February 14, 1990.
"As the spacecraft, Voyager 1, left our planetary neighbourhood for the fringes of the solar system, engineers turned it around for one last look at its home planet. Voyager 1 was 6.4 billion kilometres away, and approximately 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane, when it captured this portrait of our world. Caught in the centre of scattered light rays, Earth appears as a tiny point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixels in size."
~*~
See that dot?
That little circle of light in the midst of the Sun's rays,
surrounded by darkness?
That's us.
All we are is a 0.12 pixel dot.
In the grander scheme of the universe,
we are nothing.
Seven billion people living on this planet.
Seven billion beating hearts.
Seven billion smiles and laughs.
Seven billion cries of anguish.
Civilization.
Cities.
Leaders.
Good.
Bad.
Totalitarian regimes.
Freedom and liberation.
Life.
Love.
Hate.
Death.
Change.
Technology.
Your first love.
Your parents.
Your grandparents.
Your friends.
Your peers.
That sad kid sitting alone.
That popular kid.
The realists,
the idealists,
the optimists
and the pessimists.
Historians.
World leaders.
Philosophers.
Religion.
Belief.
Faith.
Music.
Words.
Knowledge.
Science.
Emotion.
Millions of years,
and millions more.
Then and now.
Homo Habilis,
Homo Erectus,
Homo Sapien,
and Homo Sapien Sapien.
One dot in a picture
caught in a sunbeam.
That is us.
Everything we are and everything we know
is on that dot.
That dot is everything we are and everything we know.
"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena."
But it is our stage.
And we are the actors.
We are the dancers,
and we are the singers.
We could be the beacon of life
in the universe.
And yet, should we be snuffed out like a candle,
do you think the universe will notice?
Do you think anyone but ourselves
noticed that pale blue dot?
Marvelled at its wonder?
Each one of us is a miniscule fraction
Of a small world
for only the briefest period of time.
A fraction of a dot in a 0.12 pixel.
We are but a pale dot
subordinate to the vast oblivion
just outside our solar system.
We are all we have.
We only have each other.
Don't erase the pale blue dot.
~*~
This piece was inspired by Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" speech, which was in turn inspired by the picture Voyager 1 took of planet Earth from 6.4 billion kilometres away.
The picture can be seen above (or to the right if you're on a computer) and the youtube link is also attached (viewed above or to the right if you're on a computer).
For a transcript of the speech, click the external link or alternatively highlight the following and copy (by clicking 'share' and then 'copy link') :
http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/earth/pale-blue-dot.html
It's a fantastic, eye-opening speech with many topics one should take into account and consider as well as showing one the bigger picture.
- Christian
