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Hubble Captures Supernova 1987A Trace Shock Wave
- ihodes 16y agoIt's images like these that put into perspective the fragility of our species, and just how inconsequential we are, relative to the rest.
- jbrennan 16y agoI think kind of the opposite, more in the Pale Blue Dot mindset, that in the immense vastness of the universe, Earth is all we've got, and should be treated with the utmost significance.
- ihodes 16y agoI absolutely agree with that sentiment as well. While we, as a species, are relatively inconsequential, Earth is all we've got (for now!) and it's a special, precious, thing indeed.
- ars 16y agoHow can you say inconsequential when as far as we know we are the only beings that can even appreciate this supernova? Size != Importance. We might be small, but we are quite important.
- aw3c2 16y agoYou are not important if only you think so.
- Jach 16y agoImportant to whom? The universe itself is incapable of assigning 'importance', so saying that something is unimportant to the universe is just as wrong as saying something is important to the universe. Humans are important to humans, and that's what matters. If only I think I'm important, then I am, to me.
- turnersauce 16y agoLink to the paper in Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;science.1192134v1 http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;science.1... Edit - If you are lacking a subscription: http://arxiv.org/abs/1009.0518 http://arxiv.org/abs/1009.0518