A strong message about a pale blue dot

William Atkins
Tuesday, 13 December 2011 23:42

Science - Space

American astronomer Carl Sagan spoke on October 13, 1994, about a photograph taken by the probe Voyager 1 from its far vantage point over four billion miles from Earth. As we explore further into the universe we should continue to  ponder about ourselves and our tiny little planet we call home.

During a lecture at Cornell University, Carl Sagan presented a photograph to his audience. As Voyager 1 traveled away from Earth, in 1990, on its destination of exploration of the solar system and eventually of interstellar space, it took a picture of Earth.

This picture appears on the 'A Pale Blue Dot' website of the Big Sky Astronomy Club.

The website states, 'From Voyager's vast distance, the Earth was captured as a infinitesimal point of light (between the two white tick marks), actually smaller than a single pixel of the photo.'

Dr. Sagan spoke that day of our responsibilities to each other, of our comparative posture within the solar system and the universe as a whole, and our power (or maybe it could be said of our perceived lack of will) to control our destinies.

It is always wise to look back and think of ourselves at the end of each year. 2011 is no different.

Will we improve ourselves in 2012? Or, will we continue to bicker among ourselves on endless silly issues? Will we see the opposing viewpoints and understand their points of view? Will we compromise for the greater good of humankind?

Will we seek knowledge or merely repeat past mistakes? Will we learn about the vast possibilities of the universe? Or, will we gossip about our neighbors?

Page two concludes with the words said by Dr. Car Sagan in 1994, which still ring true today in 2011.