Step outside and look at the sun. Do you realize that the light you see actually began its journey from the sun eight minutes ago?
Meet Betelgeuse, a super redgiant in the constellation, Orion. This star is 640 light years away. That means the light from this star began it's journey 640 years ago, or sometime in the 1300's. Who knows, the light particles might have started their journey when the Black Death was raging through Europe and Asia, claiming millions of lives. Since its creation, this light has traveled on and on while the people in Europe emerged from the barbaric Middle Ages into the arts of the Renaissance. It kept travelling while North America was discovered, while Shakespeare wrote his plays, and as the British Empire grew around the world. This light kept travelling as Canada became its own nation, sprouted provinces, and prepared a place for you and I to grow up. Today, if you step outside on a clear winter night and gaze into the southern sky, you will find Betelgeuse in the shoulder of Orion. And when you find it, you will end a journey that began 640 years ago.
Speed of light? More aptly, the slow of light.
cool. i love the way nothing just happens here on earth.its all part of a much much much larger picture. makes a person feel itty bitty.
ReplyDeleteVery true! It also makes me question our usage of the phrase "the world". What is "the world" when you're writing about events far outside the atmosphere? It seems rather narrow-minded...
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