A billion stars

Teinz · Apr 6, 2012

I came across this image of the Milky Way with about a billion stars in it. Gives one a bit of an understanding how many stars there are in our galaxy. Pretty impressive!

http://djer.roe.ac.uk/vsa/vvv/iipmooviewer-2.0-beta/vvvgps5.html

Nymtoc · Apr 6, 2012

Impressive.

Of course, there are from 200 billion to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way. And there may be 200 billion to 400 billion galaxies in the universe.

It makes our problems (writer's block, rejectomania, etc.) seem rather small.

Snick · Apr 6, 2012

Did you count them?

FOTSGreg · Apr 10, 2012

Yes...

A long, long time ago.

thothguard51 · Apr 10, 2012

FOTSGreg said:
Yes...

A long, long time ago.

From a galaxy far-far away...

jjdebenedictis · Apr 10, 2012

Pssh. Counting to a billion is a job for droids, not humans.

benbradley · Apr 10, 2012

visualizes a vacuum cleaner counting stars

RichardGarfinkle · Apr 11, 2012

jjdebenedictis said:
Pssh. Counting to a billion is a job for droids, not humans.

You, you... humanist.

FOTSGreg · Apr 11, 2012

One of my favorite lines from my own writing goes something like,

"There are an estimated hundred billion stars in our galaxy. There are estimated to be at least a hundred billion galaxies in our universe.

For each of those stars, there is a story. This is one of them..."

Yeah, it's corny as hell and I'll never use it in a published work, but damn I thought it was good when I wrote it.

Her Dark Star · Apr 12, 2012

I've always thought that cosmology, preferably starting with Carl Sagan's pale blue dot speech, should be mandatory at school. The perspective it offers just might change a few lives for the better

Teinz · Apr 12, 2012

Her Dark Star said:
I've always thought that cosmology, preferably starting with Carl Sagan's pale blue dot speech, should be mandatory at school. The perspective it offers just might change a few lives for the better

Me too.

I teach geography and history, but I alway make time to explain the basics of our universe. I mean, come one, it's not as if were from Krikkit.

I always love the incredulous looks on the faces of my students. Some of them finish elementary school without learning Earth revolves around the Sun. Or that the moon doesn't give off light itself. And so on.

WriterDude · Apr 15, 2012

And maybe a billion worlds in our galaxy just like ours

The scale of the universe humbles and inspires me.

Nymtoc · Apr 15, 2012

Teinz said:
Me too.

I teach geography and history, but I alway make time to explain the basics of our universe. I mean, come one, it's not as if were from Krikkit.

I always love the incredulous looks on the faces of my students. Some of them finish elementary school without learning Earth revolves around the Sun. Or that the moon doesn't give off light itself. And so on.

Since you are in the Netherlands, I'm assuming that is where you teach. If so, I am astonished to learn that students over there know so little. I am under the impression that this kind of lamentable ignorance is found more often among children in the US than in Europe. :Huh:

Teinz · Apr 16, 2012

Nymtoc said:
Since you are in the Netherlands, I'm assuming that is where you teach. If so, I am astonished to learn that students over there know so little. I am under the impression that this kind of lamentable ignorance is found more often among children in the US than in Europe.

The focus of our educational system is on languages, math, economics and practical skills. These are the moneymakers, at least according to the Department of Education, so they are generally taught very well.

In our elementary school system, all subjects are taught by one teacher. Usually, they tend to focus on the "important" ones. Geography and history can be left out a bit.

Cosmology is mostly reserved for physics, which most students study when they're in high school and then usually from third grade into their final year.

I believe geography is about mankind and its place in nature. History is about mankind and its role in time. I think in order to get the right perspectives, students must at least be familiar with their place in the Universe. That's why I teach cosmology, or at least the basics of it.

RichardGarfinkle · Apr 16, 2012

Teinz said:
The focus of our educational system is on languages, math, economics and practical skills. These are the moneymakers, at least according to the Department of Education, so they are generally taught very well.

In our elementary school system, all subjects are taught by one teacher. Usually, they tend to focus on the "important" ones. Geography and history can be left out a bit.

Cosmology is mostly reserved for physics, which most students study when they're in high school and then usually from third grade into their final year.

I believe geography is about mankind and its place in nature. History is about mankind and its role in time. I think in order to get the right perspectives, students must at least be familiar with their place in the Universe. That's why I teach cosmology, or at least the basics of it.

I think that's an excellent philosophy of teaching. Learning without context leads to narrow-mindedness. History, geography, and cosmology (along with biology I would say) are great providers of that context.

Abderian · Apr 16, 2012

Teinz said:
Me too.

I teach geography and history, but I alway make time to explain the basics of our universe. I mean, come one, it's not as if were from Krikkit.

I always love the incredulous looks on the faces of my students. Some of them finish elementary school without learning Earth revolves around the Sun. Or that the moon doesn't give off light itself. And so on.

Wow, you're teaching them the most important lesson of all - wonder. Brilliant. Well done.

Teinz · Jan 9, 2015

I found this HD pic of a part of M31 (Andromeda). A hundred million stars in frame. The picture is zoomable and awesome.

http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1502a/zoomable/

jjdebenedictis · Jan 9, 2015

Teinz said:
I found this HD pic of a part of M31 (Andromeda). A hundred million stars in frame. The picture is zoomable and awesome.

http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1502a/zoomable/

I saw that yesterday. It's beeeeeoooooutiful, isn't is?

blacbird · Jan 19, 2015

jjdebenedictis said:
Pssh. Counting to a billion is a job for droids, not humans.

Go read Arthur C. Clarke's famous story "The Nine Billion Names of God".

caw

blacbird · Jan 19, 2015

Teinz said:
I found this HD pic of a part of M31 (Andromeda). A hundred million stars in frame. The picture is zoomable and awesome.

http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1502a/zoomable/

Now go look up the Hubble Space Telescope Ultra-Deep Field image. And understand that it frames a square of skyscape less than 1/4 the dimension of the full moon.

caw

benbradley · Jan 20, 2015

blacbird said:
Now go look up the Hubble Space Telescope Ultra-Deep Field image. And understand that it frames a square of skyscape less than 1/4 the dimension of the full moon.

caw

Also, while looking at it, repeat to yourself over and over "This is one actual image. This is NOT a collage."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NASA-HS201427a-HubbleUltraDeepField2014-20140603.jpg

Teinz · Feb 13, 2015

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/15890933524_d57d032be5_o_d.jpg

Another hi-res pic of a galaxy, this time M106. Note that, as with the deep field pics Blackbird en Ben referenced, most of the stars you see in the background, aren't stars. Galaxies shining through the whirls of another galaxy. Pretty frikkin' awesome!

Teinz · Feb 13, 2015

While we're at it, same galaxy, another extremely large picture.

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2013/06/image/a/warn/

A billion stars

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