This topic may technically not qualify as a sky observation but since we really don’t have a sky to observe tonight let me share with you the following 4 minute video clip. I met Neil DeGrasse Tyson the first time on the Daily Show, hosted by John Stewart. Yes, I do get my daily dose of “fair and balanced” news from John Stewart. What fascinated me about Tyson is his energy. Tyson who has a PhD in Astrophysics, is so passionate about his field, it is absolutely contagious.
My major is business, so the question does come up is there an economic benefit in exploring the universe? It made sense to conquer the lower orbit of our planet, all kinds of useful stuff is now hanging up there. Looking for hidden ore bodies is definitely more economical when looking down at the Earth's surface from 100 miles flying at 17,000 miles per hour than crawling over it on hand and foot. Having a GPS receiver definitely means us males never have to ask for directions ever again. But does it really make sense to spend a ton of money looking for an exoplanet? Does our society really need to know what went on one tiny fraction of a second after the big bang? After all, I had the idea of what caused the moon phases wrong and still I did just fine. Tyson makes an excellent point why we need to spend money on NASA, and yes, it should be more than ½ a penny on the dollar.
Enjoy:
To visit Tyson's website, follow this link
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