated mass of 66 billion solar masses was revised in 2019, when new measurements found a lower velocity of the surrounding gas, placing the estimated mass at ~40.7 billion solar masses.

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    Lee451 Henderson
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How close would that have to get to destroy our solar system?

    Abel
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And Christopher Nolan imagined a spaceship able to enter a black hole. Fantasy!

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    #11

    Space station orbiting Earth viewed through spacecraft window, illustrating how space is a lot scarier than we think. Astronomer here! There are a lot of things posted here that are not really likely to happen any time soon or affect your life on Earth much. So, if you want something to worry about, may I introduce you to the Carrington Event of 1859. Basically Carrington was a scientist who noticed a flash from a huge cluster of sunspots, which was the biggest coronal mass ejection from the sun ever recorded (aka a ton of material ejected from the sun at high speeds). It hit Earth within a day- aurora were seen as far south as Hawaii, wires on telephone poles burst into flame, and telegraph operators even reported contacting each other *when not connected*. If a similar event were to strike Earth today, it would cause billions of dollars in damage, because blown transformers are super hard to replace and a lot of satellites wouldn’t be able to handle it (and it goes without saying you’d have a serious radio blackout for a bit until it ended on a ton of essential frequencies).

    The crazy thing about the Carrington event though is we really have no idea how often such events happen. But we do know that in 2012 there *was* a Carrington-level solar flare that barely missed Earth...

    Edit: for those making “next in 2020” jokes, this is not super likely this year. We do know these biggest flares happen during solar maximum- the sun has an 11 year cycle of sunspots and the period with the most is solar maximum. We are just coming out of a minimum so the next max would be 2025-2026 or so.

    However we really don’t know how common these big flares are. Interestingly data from other stars shows they seem to be much more common around other stars than our own, with huge implications for life in some cases.

    Edit 2: apparently this was on a YouTube channel this week coincidentally, you don’t need to be the 100th person chiming in to mention it.

    Andromeda321 , vecstock Report

    JayWantsACat
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "We are just coming out of a minimum so the next max would be 2025-2026 or so." GULP

    Rob D
    Community Member
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is the worst possible time in history for bad leadership. 🤦🏻‍♂️ And dealing with supporters who revel in the most cartoonishly unhelpful positions people can land on.

    veirdbuttrue
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, it's definitely a bad time to have an idiot as your president

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    Archibald Cunningham
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Coincidentally, this was on a YouTube channel this week.

    Yrral Spavit
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Imagine waking up and its like 1782. It will not be an easy fix. There are no warehouses full of replacement transformers etc sitting waiting to be shipped out. No power, no internet, failed satellites, blown pipelines. So, just wondering. How sharp are your coopering, blacksmithing and husbandry skills?

    Cpt. Christan "Panda Bombero"
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    None of those, but... My EMS, Firefighting, and Rescue skills are top. Also, my Infantry skills are still pretty decent.

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    Maim
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wait. So the flare was so big, actual fire hit us? Is that what he means by telephone poles burning or am I misinterpreting?

    UKGrandad
    Community Member
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It was the wires that burned. Essentially the solar burst sent out a huge electro-magnetic wave (highly simplified but you get the picture) which hit the transformers, causing huge power surges down the lines causing them to overheat and briefly burst into flames. Have you ever seen a lightbulb filament burn out after a power surge? Same thing but on a massively greater scale.

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    #12

    Astronaut exploring a dark, rocky terrain with smoke rising, highlighting how space is scarier than we think. You'll never set foot on another planet, and humans are unlikely to ever set foot in another system at all.

    Hell, it would take even the Voyager craft 83,500 years to reach the next nearest star and that left in the 1970's and is already nearly dead.

    Chances are, humans will die as a species on Earth, but certainly without ever having seen any other system.

    ledow , freepik Report

    Scott Rackley
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Star Trek says one day we'll live on a united Earth. Don't hold your breath.

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    Grenelda Thurber
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's possible that this is completely wrong. Traveling these distances would require technological advances we can't even imagine, but that doesn't mean said advances are impossible. tl;dr We don't know what we don't know.

    Calane E. Vanya
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    there are some theories. eg Alcubierre drive. there will be better ones.

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    Yrral Spavit
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You see, we've been watching you. You can explore your system as much as you like but only unmanned probes will be allowed further. You won't be allowed out until you, as you like to say, "Grow the %$#@ up"

    Abel
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That is why light years are used to measure distance, not time. It is baffling!

    keyboardtek
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Heck, we have not even explored the deepest part of our oceans very much.

    Peter Bear
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    April 5, 2063. First contact with an extraterrestrial intelligent species. Yes, that's a fantasy. It's imagination. But it's as 'true' as your claim' because you can't prove your claim to be correct. You assume that it is. I choose to assume that it isn't. Time will tell, because no one knows the future.

    Gregory Garcia
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is all wrong. As seen on Alien: Earth, writers and billionaires are into BRAIN UPLOADING, into an android body. Elon is working on it.

    R Dennis
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Never and certainly are merely uninformed opinions...

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    I don't think space will ever stop fascinating humans. In fact, did you know that experts have compared the universe to our brains? That's right! Crazy as it sounds, our brains and the universe actually have a lot in common.

    Even though they're totally different in size, scientists have found some surprising similarities in how they’re structured. Both are made up of huge, complex networks, the brain with around 69 billion neurons, and the universe with over 100 billion galaxies. In both cases, those pieces connect in long filaments and clusters, kind of like a giant cosmic spiderweb.

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    However, what's more cool is that about 30% of each system is made up of the active stuff, neurons in the brain, galaxies in space. The other 70% is kind of mysterious. In your brain, it's water, and in the universe, it's dark energy, and we’re still figuring out what that means!

    #13

    Young woman with backpack standing near a UFO on a rocky hill, illustrating terrifying space facts and fears. If we built a ship, and some portion of the population left in it to explore like Star Trek, we would never see those people again.

    llathosv2 replied:

    Nobody seems to appreciate that your point is about relativity.

    Mean_Jury2467 , freepik Report

    Ravenkbh
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I know people I'd like to put on the ship and not see again

    Jeremy James
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When the billionaires finally reach Mars, they may suddenly realize that their vast wealth was a social construct based on the consent of 8 billion people who are now 125 million miles away, celebrating.

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Mentally making up a passenger list ...

    Cpt. Christan "Panda Bombero"
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How many people realize that the billionaires who want to colonize Mars, are really sending everyone who goes on a one way trip? And, those said billionaires, well they will still be here on Earth, with their millions.

    Gordon Guitar
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I gave several relatives I'd like to put aboard.

    #14

    Silhouette of person exploring vast outer space with planets and stars, highlighting how space is scarier than we think. That we, as a planet, are literally flying through Space.

    I dont just mean around the Sun, because our Solar System is flying through space as well.

    Along with our Galaxy too. Where Earth was one minute ago is a point in space that we will never return too.

    from_the_east , freepik Report

    azubi
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And that's why we can't know if time travel has been invented yet.

    Miki
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yea.. It MUST be also space travel to work as we need.

    Load More Replies...
    Barbara Turner
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Aww, man. All those idiots who invented time travel, only to find themselves floating, watching the Solar System fly away from them.

    SkippityBoppityBoo
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No wonder I sometimes feel dizzy! 😄

    Zaach
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Monty Python did it best https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvwH8Qij0JY

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    #15

    Voyager spacecraft traveling through deep space against a backdrop of stars showing how space is scarier than we think. The fact that Voyager 2 Space probe after over 40 years has not even hit a pebble.....

    disgruntled-capybara replied:

    I find the Voyager probes to be fascinating, especially because last I knew, Voyager 2 is still functioning and sending back a limited amount of data. But even the whole mission--suddenly bringing all these worlds into sharp focus that had never been seen up close before. All the questions answered and places explored. And there it is, still floating along and talking to us. For now.

    melekh88 , NASA/JPL Report

    UKGrandad
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Voyager 2 is so far away that by the time the radio signals it sends arrive, they carry less energy than that produced by a single snowflake hitting the ground!

    Abel
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Space debris... An human tradition without barriers

    April Pickett
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, about that debris, I think we should have a plan to clean it up. Whoever put that stuff up there should be responsible for cleaning it up. That would mostly be the U.S. and Russia. We won't do anything because it will cost mega money. We have to save up to buy Greenland, persuade Canada to become a state, and solve all the world's conflicts so that he can be Person of the Year.

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    RomanceRadish
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I cannot grasp how it's sending data that far.

    Well folks, that's it from our end, and now we leave you to enjoy the rest of the terrifying thread. I hope that you don't get as caught up in it as I did and end up with an existential crisis! Also, if you know any other such bone-chilling space facts, don't let them float in the dark void, but share them with us in the comments below!

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    #16

    Alien figure with large black eyes floating in dark space, illustrating how space is a lot scarier than we think. The number of theories as to why, if intelligent life besides humanity exists, it hasn't contacted us on a large scale yet. To wit, some of them are:


    1.We lack the capacity for interstellar communication

    2. Earth is essentially a space backwater, and that humans are so relatively primitive that alien life has decided it's better to leave us alone, like a nature preserve

    3. The same, except the aliens are afraid of our savagery relative to theirs

    4. There is no (intelligent) life besides ours

    5. We have been in contact, but cannot perceive said beings

    6. Extraterrestrials are too distant to be contacted.

    FlyingDreamWhale67 , kjpargeter Report

    Miki
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    7. Dark forest theory. intelligent civilizations hide and remain silent out of fear of being discovered and destroyed by other, potentially hostile, civilizations.

    Laughing Orc
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's just the Prime Directive. They can't interact with us until we develop warp drive technology later this century. Saw a film about it once.

    David Houde
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The universe is so vast, and humans have only been broadcasting "we are here" for a little over a hundred years. Even if other civilizations are listening to the Earth, would they have received the message yet?

    Yrral Spavit
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I like that cartoon where a alien is explaining it to a human. Can't find it but something along the lines of "Imagine there is an angry monkey. He is filling his house with weapons and shouts all day. He looks out the window and the neighbourhood is empty. Should he be surprised?"

    Oerff On Tour
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The best proof of the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life, lies in the fact that they never contacted us

    Abel
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And 7 "I need to make human friends".

    Scott Rackley
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh, it's two. Most definitely two.

    Grm Moore
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They don't care? They are smart but don't build? We do so we take that as a measurement of intelligence. Doesn't mean other species do. And distance, people don't realise how far everything is!!

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    7. The aliens have no idea we exist. 8. Even if they did, they have no means of traveling outside their solar system. 9. They are too busy binge watching CSI episodes.

    View more comments
    #17

    Two astronauts performing a spacewalk outside a spacecraft, highlighting space’s scary and terrifying facts. It’s not actually empty and every time astronauts go outside of the space station they risk pieces of debris flying through their bodies like bullets.

    AnotherBogCryptid , Andrei Armiagov Report

    Soton_Sherpa
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    To be fair, I'm not convinced that staying inside the space station offers much more in the way of protection! 🤔

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    #18

    Man with terrified expression underwater amid dark glowing orbs, illustrating how space is scarier than we think. No one can hear you scream.

    Relevant_Maybe_9291 asked:

    Does this all mean if something exploded in space like a missile or a ship it doesn’t make a sound?

    theObfuscator replied:

    Yes and no. Sound needs a medium to travel through. Conventional explosives are nothing more than extremely rapidly expanding gas and heat. If you were close enough to an explosion in space for this expanding gas to impact you, you would feel and “hear” it. If you were far enough away to see it but not have the explosion itself reach you, the sound cannot move through the vacuum that exists between you and the edge of the explosion’s influence.

    so_dope24 , EyeEm Report

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    #19

    Person sitting by campfire under a starry sky with a comet, illustrating space is a lot scarier than we think. I can't accept the fact that there is no end in space. But if there is indeed an end, then... what's beyond it?

    I'm stucked in absurdity.

    Edit: In the numerous answers I've received, the one that seems to come back the most is "the universe is curved, you would end up back where you started". Seems fair enough. Then again,that wouldn't mean there is no limit. On the contrary, that would just mean we are trapped in (or on the surface of) a sphere, but there is still a limit to this sphere. So the question remains... what's beyond it?

    Tartokwetsh , ArtPhoto_studio Report

    Maim
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So, are there going to be "flat universers" now????

    Lady Eowyn
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think about this sometimes.

    David Houde
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I look at the universe like this: The universe is a balloon. The air is like the vacuum of space. Floating around inside the balloon are a few particles, those are the galaxies. If you zoom in enough, the atoms of the particles are the individual solar systems. Zoom into the electrons and those are planets. On one of those planets is another balloon. There the cycle starts again. Who knows how many times this cycle repeats. Millions? Billions? Infinitely?

    Peter Bear
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And still the universe extends to a place that never ends, which is maybe just inside a little jar. It's a great big universe, and we're all really puny.

    Yrral Spavit
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Doesn't matter. Its turtles all the way down.

    Scott Rackley
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No, trapped on the surface of a hypersphere

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    #20

    Eerie glowing cosmic phenomenon in deep space, illustrating how space is a lot scarier than we think. There are things out there that could k**l you before you can conceive of your own demise. Fun ones are a gamma ray burst pointed straight at Earth or a false vacuum decay!!

    You’ll either be melted or turned into non existence!!

    OSUfirebird18 , freepik Report

    Calane E. Vanya
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    so I wouldn't feel any pain or fear? it seems like the best way of dying.

    Lady Eowyn
    Community Member
    4 months ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    Interesting but I had to not vote up or down because of the excess of exclamation points.

    #21

    Space debris floating near Earth, illustrating why space is a lot scarier than we think with terrifying facts about dangers in orbit Here’s one closer to home. The Kessler Effect is the theory that a single destructive event in Low earth orbit could create a cascade where satellites break up into tiny fragments taking out other satellites, breaking up into smaller fragments and so on, until the earth is completely surrounded by a massive cloud of tiny flying death shrapnel which would make leaving this planet almost impossible. If you look up how much space debris there is already up there and how many satellites currently orbit, plus the continued growth of the commercial space industry... I think about it a lot.

    SENDmeSMALLtitsPICS , QuantumEdge Report

    Miki
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And musk constellation isn't the only big satellite constellation out there. And China is planning to put 13k satellites.

    Maim
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So we've not only junked up the planet, we have junked up the atmosphere as well. We are floating garbage apparently.

    Ben
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think there is a website you can see that monitors space space junk.

    Rob D
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    To the earlier post point about technology leading us to our demise before we can be interplanetary... I've had that thought as well as this one... What if every advanced civilization inevitably hems itself in.

    Peter Bear
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is one of the core concepts in Cowboy Bebop. Earth is nearly uninhabitable due to the amount of space debris surrounding it and regularly hitting it.

    Ben
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    https://platform.leolabs.space/visualization

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    #22

    Transparent glass cube refracting colorful light beams, illustrating how space is a lot scarier than we think concept. If you gathered together all the matter in the universe we can observe right now and squished it together until it had the density of water (1gm/cm^3) it would fit into a cube about 1 light year on each side. There are several disturbing things about this:

    -A single light year is almost unimaginably huge
    -A cubic light year is a ridiculous volume of space
    -The observable universe is 33 orders of magnitude larger than that
    -It is almost entirely empty.

    bravehamster , wirestock_creators Report

    Ravenkbh
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I plan on doing this next weekend

    Soton_Sherpa
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I would offer to help but I'm planning on washing my hair (assuming I can find it)! 😉

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    Zaach
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Also, if all the stars and planets and other 'stuff' were to be converted to energy, it would only raise the background temperature about half a degree K

    Child of the Stars
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My understanding is that space isn't actually empty. It's just filled with dark matter that we can't really interact with, we don't really know what it is exactly, and we have pretty much no understanding of other than that it's fundamental to the universe.

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    #23

    A digital illustration of planets and moons highlighting the vastness and terrifying facts about space exploration. Rogue planets

    Such objects have been ejected from the planetary system in which they were formed or have never been gravitationally bound to any star or brown dwarf. If a rogue planet invade our Solar System, things could go very wrong.

    SuvenPan , pikisuperstar Report

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    #24

    Dark space scene featuring a swirling black hole surrounded by glowing cosmic dust and distant stars, showing space's scary vastness. The largest black hole we have discovered has a diameter of 490.000.000.000 km. Earths diameter is roughly 13.000 km.

    Weak-Round-3772 , vadimsadovski Report

    Maim
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Banana for scale, please.

    Laughing Orc
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's over on the right side of the image. You might have to zoom in a bit...

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    #25

    Vast starry space with dense cosmic clouds illustrating why space is a lot scarier than we think. The farthest galaxy we can detect was 13.4 billion light years away when it emitted the light we see today.

    That light (not the galaxy, the light itself) is three times as old as the Earth.

    Ronald_Deuce , www.slon.pics Report

    Bored Seagull
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No, it wasn't. The light travelled for 13.4 billion years, but due to the expansion of the universe, the distance at emission time was different. The objects that emitted light of this kind of age were generally closer than the distance travelled by the light itself.

    #26

    Miniature figures of people in a park with blurred trees and buildings, illustrating space is scarier than we think. It's size and age alone is disturbing. I have had an ongoing existentialcris crisis since I was a child when I realized just how small and vulnerable we are.

    "Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mindbogglingly big it is. I mean you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space" - Douglas Adams.

    SmalltimeDog , jcomp Report

    Fellfromthemoon
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, its age is unfathomable. Even so when we realize that our universe is an "adolescent"if not a child: it is about 1.3*10^10 years old and its life expectancy is about 10^100 years.

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    #27

    Astronaut resting in barren alien landscape, illustrating how space is a lot scarier than we think with terrifying facts. Vacuum decay is one of the scariest concepts to me. We don't know if it exists, and we won't know until it's too late.

    Tom_Brokaw_is_a_Punk replied:

    On the other hand, you'll never know. You'll just blink out of existence one day. So nothing to worry about.

    Marycate11 , freepik Report

    #28

    Blur album cover with blurred figure pushing a hospital stretcher in a bright, yellow-toned hallway, evoking eerie space fear themes. On the surface of Mars right now is a Blur CD

    God help us if aliens find that first.

    [deleted] replied:

    You need to answer this, and it is vitally important. What blur cd?

    the_Athereon said:

    Beagle 2 crash landed with a Blur album saved on board its computer. The intent was to broadcast the music playing from the surface of Mars.

    [deleted] asked:

    The second vital question, does that album include parklife? If not all hope is lost

    the_Athereon , amazon Report

    Cuppa tea?
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Could be whole lot worse. It could be Oasis or Coldplay, FFS.

    azubi
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    By my quick research, the song is actually called "beagle 2", and I expect no mercy if aliens find out about it.

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    #29

    Two astronauts inside a spacecraft reviewing data on a laptop highlighting terrifying space facts and risks. The Bootes void. An area of space where there should be 50,000 or so galaxies (compared to other areas of the same size)but there's only about 60. Could just be empty space for some unknown reason, or it could be an ever expanding intergalactic empire using Dyson spheres. Also I think it appears to be growing but that could just be galaxies moving away from the void

    Edit: so it turns out it's 2000 and obviously it's not gonna be aliens but the theory is still cool af.

    anon , DC Studio Report

    AmazingUsername
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think it's more likely they would use Dyson swarms, which are a lot harder to detect

    #30

    A dark and colorful swirling black hole in space surrounded by stars and cosmic debris, illustrating terrifying space facts. MOBILE

    BLACK HOLES.

    Blubari , kfccc588 Report

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    #31

    Voyager 1 will outlive planet earth.

    EDIT: Wow! Didn’t expect this post would generate so much interest. Couple of clarifications. First, I was referring to Voyager 1 not 2 - so fixed that. (Which is not to say that Voyager 2 also won’t also outlive planet earth.)

    Second, my source mentions that it is “plausible” to imagine that Voyager 1 will outlive our planet given how incomprehensibly vast space really is. You can watch the interesting and rather fun video here https://youtu.be/PmmHfhwFlQQ.

    skakodker Report

    #32

    We still don't know exactly how it came into existence.

    [deleted] replied:

    true.
    Fine tuned?
    Coincidence?
    Big Bang?
    Something else?
    it always existed?

    DeathSpiral321 Report

    Yrral Spavit
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    whatever the reason, it made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move

    Grenelda Thurber
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We still don't fully understand what it *is*.

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    #33

    What was before the big bang? I think it is just impossible for a human to comprehend pure nothing or infinity. I myself had a stroke at age nine due to a ruptured vertebral artery and lost a third of my visual field. I can confirm that it is not black, a good analogy is it is like what you see behind your head. on the other hand, infinity is so large that if you spent your whole life writing a one then zeros on paper, that insane number would still be 0% of infinity. I just think there is no way to fully understand the universe and there never will be. This is why even ancient societies explained things with gods because they didn’t understand how the reality we live in started and I don’t think we ever will.

    canned_shrimp Report

    Dragons Exist
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There's also the fact that everything in the Universe came from the Big Bang, so there's nothing we could measure to know what (if anything) was before that.

    Peter Bear
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There isn't a before when there is no time.

    Zaach
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As long as it remains neutral an empty (not a real thing) location could spontaneously result in the creation of a new universe

    #34

    I think everything is terrifying about space, and I f*****g love it.

    But one thing it scare me a lot, it's if space in infinite, imagine what kind of gigantic monster can be in there.

    Scovundra Report

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