Searching for Identity in Our Little Corner

Lovely words at #5 by nazarhayatkhan

``We know very little about what it is all about

And we are willing to kill each other on the basis of what little we know ``

The human stupidity (and smallness) gets revealed by the great astronomers of today. They are the greatest naturalists and liberators from our bigotory who do not seek the explanation of the universe on some mumbo jumbo creator who thinks like humans.

yaara silly silly ;)

``After the end of the program i get this immense strange feeling and lots of philosophical questions like who are we? Is there anyone otherthan us in our galaxy and in other galaxies? Do anyone of you ever felt like that?``

Sure...everyone does (except a religious fundo I guess)!

Nehru once said that every man should aquaint himself with astronomy to put his world view in the right perspective.

- - - - - -

``What do you think are the chances of man setting foot on Mars in the next 30yrs?``

I wouldn`t venture a guess, other than that it wil be an american.

The yanks missed out on a major goodwill opportunity when they planted their silly flag on the moon. Instantly it became an `american` mission from a `human` one.

Very good article. I hope one day they teach more Astronomy and World History in Pakistani schools than Islamiat and Arabic to discover our origin.

SR, you are sooo right buddy!!

Re: Ironman #12 [``...Venus still rules! ...``]

Yes she does, at least, rule over my heart -- not to mention the hearts of most others from Mars...!!

...SR

Ironman and SameerJB,
Thanks for the answer.
Ironman,
Yes, that was my question.

Whenever i watch any Discovery programs related to astronomy (stars, planets, black holes) i watch them with a lot of interest. After the end of the program i get this immense strange feeling and lots of philosophical questions like who are we? Is there anyone otherthan us in our galaxy and in other galaxies? Do anyone of you ever felt like that?

What do you think are the chances of man setting foot on Mars in the next 30yrs?

silly #9:

I believe that pretty accurate information about our milkyway galaxy is obtained from plotting the night sky against time in both northern and southern hemispheres in addition to making use of properties of light which is red or blue shifted depending upon the two light sources heading towards or away from each other. There must be many additional information deductable from the light data such as wavelengths and absorption emission properties of various forms of matter.

ironman is right that the distances between stars as well as between galaxies are much bigger than the diameters of the stars and galaxies. That is why, it is sometime poetically described as a big void dotted with galaxies at very far distances from each other. This is similar to the situation of atoms where the mass of the atom is too condensed in nuclei due to strong nuclear forces and the action really takes place at very far distance from the nuclei (electronic structure is responsible for the action but they are practically mass-less as compared to nuclei).

Everything we see turns to void at infinte magnification of a nanometer thick slice of matter leaving behind widely separated dots of nuclei of different atoms in molecules. Universe is somewhat mega, mega view of this infintely micro view of matter. This is not a comparison of energies or the methodologies for calculating forces at play by any stretch of imagination, just a symbolic way of comparing the extreme localization of mass.

SR:

I plan to see the sky on August 27, 2003 at 12:30 AM but given the NY weather this summer, I am not betting on seeing anything except the noise of insects with wandering deers, skunks and racoons in rain or overcast sky.

SR,

``when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles and will be (other than the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of minus 2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide.``


The martian orbit is not highly elliptical and so after reading your post I wondered whether mars could ever outshine Venus. I checked, and sure enough...


Venus: maximum visual magnitude = -4.6
(More negative means brighter)

Also Venus at closest point is about 23 million miles, much closer than mars.
...and bigger at 60 arc seconds.


Venus still rules!


regards,

shell head

Sree,

``Can anyone tell me how the astronomers tell where one galaxy ends and another galaxy starts. What are the boundaries of a galaxy?``

The boundary of a galaxy is empty space. There`s enormous empty space between galaxies.

There are no free-floating stars (outside galaxies)...if that is your real question.

Very interesting article. I am always fascinated by stars and planets. Can anyone tell me how the astronomers tell where one galaxy ends and another galaxy starts. What are the boundaries of a galaxy?
Thanks
sree

To all:

Would like to draw attention to a very old essay:

Mathematics with Minimum Raw Material, Part 2
Quark Boy 12/21/1998 23 844

in Leafyglade Inn!!!!

Joint Celebrations of India and Pakistan`s 57th Independence Day

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Midnight Emancipation
A Midnight Candlelight Vigil
Celebrating 56 years of South Asian independence

Lytton Plaza (Downtown Palo Alto)
220 University Ave., Palo Alto CA. 94301

11:30 pm, August 14 to 00:30 am, August 15

A midnight candelight vigil, the attendees will consist of South Asians and others who cherish freedom and want to live in peace. The vigil will feature poetry readings, songs, music and fun under the twilight. So bring along your favorite poetry or musical instrument, and join us in this celebration!

(www.friendsofsouthasia.org)

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Human Rights, Political Will
and the
Nuclear Shadow
Sunday, August 17th, 5.30pm
Assembly Room, Bechtel International Center,
Stanford University
(click for directions)

featuring

a screening of the documentary film
Pakistan and India: Under the Nuclear Shadow

and talks by


Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy
Professor of Physics
Quaid-i-Azam University
Islamabad, Pakistan Dr. Angana Chatterji
Professor, Cultural and Social Anthropology Program
California Institute of Integral Studies
San Francisco, California.

A retrospective on the 56 years of South Asian independence, a look at the deteriorating human rights situation, the fallouts of nuclear armament in the region, and the rise of fundamentalist forces, and political will (or lack thereof) for conflict resolution. Also, a look at causes for hope - the growth of grassroots level movements, the increasing demands for peace and resolution from people on both sides of the border. Featuring Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a leading proponent of nuclear disarmament and an activist writer/speaker on education issues in Pakistan, and Dr. Angana Chatterji, who has been working with post-colonial social movements in India and internationally, towards enabling participatory democracy, and social and ecological justice.

The event is free and open to all. Seating is limited, please arrive early to ensure good seats. Refreshments will be served.


(www.friendsofsouthasia.org)

fasicinating

We know very little about what it is all about

And we are willing to kill each other on the basis of what little we know

Har zarraa chamaktaa hai, anwaar-e-ilahi se.
Par har saans yeh kahtii hai, main huun to khudai hai.

Very enjoyable and informative article. This shows the need to be humble and adjustable and thankful to be able to perceive the world (universe) around us. But it is also natural that recognizing one`s transitoriness most of the humans become ``necessarily`` myopic. The logical conclusion is then ``to live for the moment.``

This brings us to the eternal question: What is important - to be dwarfed by the vastness of univese or put importance on the ``the saans`` that allows us to have perception of the infinitude of God = universe as described by the Upanishads (For further information see Chaathouse: It`s a miracle.).

Salman Hameed sahib, lovely informative article. It`s good to read something about the beauty of our Universe which is unforunately not that visible to the naked eye. Sometimes, in my wild imagination, I think of all the constellations, planets, asteroids and other celestial bodies being closer to us and flying past us making the sky appear more and more colorful every night. The whole subject becomes more fascinating when one thinks about the possibility of existence of life on another planet somewhere in the other end of our Galaxy, the effects of the various millions trillions of stars out there on other planets of our Solar System, and their eventual causal effect on us.