I literally cannot stop thinking about the idea of "space" ever since we got the new images of pluto.

>If space is infinite, where does it start or end?
>If there's no start/end, where the hell is the center?
>How did space even come to?
>Where do the rocks/planets even COME FROM? How did they even get IN space to begin with?


like I am seriously contemplating my existence rn, help me sort this out atrl-astronomers. As humans we're born with concepts such as star/end/time and that doesn't seem to apply in space AT ALL. It truly is fascinating.

Have you ever been in a science class?

Buy Good For You by Selena Gomez on ITunes right now. It will help you.

I haven't done science in like years actually, it's not what I'm majoring in.

Ever heard of the Big Bang? Read up on it.

"Space" is the vacuum in which matter (physical and perceptible particles) exists, and it therefore cannot have size, boundaries, or a center point. The center of the "observable universe" is here on Earth at any given point and in the Sun overall, but that's only because we can only see so far in every direction. Matter is the physical expression of pure energy, and it was created due to the extreme energy levels during the Big Bang, which is when a hyper-condensed concentration of energy rapidly expanded from a singularity (meaning it was focused into and infinitesimally small, immeasurable point in space and blew up) to a larger universe, which has since become our universe. Large objects like rocks and planets derived from matter's inherent physical attraction to itself, gravity, and the rest is something for your biology classes to have explained.

ATRL member JessieJHeartbeat, may she rest in peace [], had this really inspirational signature quote about space:

"I just don't get why people want to make sense of the world. At the end of the day, we are all living on some random rock in the middle of a big black darkness which we know nothing about. It is pretty much a lost cause. Don't agonise over it...just enjoy life!"

Venus from the critically acclaimed album, ARTPOP, contains all the answers. Purchase it on iTunes.

I think what OP wants to know is where did that "condensed concentration of energy that led to the big bang" come from?

And the answer is: no one ****ing knows.

Which is why the Genesis version of God creating it all is so popular.

That's a great answer.

What's really intriguing to me is the origin of the Big Bang. Why did it happen ?

a mess!
Google it sis
but planets form when protostars collect material to increase their mass.

There are some good books on the subject. I recommend Lawrence Krauss' "A Universe from Nothing."

In that case, there are scientific theories backed by observable evidence (for those who don't subscribe to faith-based universal origin theories).

One of the two leading theories, backed by theoretical physicists like Stephen Hawking, actually states that there was no "cause" or "before," because time itself as a dimension and as an aspect of space-time emerged with that expansion. If you look into the work behind it, it doesn't sound as much of a cop-out as you might think.

The other prevailing physics theory states that the universe sort of oscillates; the previous iteration of the universe collapsed upon itself to become this singularity and "bounced" back into another Big Bang, and our universe - if this theory holds true - will one day follow suit.

These two theories actually work well together; because many laws of physics break down at the infinitesimally small scale and infinite energies of that singularity, it's not entirely far-fetched to postulate that our version of time reconstituted with the expansion of the singularity after "ending" with the crunch of the old universe.

While we don't know the ultimate origin of reality and the universe themselves, these at least provide insight into the origin of this particular physical universe.

In my opinion, and the reason I am agnostic rather than atheist, it isn't possible for us to know what the origin of reality is. Our minds cannot handle the conceptual aspects of it, and perhaps no biological or mechanical entity will ever reach the intelligence levels required. Our technology will also never be able to test it by our current theories, because they deal with the infinite - whether infinitely small or infinitely large, we can't do it.

So, as my consolation to everyone here, we will probably never even begin to conceive of the true meaning and origin of our reality. Have a nice day!

Is Space even real

And even if it is, what is reality? What does "real" mean?

This thread is literally made every month. But it's an interesting topic so ..

And this is why I love to think and read about Artificial Superintelligence (ASI). ASI could provide us with far more answers than we have today regarding the nature of our reality simply because it would be so much smarter than humans.

I love thinking about those things
I don't have any answers, I just love the mystery

You're right, there's a lot of questions that we'll probably never have an answer to. In a way, it is okay. Humanity has already uncovered so much. We're pushing the boundaries of space exploration. The Pluto flyby, for example, is really exciting.

I'm also excited for the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. Hopefully, with the use of infrared, we'll be able to see the very first moments of the universe.

And on a related note, this is why I'm excited about research into the human consciousness and the idea of moving it to a digital, artificial construct, but that's neither here nor there and may unfortunately not happen in my lifetime.