Human
beings are always longing to take a closer look to what is not so close to
them, that is why people have put in huge amount of time and effort in
developing advancements of outer space since the time of Nicolaus Copernicus.
Nicolaus Copernicus was
a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a
comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced
the Earth from the center of the universe. Copernicus’
epochal book, On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres,
published just before his death in 1543, is often regarded as the starting
point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that
began the scientific revolution. His heliocentric model, with the Sun
at the center of the universe, demonstrated that the observed motions of
celestial objects can be explained without putting Earth at rest in the center
of the universe. His work stimulated further scientific investigations,
becoming a landmark in the history of science that is often referred
to as the Copernican Revolution, which went hand in hand with the
revolution in art and culture during Renaissance.
Although we have launched tons of spacecrafts into the space, there is still large area of unknown in the universe. The video clip, “Powers of Ten”, is interesting because it successfully integrates both science and arts. It demonstrates how the view changes as we zoom out each time at the step of power of ten in meters. The video is starting off with a couple lying on grass and ending with reaching into the outer space. I have a strong feeling that the space around us is full of beauty. We shall take advantage of today’s advanced technology to fully appreciate the artistic beauty in space, from the tiniest atomic particle to the enormous universe.
Citations:
1.”Nicolaus Copernicus.” . N.p.. Web. 30 Nov 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus>.
2.”Encyclopedia Astronautica.” . N.p.. Web. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS472US472&authuser=0&biw=1476&bih=815&tbm=isch&tbnid=eFUr6XJYzFrsvM:&im>.
3.”Copernican
System.” The Galileo Project. N.p.. Web. 30 Nov 2013.
<http://galileo.rice.http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/theories/copernican_system.html>.
4.Powers of Ten™ (1977). Dir. Vesna Victoria. Film. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0fKBhvDjuy0>
5. Space pt4. Dir. Vesna Victoria. Film. 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=J5ClKO6AJPo>.
Hi Sijia, I also agree that human beings are fascinated with the unknown territory, like the discovery of new continent. And this time is the space. Mr. Copernicus built the theoretical foundation of our exploration, which is no less significant than Newtonian laws to physics or Darwin's evolution theory to biology. This topic is interesting and has large potential for further investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe video clip, “Powers of Ten” is both educational and recreational too. I watched it like two years ago.If the speed of the camera moves at 1/10 year, according to the theory of relativity, would the time goes backwards?
ReplyDeleteI am totally agree with your point that human beings need to explore further information about the space. Your passage is closely related to our lecture. The space is so beautiful just like your picture and i wish one day i could see it with my own eyes.
ReplyDelete