scholarly journals The Overview Effect and the Ultraview Effect: How Extreme Experiences in/of Outer Space Influence Religious Beliefs in Astronauts

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deana L. Weibel
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Milky Way Galaxy ◽  
Ethnographic Interviews ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Profound Influence ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Cognitive Shift ◽  
The Universe

This paper, based mainly on astronauts’ first-person writings, historical documents, and my own ethnographic interviews with nine astronauts conducted between 2004 and 2020, explores how encountering the earth and other celestial objects in ways never before experienced by human beings has influenced some astronauts’ cosmological understandings. Following the work of Timothy Morton, the earth and other heavenly bodies can be understood as “hyperobjects”, entities that are distributed across time and space in ways that make them difficult for human beings to accurately understand, but whose existence is becoming increasingly detectable to us. Astronauts in outer space are able to perceive celestial objects from vantages literally unavailable on earth, which has often (but not always) had a profound influence on their understandings of humanity, life, and the universe itself. Frank Wright’s term, the “overview effect”, describes a cognitive shift resulting from seeing the Earth from space that increases some astronauts’ sense of connection to humanity, God, or other powerful forces. Following NASA convention (NASA Style Guide, 2012), I will capitalize both Earth and Moon, but will leave all quotations in their original style. The “ultraview effect” is a term I introduce here to describe the parallel experience of viewing the Milky Way galaxy from the Moon’s orbit (a view described reverently by one respondent as a “something I was not ready for”) that can result in strong convictions about the prevalence of life in the universe or even unorthodox beliefs about the origins of humanity. I will compare Morton’s ideas about humanity’s increased awareness of hyperobjects with Joye and Verpooten’s work on awe in response to “bigness”, tying both to astronauts’ lived experiences in order to demonstrate the usefulness of ethnographic data in this context, discuss how human experiences in outer space might influence religious practices and beliefs, and suggest that encounters with hyperobjects hold the potential to be socially beneficial.

The Age of the Earth–A Summary

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
G. Brent Dalrymple
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Lead Isotopes ◽  
Milky Way Galaxy ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Scientific Endeavor ◽  
The Universe

After two centuries of scientific endeavor, scientists have concluded that the age of the Earth is 4.54 billion years. This value, which is based on the relationships between lead isotopes in meteorites and in the Earth, has an uncertainty of less than 1 percent and is consistent with numerous radiometric age measurements on ancient rocks found on the Earth and Moon as well as on meteorites. In addition, the antiquity of the Earth is consistent with evidence indicating that the Milky Way Galaxy and the universe are of the order of 14-16 billion years (abbreviated Ga) in age.

The Long View of Planetary Systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Schrijver
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Giant Planets ◽  
Milky Way Galaxy ◽  
Population Statistics ◽  
The Past ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
The Universe

How many planetary systems formed before our’s did, and how many will form after? How old is the average exoplanet in the Galaxy? When did the earliest planets start forming? How different are the ages of terrestrial and giant planets? And, ultimately, what will the fate be of our Solar System, of the Milky Way Galaxy, and of the Universe around us? We cannot know the fate of individual exoplanets with great certainty, but based on population statistics this chapter sketches the past, present, and future of exoworlds and of our Earth in general terms.

The investigation of the Universe by radio astronomy

1961 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-68
Keyword(s):  
Wavelength Range ◽  
Radio Astronomy ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Sunspot Cycle ◽  
Short Wave ◽  
Radio Waves ◽  
Residual Noise ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Long Wave ◽  
The Universe

Although nearly all the major advances in radio astronomy have taken place during the last fifteen years the basic discoveries were made 30 years ago. At that time Jansky realized that the residual noise in his receiving equipment had a daily sidereal variation and must be the result of radio waves reaching the earth from outer space, and Appleton in the U. K. with Breit and Tuve in America through their studies of the ionosphere laid the foundation of the radio echo techniques of radio astronomy. The radio emission from outer space can be received on earth in the wavelength range from a few millimetres to 10 or 20 metres. The short wave end is limited by absorption in the atmosphere and the long wave end by the ionosphere, and this upper limit tends to vary in sympathy with ionospheric conditions throughout the sunspot cycle. These hindrances will soon be overcome when suitable equipment can be carried in earth satellites; then it should be possible to determine the true wavelength range of these extraterrestrial emissions.

Orbits

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Wittman
Keyword(s):  
General Relativity ◽  
Dark Matter ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Extrasolar Planets ◽  
Binary Star ◽  
Milky Way Galaxy ◽  
Newtonian Model ◽  
Theory Of Gravity ◽  
The Masses ◽  
The Universe

Orbits are ubiquitous in the universe: moons orbit planets, planets orbit stars, stars orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy, and so on. Any theory of gravity will have to explain the properties of all these orbits. To pave the way for developing the metric theory of gravity (general relativity) this chapter examines the basics of orbits as observed and as explained by the Newtonian model of gravity. We can use our understanding of gravity to infer the masses and other properties of these cosmic systems. Te chapter concludes with four optional sections in this spirit, covering the slingshot maneuver; dark matter; binary star orbits and how they reveal the masses of stars; and extrasolar planets.

Kehancuran Alam Semesta dalam Al-Qur'an Perspektif Kosmologi

SUHUF ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Efa Ida Amalia
Keyword(s):  
Human Beings ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Total Destruction ◽  
The World ◽  
Expansion Of The Universe ◽  
End Of The World ◽  
The Universe

The purpose of this research is to know about the process and the steps of the destruction of the Universe (kiamat) in the Qur'an. This phenomenon will be explained through cosmological perspective. Al-Qur'an mentions the phenomenon of the end of the world (universe) or (kiamat) in many verses for more than 700 times. Therefore, human beings are supposed to be able to “read” the phenomenon of the universe.   According to the Qur'an, destruction is divided into two categories: the first is total destruction of the universe and the second is the day of resurrection. The first one is the final destruction of the universe known as the doomsday. At this stage, the expansion of the universe is ceased and leaves the contraction space caused by gravitation. As the  result, all things are more closed to others and destruction cannot be avoided. The second destruction is the destruction of the earth which is caused by human beings attitude

From Russian Icaria to Russian Cosmism

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 361-368
Author(s):  
Fedor I. Girenok
Keyword(s):  
Space Flight ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Problems ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Universe

In the article the author analyzes the phenomenon of Russian cosmism and shows its difference from other possible varieties of cosmism. The author understands Russian cosmism as the idea of extending the definition of the universe by the human beings. A human being doesn’t simply have his place in history, on the Earth and in space, but also broadens it by means of his material and spiritual actions. The idea of the world broadening was popular among Russian naturalists in the 19th and the 20th centuries. The most prominent figures among the Russian cosmism followers were N.F. Fedorov and K. E. Tsiolkovsky. The author distinguishes three directions in the history of Russian cosmism – religious, natural-scientific and artistic-poetical. According to the author, only after Gagarin’s space flight the idea of Russian Icaria transferred itself into Russian cosmism. The article studies the sources of Russian cosmism and explains the meaning of anthropocosmism. The author arrives at the conclusion that Russian cosmism offers its own approach to solving modern global problems that differs from the ideas in the reports to the Roman club.

4. What are planets made of?

2021 ◽  
pp. 47-75
Author(s):  
Raymond T. Pierrehumbert
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Heavy Elements ◽  
Milky Way Galaxy ◽  
First Stars ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

‘What are planets made of?’ assesses what planets are made of, beginning by looking at the life cycle of stars, and the kinds of stars which populate the Universe. Although the first stars of the Universe could not have formed planetary systems, the process did not take long to get under way. The Milky Way galaxy formed not long after the Big Bang and has been building its stock of heavy elements ever since. Thus, our Solar System incorporates ingredients from a mix of myriad expired stars, most of which have been processed multiple times through short-lived stars.

scholarly journals Surveys for Metal-Poor Stars in the Galaxy: A New Window on the Low-Abundance Universe

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-61
Author(s):  
T.C. Beers
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
High Signal ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Milky Way Galaxy ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Chemical History ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Universe

Measurement of the abundances of the light and heavy elements in stars of the Milky Way galaxy is the cornerstone for the study of numerous aspects of chemical evolution in galaxies and the Universe. We stand poised to enter an era of rapid understanding, as new-generation telescopes with apertures in the 8m-10m class enable astronomers to obtain high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise near-UV, optical, and IR spectra of the stars which have locked up the chemical history of our Galaxy in their outer atmospheres. It is thus appropriate to review present surveys for the low-metallicity stars of our Galaxy, as the stars we uncover today will be studied so intensively in the coming decades.

scholarly journals DESAIN MATERI PENDIDIKAN KOSMOLOGI (KAWNIYYAH) PERSPEKTIF AL-QURAN

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Ah. Zakki Fuad
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Material ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Material Loss ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Exploitation And Utilization ◽  
Thematic Approach ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Bahasa Indonesia

<p><strong>Bahasa Indonesia:</strong></p><p>Eksploitasi dan pemanfaatan sumber kekayaan alam yang berlebihan dan tidak terkendali di Indonesia telah mengakibatkan banyak  bencana alam yang menelan  korban jiwa dan harta. Bencana alam ini tidak akan terjadi apabila manusia mempunyai hubungan dan pengetahuan yang baik tentang alam semesta. Hal yang harus dilakukan adalah menyiapkan generasi masa depan dengan bekal ilmu yang cukup tentang kosmos/alam semesta/kawniyyah melalui lembaga-lembaga pendidikan. Lembaga pendidikan sebagai desainer harus menyiapkan materi pendidikan kosmologi bagi peserta didik yang baik dan aplikatif. Materi pendidikan kosmologi banyak ditemukan dalam ayat-ayat kawniyyah  dalam al-Quran, tetapi ayat-ayat tersebut masih belum didesain sebagi sebuah teori yang aplikatif bagi lembaga pendidikan. Dengan pendekatan tematik (mawdhu’i)  ayat-ayat al-Quran yang masih sangat luas bisa dibuat menjadi desain materi pendidikan kosmologi bagi lembaga pendidikan. Materi pendidikan kosmologi dalam al-Quran dibagi menjadi tiga jenis; 1) Kosmologi daratan yang meliputi bumi, tanah, tumbuh-tumbuhan dan hewan. 2) Kosmologi lautan yang meliputi air dan perikanan. 3) Kosmologi angkasa yang meliputi matahari, bulan, bintang, awan, hujan dan angin. Pengetahuan dan pemahaman yang baik tentang kosmologi akan menghindarkan manusia dari musibah dan bencana alam.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>English:</strong></p><p>Uncontrolled exploitation and utilization of natural resources in Indonesia has caused several natural disasters with victims and financial-material loss. The disasters would not happen if human beings has better understanding about the universe. Therefore, the next generations must be prepared with cosmology/kawniyyah in educational institutions. A more applicative cosmology in school is urgently needed. In a framework of thematic approach, Quranic verses is widely opened for the instructional material in educational institutions. Cosmological mystery in the Quran is defined into the following three categories: (1) land cosmology involving the earth, soil, plants, and animals; (2) sea cosmology including water and fishes; and (3) space cosmology mentioning the sun, the moon, clouds, rains, and winds. Better understanding of cosmology prevents human beings from natural disaster.</p>

scholarly journals Militarisation and Privatisation of Outer Space: A Grave Threat to Humanity

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-124
Author(s):  
Prabhu Ray Yadav
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Earth

Nations are spending millions of amounts in amassing arms and nuclear weapons on Earth and even in Space. Such a situation is bound to lead humanity to the brink of a catastrophic war on Earth and even in Space. In this context, sensible human beings should oppose all war-mongering activities that could ultimately invite the very extinction of humanity. This paper tries to emphasize the consequences of the misuse of arms and ammunition on Earth and in Space. This paper focuses on spreading the need for co-existence of people worldwide and eschews the thoughts of waging a war that may wipe out the humanity’s face from the Earth.

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