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the First Moment.... |
Welcome to the First Moment!
A look at this universe, what it is about, and when it all began.....
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2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and we celebrate and support the efforts of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to encourage newcomers to look through a telescope for the first time. |
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This site is about Time and Space. Time in the sense of the beginning of the Universe, and the beginning of life. It is also about Space ....this space we call the universe.
The site is for non-experts. It's meant for the guy or gal who might be interested in a better understanding of what is going on ...out there! Although we'll discuss all the current issues of the universe, we'll do it in logical steps....so that you can grasp the concepts that physicists and astronomers are struggling to better define. You will understand the landscape of the universe...it is not difficult...so when you read an article or see a news item that mentions Dark energy, or Black Holes, or some other weird subject related to space travel, you won't turn away. You'll know what it is all about and where it fits in the grand scheme of space and time. We'll keep it simple....but complete. I think you'll be pleased to discover how straight forward the current understanding is....and the veil of mystery will be lifted. You may even begin to form enlightened opinions of whether we should spend more money, or less money, on NASA. Whether the Hubble Telescope should be repaired, or if the Aries Rocket is the solution to more efficient travel in space.
Hopefully this site will present a good overview of the Cosmos to enable you to enjoy the many new discoveries currently taking place. You will see and understand the simple concept of our world orbiting a star, in a galaxy, among millions of other galaxies....and yet we remain very special. I encourage you to use the referenced web sites for additional, detailed information. There are many excellent sites that give detailed information regarding all manner of astronomy subjects.
We'll look at many aspects....from our planetary neighbors, to the colliding Galaxies, to where it all started billions of years ago. Some are facts, some are theories, some are simply guesses, but all will be presented in a common sense way....no higher math, no particle physics here. Just a simple understanding of what today's scientists and astronomers are thinking. Some of it may change over the period of just a few years.....so keep an open mind! We'll try to keep the site updated.
We will discuss the beginning of time as it is currently understood by the scientific community, in terms of current observations and theories. As we journey back in time, the immense scale of this universe will be explored, and our role in it may become a lil' bit more clear.
The First Moment examines today's understanding of the history of the Cosmos, from the beginning of the universe to the current time....how the universe began, the Cosmic events that are continually taking place, and the structure of the universe. The hope is that you might better appreciate this great show that occurs every night....even though, I grant you, most of it is beyond our unaided sight! That is, we can see with our unaided eyes only a tiny fraction of the stars in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, never mind the untold numbers of objects beyond our galaxy. There is a whole universe out there, beyond the Milky Way, that we cannot see except through telescopes.... and time-exposed photographs!
Where did it all come from? When did it start? How did it happen? Why?
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Pillars of Creation, Eagle Nebula. Photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 |
These are great questions from curious minds, and some very smart people have been wondering about these things since mankind first lifted his eyes to the night sky. The short answer, currently held, is that it started with what Astrophysicists call the Big Bang, 13,700 million years ago. Scientist don't know how it happened....or why.....
Is there a conflict with a literal interpretation of Genesis?
Most definitely. However, it would be consistent with some interpretations of Genesis, which see the term "day" as referring to a period of time longer than a 24-hour period, maybe a period of eons. The basis of this is founded in the original Hebrew words and meaning, a subject far beyond my ability and expertise.
Does that mean that a belief in God cannot be tolerated?
Not at all.....in fact, a belief in God may well be encouraged by an appreciation of this place where we live....our Universe. Look at the Hubble Space Telescope photo (right). This is a portion of the Eagle Nebula in our Milky Way Galaxy.....where young stars are being formed out of the celestial gas clouds revealed in these fascinating photos. The tall column on the left is nearly 1 light year in length.....about 700 times longer than the size of our solar system!! See the little pink light at the foot of it?....that would represent the size of our solar system!! (Note that it is not our solar system....just representative of the relative size.) This is just one of thousands of photos taken by the Hubble space Telescope begging for us to appreciate the universe we are a part of.....
Interested in learning a bit more? Go back to the top and pick a subject....or just click here to continue to the Home page.
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This site is not a religious site per se, and therefore it does not look to religious teachings for explanations for the beginning of time. Having said that, you will nevertheless find occasional comments related to the existence of a God. It is precisely the purpose of this site, to raise your level of wonderment at this incredible Universe and to simply appreciate the awesome scale of it all. |
Date last updated:
09-Jul-2010
Vistors:
Unless otherwise noted all the photos used herein are courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech.
NASA allows free use of all it's photos, with specific requirements. See NASA Copyright Notification at the following URL: http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/copyright.html