Perceptions - Astronomy's Strange Observance of TIME

When we're riding in a car, we have the choice of peering
either forward into the "future" or rearward into the "past".

Isn't it awesome to think that we do not have this choice
when peering out into space? Astronomy is encumbered
by the fact that every direction we look, we can only be
peering into the past.

Even when our sister planet Selene is at last quarter and
"out in front of us" in our fast-paced spin/revolution 'round
the Sun, Selene's reflected light, showing half of its surface
which faces us, takes about a second-and-a-half to reach
us. So even when Selene "leads" the Earth around the
Sun, we are seeing the Moon as it WAS 1½ seconds ago.

So many of the photons of eons past are still becoming
available to us for observation, while many more passed by
us long ago and even recently... and will never be available
to us again.

I often wonder where they are going, and if anyone else is
out there to see, observe and to study them? And i also
wonder what it might be like if we could still see these
photons, this energy, which has passed by us on the way
to parts unknown... and unknowable.

All this gives new meaning to the idea of not being able to
see nor foretell the future, doesn't it?

happy days and...
starry starry nights!

--
Twinkle twinkle little star,
I don't wonder what you are,
What i *really* want to see...
Is there someone there like me?

http://www.seti.org/

Indelibly yours,
Paine http://www.savethechildren.org/
http://www.painellsworth.net/

Painius wrote:
When we're riding in a car, we have the choice of peering
either forward into the "future" or rearward into the "past".
Me?
When I'm a passenger, I tend to look out the side window.

Timeless ...



Isn't it awesome to think that we do not have this choice
when peering out into space? Astronomy is encumbered
by the fact that every direction we look, we can only be
peering into the past.

Even when our sister planet Selene is at last quarter and
"out in front of us" in our fast-paced spin/revolution 'round
the Sun, Selene's reflected light, showing half of its surface
which faces us, takes about a second-and-a-half to reach
us. So even when Selene "leads" the Earth around the
Sun, we are seeing the Moon as it WAS 1½ seconds ago.

So many of the photons of eons past are still becoming
available to us for observation, while many more passed by
us long ago and even recently... and will never be available
to us again.

I often wonder where they are going, and if anyone else is
out there to see, observe and to study them? And i also
wonder what it might be like if we could still see these
photons, this energy, which has passed by us on the way
to parts unknown... and unknowable.

All this gives new meaning to the idea of not being able to
see nor foretell the future, doesn't it?

happy days and...
starry starry nights!

--
Twinkle twinkle little star,
I don't wonder what you are,
What i *really* want to see...
Is there someone there like me?

http://www.seti.org/

Indelibly yours,
Paine http://www.savethechildren.org/
http://www.painellsworth.net/

Hi Painius You made me laugh when I'm seeing the past when looking out
my car's rear mirror.(i don't think so) I can drive in reverse looking
into the rear window. All we see here on the Earth's surface is the
result of reflected white light from the Sun. Fire,electricity,and the
Sun is for the most part direct light,all else is reflected light. Our
car's speed is much to slow to separate past from future. Our brain
changes photons frequency to electrons which pick up the same wave
length. Still electrons can't travel as fast as photons. The Sun's flow
of photons is continuos. No stop and go. Should the Sun's just up and
disappear,and like Einstien told us "we would not know this happened
until 8 minutes later.Painius if Newton is right about gravity being
instantaneous we would know the Sun was gone instantly and the Earth
flung straight away from its curved motion that was created by the Sun's
gravity.Off to explore the Milky way. Bert

G=EMC^2 Glazier wrote:

Hi Painius You made me laugh when I'm seeing the past when looking out
my car's rear mirror.(i don't think so) I can drive in reverse looking
into the rear window. All we see here on the Earth's surface is the
result of reflected white light from the Sun. Fire,electricity,and the
Sun is for the most part direct light,all else is reflected light. Our
car's speed is much to slow to separate past from future. Our brain
changes photons frequency to electrons which pick up the same wave
length.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaah

Good one, Beert.

Still electrons can't travel as fast as photons. The Sun's flow
of photons is continuos. No stop and go. Should the Sun's just up and
disappear,and like Einstien told us "we would not know this happened
until 8 minutes later.Painius if Newton is right about gravity being
instantaneous we would know the Sun was gone instantly and the Earth
flung straight away from its curved motion that was created by the Sun's
gravity.Off to explore the Milky way. Bert


Do you engage brain at all before using the "send" function on the
webtv?

--
Official Associate AFA-B Vote Rustler
Official Overseer of Kooks and Trolls in alt.astronomy

"The original human being was a female hermaphrodite with
both male and female genitalia."

"Human beings CAN NOT live in a solar system without a sun
with a ferrite core and a planet without a solid iron core."

-- Alexa Cameron, Kook of the Year 2004

"I am a sean being from another planet."
-- Darla aka Dr. Why aka Dr. Yubiwan aka Silouen aka ...

"Painius" wrote in news:YxGgf.147737$zb5.72146
@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

When we're riding in a car, we have the choice of peering
either forward into the "future" or rearward into the "past".

Everything you see is in the past. I matters not if you peer out to space or
at a scene down the road. Even you own hand, you see as it was a nano second
or two ago.

Klazmon

Llanzlan Klazmon wrote:
"Painius" wrote in news:YxGgf.147737$zb5.72146
@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

When we're riding in a car, we have the choice of peering
either forward into the "future" or rearward into the "past".

Everything you see is in the past. I matters not if you peer out to space or
at a scene down the road. Even you own hand, you see as it was a nano second
or two ago.

Klazmon

Ser Klazmon,

I'm going to close my eyes, and when I open them, I'll be seeing the
future.

HTH,
Pearl

"Feats of magic with special relativity since 1992."

"Llanzlan Klazmon" wrote in message...
7.6...

"Painius" wrote in news:YxGgf.147737$zb5.72146
@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

When we're riding in a car, we have the choice of peering
either forward into the "future" or rearward into the "past".

Everything you see is in the past. I matters not if you peer out to space
or
at a scene down the road. Even you own hand, you see as it was a nano
second
or two ago.

Klazmon

You're right, of course, Klazmon, but you do see the diff
don't you? When it's a scene down the road, we can see
the reflected light fast enough to be able to sense where
were going, and to a certain extent, what we can expect
when we get there.

Not so with peering out into space. That wonderful little
"c", a limitation on the speed of light, inflicts a blindness
upon us which cannot be overcome by any means
presently at our technological disposal.

It's very much like driving forward at breakneck speed
with a windshield painted black, and all we can see is in
the rearview mirror--all we can look at is what's behind
us.

happy days and...
starry starry nights!

--
Twinkle twinkle little star,
I don't wonder what you are,
What i *really* want to see...
Is there someone there like me?

http://www.seti.org/

Indelibly yours,
Paine http://www.savethechildren.org/
http://www.painellsworth.net/

Hi Painius The time of "now" is the state of time that we exist in. It
is the fulcrum(middle) past on the back side,and the future up front.
We move towards the future,and hopefully the past don't catch up to
us.Best not to forget past events can effect events in the future.
Events always happen in the past however. Now is an infinite short time.
Or I could sum all this up by theorizing that time moves in quantum
leaps,from Now to Now Tick Tock Bert

"G=EMC^2 Glazier" wrote...
in message ...

Hi Painius The time of "now" is the state of time that we exist in. It
is the fulcrum(middle) past on the back side,and the future up front.
We move towards the future,and hopefully the past don't catch up to
us.Best not to forget past events can effect events in the future.
Events always happen in the past however. Now is an infinite short time.
Or I could sum all this up by theorizing that time moves in quantum
leaps,from Now to Now Tick Tock Bert

Tick Tock is right, pal...

Dates in calendar are closer than they appear.

--
Indelibly yours,
Paine http://www.savethechildren.org/
http://www.painellsworth.net/

From Painius:

You're right, of course, Klazmon, but you do see the diff don't you?
When it's a
scene down the road, we can see the
reflected light fast enough to be able to
sense where were going, and to a
certain extent, what we can expect when we get there.

...An example of sumpin that's `functionally instantaneous`.
And then there's the example of db who is
`functionally' braindead. :-))
oc