Man's Beautiful Curse II

Yesterday, our SCI 10 professors showed us pictures of some of the latest advancement in science -the discovery of evidences for the Big Bang model, the scientists' best bet on the origin of the universe. Here are some of the pictures she shared with us:

The universe's latest "baby picture"
red - warmer spots
blue - cooler spots
white lines - direction of the oldest light

Scientists speculated that if there was indeed a Big Bang, which was a really massive explosion that created this universe, then we would still see remnants of the explosion, in the form of light and radiation.

And they found such evidences.

Interested, I searched for more info about the Big Bang at Einstein's world, the site that our professor recommended. With the latest findings, scientists believed that the Big Bang was the earliest known event in the universe. Of course, it couldn't be THE FIRST since how could the Big Bang model explain the origin of the energy and matter necessary for such "explosion" or event, or how the event itself was triggered in the first place. But our researchers have come up with three evidences that give witness that the Big Bang event really took place a long time ago:

1. The galaxies are moving away from us
they must have been closer together before @__@

2. Presence of chemical elements in the Big Bang
proportion of helium and hydrogen in the universe is what the scientists predicted
-if the universe was hot and dense before

3. Ancient light from the Big Bang

This radiation is known as the cosmic microwave background
also known as the oldest light in the universe

The afterglow image or the infant picture of the universe was taken by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, or WMAP (image left) after a 12-month observation of the entire sky.Thanks to these advancements in technology, space exploration and studies about the universe are made more accurate and possible, something that Galileo and those before him had never done. With the help of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, scientists are able to comprehend the Big Bang model by realizing that those empty spaces we see are not just "nothingness", -rather they are something which the scientists have yet to comprehend. In the history of science and in the study of the universe, Einstein's contribution seem to have been an extraordinary missing chunk in the puzzle that we were trying to solve for all this time.

But then my SCI 10 professor popped a question that made me...well ...think.


ohh, the picture's exaggerated but you get my point: all this time we're led to believe that we're light years closer to the answer. Scientists would be disappointed. And most of all, students would really freak out after realizing that what they've been learning all this time would be still be replaced by a better theory or model (I'm kidding but really :D). Now we have to start from scratch and look for an alternative model that will best explain the Big Bang, or yet, the origin of the universe. But hey, history of science taught us that this is actually what science is all about. It's all about revolutionizing our thinking about the universe, testing our hypothesis and theories against inconsistencies and fallacies, and changing our way of thinking if it means that this will get us closer to the answer we're seeking for. Our present view of gravity now wouldn't be possible if not for the ancient view of gravity as presented by the falling of an apple in Newton's head. But come to think of it, new discoveries are the end-results of the advances in space technology and instruments, which gives us an assurance that these discoveries are backed-up by strong evidences. BUT If Einstein will indeed be proven wrong in the future, then it just means that we have found the missing piece in Einstein's theories and we're closer than ever to solving this puzzle.

Yes, nothing's perfect. As is nobody's perfect.

It seems that everything is provided for us in our quest in discovering life and the universe. Our minds are capable of coming up with such thoughts and the universe did its part by leaving some ancient evidences which could help us in our research.

Imagination equipped with knowledge.

Is what it takes to solve this beautiful curse some divine Being has put upon us: Uncovering the mysteries of life and the universe.

But all curses have an end, just like Sleeping Beauty finally waking up after 100 years of slumber.

IF we can find the key, just like Prince Philip planting his true love's kiss on Aurora's lips.

And me? I'm positive and hopeful that someday, all of us will be enlightened with our origin.

**pictures of the universe courtesy of NASA.

Man's Beautiful Curse

The Helix Nebula, only 650 light years away from Earth
image taken by the Hubble space telescope

The picture above is just one of the wonderful images that mesmerize us with its genuine beauty. If you're still craving for more, then I suggest you visit Hubble's Site. I can't wait to browse this site myself after all this schoolwork *wink*.

Throughout the years, only two main things have bothered our the most learned and the most curious: the origin of life and the origin of the universe. In the former, scientists are bothered with how life technically came from nothing -nothing more than just a combination of elements and organic compounds. If I were to ask in Biblical terms, who breathed life into them? Yes, eukaryotes evolving from prokaryotes seem easier to grasp but how the smallest unit of life began, remains a puzzle to be pondered on.

As for the universe's origin, scientists are also concerned with how it came into place. Did it just pop out of nowhere? Did it come from a big explosion known as the Big Bang? Or did it just simply exist, suspended in black nothingness as if strings were attached to it.

Fortunately, scientists are one step closer to the answer due to ceaseless and persevering studies and researches.

Thank God our scientists are not much of quitters.

And this is why I love and respect science, along with my other fields of interests: dance, art,music and communication. Science was never stagnant in the first place and though it is govern by laws, theories and other scientific rules, it is still subject to change, be it paradigm shifts, disproving of old laws and acknowledging new ones. Science is never stagnant because there is a A LOT (really) to discover and sticking to one rule could never get them that far. Just like with dancing, each type of dance has its own set or 'rules' or steps that dancers have to be faithful to. But the grace of the dancer, the attitude she portrays, how she plays with the steps (or rules), is up to the dancer herself and not subject to the rules anymore, not even to her instructor. The instructor can only guide her and teach the basics. Same goes for music and art -there are chords to be memorized, strokes to be mastered and other unspoken 'rules' yet their masterpieces are up to their creators. In communication, there are a lot of theories and strategies formulated but when you're on the job, let's say, advertising, it is also your call on how you apply the theories with your own thing in order to get that customer notice and buy the item you are marketing for.

"One must have to learn the rules in order to break them".

Artists are following this simple 'rule' -they can never create their own style nor leave a personal mark on their creations if they haven't even religiously mastered the basics yet. And I can say scientists could also be called artists -only that they deal with numbers and scientific thinking rather than chords or dance steps.

I am hopeful of science, hopeful that one day everything would fall into place, which excites and scares me at the same time. Just like the feeling when your best friend calls you in the middle of the night just to tell you something about your happy crush -you're dying to know what it is yet you can't help but feel anxious about it. You wouldn't know if you'll like what you're about to hear. Unless you're confident for some reasons <3.>
Glittering, colorful planets. Why not? Our universe is so vast and mysterious that almost everything we could think of under the sun is possible unless proven false. So why close our doors to aliens, extraterrestrial beings, parallel universes, time traveling, and all other things science fiction has taught us (hello Star Wars and Star Trek)?

And maybe this is why man is born restless. He is cursed to satisfy his never ending curiosity about himself and the world in which he lives in.