The earth is the home of mankind and the cradle of our survival and development. From ancient times to the present, mankind has been looking forward to one day when we can get out of this cradle and see the world outside the earth. And this wish was finally realized after mankind entered the era of technology.
In 1957, as the first man-made satellite soared into the sky, it marked the beginning of a new era for mankind and the opening of an unprecedented “Great Space Era”. Only when we truly walk out of the earth can we see the true face of the earth, and only when you stand in space can you understand the smallness of the earth and the vastness of the universe. After mankind walked out of the earth, the first thing to explore is the moon around us, and manned landing on the moon was realized in 1969. This is a feat for mankind to open the era of large spaceflight.
Although after humans walked out of the earth, the real manned exploration of the planet is currently only one moon, but the probes invented by man have reached more distant alien worlds, and several probes even walked out of the heliosphere and entered interstellar space. .
We all understand that only by going out and going further can we truly understand the solar system and the universe. Due to various conditions, human beings cannot take the spacecraft to travel the long starry sky by themselves, so the probe has become an important tool for us to understand the secrets of the solar system.
The landing of human probes on Mars gives us a more comprehensive understanding of Mars. Compared to the mysteries of the inner galaxy, the mystery of the edge of the solar system attracts us more. In order to explore the mysteries of the edge of the solar system, scientists have also sent several probes to the edge of the solar system. Five of them broke through the sun’s gravitational constraints and entered interstellar space. They are Pioneer 10 launched by NASA in 1972, Pioneer 11 launched in 1973, Voyager 1 and 2 launched in 1977, and New Horizons launched in 2006.
Among the five spacecraft that flew out of the solar system, the farthest one was Voyager 1, which reached a speed of 43.6 kilometers per second after two gravitational accelerations by Jupiter and Saturn. This is a speed that makes us feel incredible. Even at this speed, it took 36 years to fly out of the solar system into interstellar space.
Voyager 1 flew out of the heliosphere into interstellar space in 2003, and then continued to fly so far that it has crossed 22.4 billion kilometers. For current human technology, 22.4 billion kilometers is a very long distance, which is equivalent to 150 times the distance between the earth and the sun.
Voyager 1 has been in contact with the earth during its decades of voyage, and sent some precious photos taken along the way back to the earth, so that we have a better understanding of the solar system. However, with the passage of time, the energy of Voyager 1 has also become less and less. Although it has not been completely disconnected, it is no longer able to take pictures.
Scientists naturally knew this situation, so in 1990 they issued instructions to Voyager 1 to take the last picture of the earth, and then Voyager 1 went into a dormant state, which was also to save it the last bit of energy. After all, what scientists want to know most is the condition of the edge of the solar system. If we let Voyager 1 work and shoot frequently, then when it reaches the edge of the solar system, the energy will be exhausted. At that time, we will not be able to get precious data on the edge of the solar system.
According to instructions, Voyager 1 aimed the imaging system at the earth for the last shot, and then transmitted this precious photo back to the earth through electromagnetic waves, which took 5.5 hours. It is this last photo that made the scientist fall into contemplation, so what is special about this photo?
We can also take a look at this photo. Its background is in a dark and fuzzy state. The only bright spot on it is the tiny dusty spot. In fact, the point of the original photo is also invisible. After receiving the photo sent back by Voyager 1, the scientist saw this point after zooming in on the image.
This point is so plain in the image, but it is our home earth for millions of years. This was taken from a distance of 6 billion kilometers. At this position we look back at the earth, and it is as small as dust suspended in a dark starry sky. The surrounding dark space seemed to swallow the earth at any time.
This is the first time that mankind has intuitively felt the insignificance of the earth in a distant starry sky. Although astronauts will often walk out of the earth and stand in space to look at the earth, but in low-Earth orbit, the earth we see is still relatively large and very Beautiful and dazzling. But looking at the earth from the starry sky 6 billion kilometers away, it has no beautiful demeanor. We can only see a tiny spot as small as dust.
One point carries more than 7 billion human beings and the starry sky dream of mankind. If it were not for human beings to walk out of the earth and see the vastness of the universe, it is estimated that no one would believe that human beings actually exist in a tiny dust. I believe that many of my friends have heard: “One sand, one world, one flower and one heaven”. This tells us that a grain of sand can contain a world, and a flower can also contain a world.
Before human beings walked out of the earth, we were more of a compliment to Yihua Yiwu, and we would not have thought that the earth on which humans live is similar to a grain of sand. But through the last photo taken by Voyager 1, we really understand what a flower and a world are. From the perspective of the universe, the earth is a grain of sand, the solar system is a grain of sand, and the Milky Way is also a grain of sand.
If in the future it is confirmed that there is space outside the universe and the theory of multiverse is confirmed, then the vast universe in our eyes may be as small as a grain of sand in the world outside the universe. Through this photo, we also deeply feel the danger of the universe, the earth is too small, and human beings are currently protected by the earth.
However, compared to the universe, the earth is also very fragile. Once a danger comes, the earth will also be unable to protect mankind. And if human beings want to escape the protection of the earth, and in turn protect the mother of the earth, it needs more powerful technology. Only with more powerful technology can we go further and know more the mysteries of the universe.
At the same time, we must also understand that although human beings are intelligent lives and have entered the age of technology, we have nothing special and nothing to be proud of. The amount of dust in the universe like the Earth is unpredictable, and the number of extraterrestrial civilizations can not be estimated. Human civilization has only developed for more than 5,000 years, while alien civilizations may have been developed for tens of thousands of years, hundreds of millions of years. The strength is far beyond our imagination.
Only by working hard to develop science and technology can the destiny of mankind be in his own hands and be able to use science and technology to overcome the day when danger comes. Although the earth is small in the universe, human beings are great. Even though we are still very small, as long as we have enough development time, I believe that one day, human beings can become interstellar civilization and become the overlord of the universe.