Video: Simulation Renders Entire Known Universe

It all just seems a bit presumptuous to think that out of everything we’ve observed, that somehow our species was divinely put here for some sort of intent.  The number of other possible planets like ours, even though their existence is probably rather rare, must still be mind boggling.

Also, as an aside, videos and images that put into perspective how very tiny and insignificant we are make me want to call in sick to work tomorrow to go do something equally pointless yet far more enjoyable.

Astronomers have seen the furthest back in time ever, measuring light from a star that exploded 13 billion years ago, just after the dawn of the universe.

They traced a gamma-ray burst called GRB 090423 to see the light from the massive star that died 630 million years after the Big Bang that brought the universe into being, they reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

Whoa.  Kind of blows the whole 6,000 year thing out of the water, no? Check the link for the rest of the story.

— Lawrence Krauss, A Universe From Nothing

Thirty-two planets have been discovered outside Earth’s solar system through the use of a high-precision instrument installed at a Chilean telescope, an international team announced Monday. This artist’s rendering shows one of the so-called exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. This artist’s rendering shows one of the so-called exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. The existence of the so-called exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — was announced at the European Southern Observatory/Center for Astrophysics, University of Porto conference in Porto, Portugal, according to a statement issued by the observatory.

Poor Pluto… now we’ve not only demoted him to a non-planetary state, but he’s been replaced with newer, cooler exoplanets.

Anyone have a countdown until Mountain Dew names a soda after this? “Mountain Dew EXTREME EXOPLANET!”