I found this one on Netflix streaming movies. It is not a movie, it is a 43-minute episode made to televise in a one-hour slot with commercials. It was great seeing it straight through without interruptions.
This show should be seen by everyone who has an interest in, and wonders about, the universe.
Our knowledge has expanded exponentially since Edwin Hubble in the 1920s first realized and published that our Milky Way galaxy was not the only one, that in fact there were other galaxies in the universe. Since then, especially using the Hubble telescope in space, we now know that what first appeared to be billions of distant stars are in reality billions of distant galaxies. That realization has been huge in furthering our understanding of the universe.
And also realizing how extremely large the universe is. We can't actually "see" to the edge of the universe, and there is no reason to doubt there are additional galaxies too far to see. It is a way to put into perspective space exploration.
Humans have explored parts of the Solar System, and we naturally want to think about exploring distant star systems that might have Earth-like planets that might be able to support life. But as this program points out, in clever use of distance comparisons, even if we can develop a spacecraft that can travel as fast as 10% the speed of light, which is a virtual impossible task, it still would take us many many lifetimes to travel to reach even the closest stars. To travel to another galaxy, or even to exit our own galaxy, appears to be an impossibility.
This is a fantastic program, the way it allows us to comprehend the enormous size of the universe and the great distances that separate things. And to realize that exploring distant planets likely will never ever be a possibility.
This show should be seen by everyone who has an interest in, and wonders about, the universe.
Our knowledge has expanded exponentially since Edwin Hubble in the 1920s first realized and published that our Milky Way galaxy was not the only one, that in fact there were other galaxies in the universe. Since then, especially using the Hubble telescope in space, we now know that what first appeared to be billions of distant stars are in reality billions of distant galaxies. That realization has been huge in furthering our understanding of the universe.
And also realizing how extremely large the universe is. We can't actually "see" to the edge of the universe, and there is no reason to doubt there are additional galaxies too far to see. It is a way to put into perspective space exploration.
Humans have explored parts of the Solar System, and we naturally want to think about exploring distant star systems that might have Earth-like planets that might be able to support life. But as this program points out, in clever use of distance comparisons, even if we can develop a spacecraft that can travel as fast as 10% the speed of light, which is a virtual impossible task, it still would take us many many lifetimes to travel to reach even the closest stars. To travel to another galaxy, or even to exit our own galaxy, appears to be an impossibility.
This is a fantastic program, the way it allows us to comprehend the enormous size of the universe and the great distances that separate things. And to realize that exploring distant planets likely will never ever be a possibility.
