How Big is Our Universe?

The first telescope was invented in 1608 by Hans Lipperhey, a lens grinder in Holland. Galileo Galilei, an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, improved that invention to create a “spyglass” that he used to study the heavens. He made several important observations as he studied the planets and was the first to discover that the moon’s surface is not smooth as previously believed, but has mountain ridges, valleys, and craters.

Galileo studied the movement of Jupiter and its stars and published his findings in a book titled The Starry Messenger, printed in Venice in 1610. In this book he recorded observations made with his spyglass that contributed to the scientific revolution in astronomy. (See it on the internet under The Starry Messenger). In studying the planet Venus and its rotation across the sun, Galileo discovered that the Earth was not the center of the universe.  He observed how the other planets and their moons orbit around the Sun which meant that the Sun is the center of the universe.

Through the use of NASA’s Kepler telescope and the Cassini telescope, astronomers  increased their knowledge of our solar system. With the Hubble space telescope, astronomers discovered that the Milky Way is so large, it would take 100,000 years, traveling at the speed of light (670 million m.p.h.) to cross from one edge to the other. NASA’s newest and most powerful deep space telescope was launched on December 25, 2021. With the James Webb telescope  researchers are discovering thousands of planets in more distant galaxies as well as observing more closely the objects in our solar system. You can follow the progress of NASA’s research with the James Webb telescope on their website at https://www.webb.nasa.gov.   
 
This may all sound like science fiction to anyone who does not study astronomy, but the giant telescopes are recording awesome pictures that confirm the vastness of outer space.  Astronomers hope to find other faraway planets which could support life.  But with the astronomical distances in the universe, would we be able to reach another planet in our lifetime?  Will there someday be a way to travel at the speed of light without our bodies disintegrating or suffering other effects of space travel?

When I look at the amazing pictures being transmitted by the James Webb telescope, I am reminded of the Dr. Seuss book Horton Hears A Who in which an elephant named Horton hears sounds coming from a piece of dust.  He believed an entire world just like his was in the speck of dust and takes on the job of protecting the little Whos in their tiny world that he called Whoville. The Who people went about their lives while Horton carried them around.  Did Dr. Seuss have a premonition of a world larger than anyone imagined?  Are we living on a planet that is merely a speck of dust?  Are we Who people living on a planet known as Whoville?

Jane Clark
June 2012 -  Revised 2023

Author’s  Bio:  Jane Clark has been Co-director of Writers Bloc since 2009 and enjoys writing essays, historical articles, memoirs, short stories and fiction. Her two novels True Allegiance and True Legacy are available on Amazon.com/Books.