DavidKehr

TrinaVanAusdal
PHYS1040
November18,2014
AstronomyConversationPaper
Itssurprisinghowselfcenteredhumansare.Wearentofteninclinedtothinkabout
whatsbeyondourimmediatesurroundings,atleastIhaventbeen.Itseasytobecomecaught
upinthemonotonyofdaytodaylife.Theseeminglyincessantnarrationthatconsumesour
consciousnessisntofteninterestedintheworldoutsideofourselves.Thewonderofastronomy
andmymindhaveclashedtogetherliketwoprimitivestonestosparkafireofcuriosityabout
ouruniverse.Thisassignmentwasgoodreasontosharethatflameofinterestwithmypeersin
theformofatwohourconversation.
Tosaythatanindividualhaspsychologicalcouragewouldmeanthattheindividualis
opentohavingtheiropinionschanged,andofteninterestedinthatprocess.ThefriendsIchoseto
converseaboutastronomyexemplifythatcouragewell.Inapoorlylitstudyroominthe
basementofSaltLakeCommunityCollegesMarkosianLibrarywemettodiscusscontroversial
ideasinthedisciplineofastronomy.November18,2014wasthedaywhenwediscussedenergy
anditsorigins,possiblelifeonotherplanets,thepossibilityofhumansbecomingan
interplanetaryspecies,acomparisonoftheastronomersoftodaytotheGreekscientistsofthe
past,andthepossibilityofanEarthendingimpact,similartotheonethatdecimatedthe
dinosaurs.

IplannedforEdgar,Sergio,Braxton,andItospeakaboutthetopicsmentionedandafew
more.Unfortunately,timedidnotallow.Wefoundourselveslockeddeeplyinconversation
aboutafewtopicswhichdrainedalargeportionofourplannedconversationtime.IfIwereto
repeatthisexerciseIwouldeitherplantocoverlesstopicsorplanfortheconversationtaking
quiteabitmoretime.Idalsoconsiderimplementingrulestothediscussion.Forexample,Id
onlyallowafewminutesforatopictobediscussed,andtrytokeeptheconversationfrom
driftingtoofarofffromastronomy,althoughphilosophicaldiscussionisoftenspurredfrom
discussionaboutastronomy.
Iwassurprisedbyhowmuchdiscussioncouldbesparkedbyanideapresentedby
astronomy.Manyofthetopicswediscussedendedupbeingphilosophicalsenseasopposedtoa
discussionbasedaroundscienceandhardfacts.Forexample,wespokeaboutthepossibilityof
humansbecominginterplanetaryandwhetherornotthatwasthenextstepinourevolution.We
hadageneralconsensusthatitwaspossiblebymeansofscientificdiscovery,butwefound
ourselvesdiscussingtheethicalimplicationsofthatevolutionarystep.Wouldtherebeflag
wavingontheplanets?Inotherwords,wouldcountriesororganizationsbeabletoclaimlandon
otherplanets?Ifso,wouldthatleadtoanEarthboundwaroverinterstellarproperty?
Iwasalsosurprisedbyhoweasilymyfriendsrememberedbasiclawsoftheuniverse
fromhighschool.Forexample,whenthetopicofenergyanditsoriginswasbroughtup,it
quicklyacknowledgedthatenergycanneitherbecreatedordestroyedandthereforetheamount
oftotalenergyneverchanges,butoftenchangesandcyclesthroughforms.
WemadeacomparisonoftheGreekscientistsofthepasttotheastrophysicistsoftoday.
Wediscussedhowourknowledgeoftheuniversetodaywillbedwarfedbyscientistsinthe

future.WeretheGreekscientistsofourdayisanideawecameupwith.Wereontheright
trackwithalotoftheoriesandsystemsforexplainingouruniverse,butthereisanimmense
amountofinformationremainingtobeunderstood.
Onthetopicofethicalimplicationsforspaceexploration,wediscussedwhatthefinding
ofintelligentlifeonotherplanetswouldmeantomodernreligionandoursociety.Basedonour
discussionandminimalfactchecking,Christiansocietybelievesthattheonlyintelligentlivesin
theuniversearethosethatresideonEarth.Wedebatedtheimpactadiscoveryofextraterrestrial
lifewouldhaveonoursociety.Afewofusarguedthatthediscoverywouldntmakemuchofa
differenceonsociety.Thediscoverywouldjustbeanothereventinthenewswithalotofbuzz
andproceedtofizzleoutafterafewmonths.Afewothersarguedthatitcouldmeanthestartofa
newera,similartotheAgeofEnlightenment.
Overall,theexperienceofdiscussingtopicsinastronomywithsomeclosefriendswas
invigorating.Itwasenjoyablehearingtheopinionsofothers,especiallywhenpertainingtotheir
projectionsofthefuture.Itwouldbeinterestingtohaveasimilarconversationwithsomeone
possessingseriouscredentialsrelatedtoastronomy.AchancetoconversewithNeildeGrass
Tyson,thewriteroftheforwardforthetextbookTheEssentialCosmicPerspectiveand
astrophysicist,aboutthefutureoftheuniversewouldbemorethanamonumentalmoment.
WhiletheconversationIhadwithmypeersisntonthelevelofintellectandinsightthatthe
conversationwithTysonwouldbe,Ifoundittobeadelightfulexercise,becausewewereableto
askquestionsaboutthefutureandtrytocomeupwithourownanswers.Thebestpartis,the
onlywaywellbeabletotellisifwerearoundtowitnessit.

WorkCited
Bennett,JeffreyO.TheEssentialCosmicPerspective.7thed.SanFrancisco:Pearson/Addison
Wesley,2012.Print.