Category Archives: Astronomy

Are We a Viral Equivalent on the Universal Stage?

The universe is immense in the extreme. Objects like stars can become so large that it’s almost impossible to comprehend their scale. This video explains it quite well.

When comparing the scale at which we live and that of astronomical bodies like stars we can’t help but feel that we may be small cogs in something much, much more vast. Could that vast something be a life form so massive, and therefore foreign to us, that we fail to recognize it as alive? If we look in the other direction on the scale, toward the very small, it may help us to begin the process of investigating this notion.

A virus is considered to be one of the smallest units of life or psuedo-life.

Adeno-Associated virus

According to Wikipedia: A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of other organisms [or hosts].

When observing humans from a star’s perspective, an interesting spin to the above definition comes to mind: A human is a small creature with an ever-expanding civilization that replicates only inside the living atmospheres of other astronomical bodies [or hosts].

Human beings and viruses are very different from one another. If a virus was able to think and understand it’s own properties, it would hardly imagine it possible that life forms billions of times larger than itself could exist. Questions like; “How could such a being support itself structurally? Or transmit information within itself? Or have a metabolism?” might be at the top of this thinking virus’s list. And their would be other questions it could not conceive to ask because of the limitations to it’s perspective. It’s possible we have similar limitations when it comes to the universe… at least for now.

Follow me on Twitter
https://twitter.com/HumbleFuturist

A Li-Fi Universe

I recently watched a Ted Talk by Harald Hass. He demonstrated the technology of Li-Fi (Light Fidelity). In short, it is the use of the visible light part of the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit data. Technology such as Wi-Fi uses the radio wave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Li-Fi has a far, far greater data capacity than Wi-Fi.

In a way, astronomy utilizes a type of “Light Communication” already. Stars communicate their composition by emitting a certain spectrum of light. Astronomers then decode the light to determine what elements are present.

Some theorize that light travels at different speeds when in different mediums and perhaps in interstellar space. What if the speed of light moves a great deal faster between star systems?

Stars could communicate, or be a part of a communication network, in Li-Fi. Not to mention that stars also emit radio waves (Wi-Fi), ultraviolet waves etc. Quite a large spectrum.

Spiral Galaxy

Billions of stars buzzing with electromagnetic emissions.

And to go further out on a limb; what if stars are the equivalent of neurons or have the capacity for thought themselves? If the thoughts of these thinking beings move slower, at a different time rate than ours…. the time spans that it takes to receive information from star to star, may not seem long.

Follow me on Twitter
https://twitter.com/HumbleFuturist

What if Galaxies are Artificial Constructs?

I was recently reading about the Kardashev Scale. It’s a method of measuring a civilizations level of technological advancement. “A Type I civilization uses all available resources impinging on its home planet, Type II harnesses all the energy of its star (See Dyson Sphere), and Type III of its galaxy.” So let’s assume there have been Type III civilizations that have existed at some point within the billions of years the universe has been around. These civilizations would have the ability to move stars and interstellar matter on a scale we can barely comprehend.

On a recent episode of Through the Wormhole, physicist Michio Kaku, postulated that a wormhole could be created by arranging stars in to a tight orbit around each other. A wormhole could be a gateway in to another universe, a way for a species to escape our universe. Because ultimately our universe will come to an end. This eventuality represents a challenge to a long-lived, advanced species. In much the same way, our species faces the relatively short term challenge of relocating our entire population from this planet.  Our sun will destroy the earth in a few billion years, if not sooner.

Astronomers have found evidence of stars orbiting blackholes in the center of galaxies. See diagram below.

stars-orbit-blackhole

What if the billions of galaxies we see represent the constructs of billions of species who have reached Type III status?

Wormhole Factories?

Could galaxies be constructed wormhole factories?

Galaxies could be wormhole factories in the making, escape routes for advanced species. Our species, so far, could be the equivalent of microscopic mold growing on a damp floor, in a small room within a massive car factory; An incidental development in the grand scheme of things.

Follow me on Twitter
https://twitter.com/HumbleFuturist

Retro Causality

One of the more interesting concepts being discussed lately and making it’s way closer to main stream is Retro Causality. For the purposes here, it means the future can effect the past.

Some interpretations of Einsteins theory of relativity lead to the idea of the “Block Universe”. A universe where the past, the present and the future exist simultaneously. We simply live in the illusion that there is a direction to time…forward. See the diagrams below.

The Block Universe

Past, present and future exist simultaneously

The Block Universe Simplified

2D, 3D, 4D (Time)

Rather than flowing forward, different points in time are represented as different dimensions within the block. Like one amorphous loaf of bread, something that happens to one crumb within (say the growth of mold) effects the crumbs next to it, no matter the direction.

Some say the Global Consciousness Project at Princeton University may have evidence to support this theory. Apparently, information about the tragic 911 attacks was accessed by our collective unconscious before it occurred.

Planetary Life Forms Around a Neutron Star (Pulsar)

Many astronomers and scientists currently believe life would be impossible around a pulsar. A pulsar would bathe the surface of a planet in massive amounts of radiation constantly, like clockwork. Like a heart beat. Watch the video below.

I don’t think we should assume all life in the universe is made of the same “fragile” components as we are. And it’s possible that life does not have to be self contained. A pulsar could serve the function of a “heart” to silicon based life forms on the surface. It could distribute nutrients (energy) deep into an organism. Especially if that organism was semi transparent to the radiation. Pulsars are constant and regular for millions of years. The energy they produce could easily be relied upon by organisms over the course of an evolutionary period.

If this concept sounds strange to you, think about how much we rely on our sun. If the sun were to stop shining, plants would die, the food chain would be in shambles and we would most likely perish from starvation. If we did not freeze to death first. We too have an unbreakable umbilical cord to our star. At least for the time being.