So, boo.
Now, I list many of my favorite authors as fantasists, but that doesn't stop me from still loving the genre that I was weaned on as my first love.
And what, pray tell, was it about science fiction that appealed to me, moreso that fantasy? Well, it was the belief (right or wrong) that the future being presented was possible. Maybe not terribly likely, but possible.
Of course, along with that, comes the curiosity of what the future holds. What do we really understand about our future? Like, how long will Polaris actually act as our North Star? Or when exactly will our sun run out of fuel for sustained fusion?
Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one. This handy little poster I found at the BBC (via the fine folks at io9) lays out the future of the cosmos, given what the sciency types think given our understanding of biology and astrophysics (and chemistry and whatever other applicable discipline you care to throw in there).
Man, I'd love to have this poster on my wall.
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| Clicking usually makes things bigger. I'm not sure it will in this case. Go click on the BBC link above to see the original. Go on, it's okay. |
I don't know which is more sad: that Earth will be uninhabitable in just 1,000,000,000 years, or that shortly after that, we decide to call the galaxy formed by the collision of the Milky Way with Andromeda the "Milkomeda." I would think our future selves would be more creative than that. That's the worst mashup of words since "manscape."
ReplyDeleteWhatever, Future Humans. Maybe you've got your cool unitard outfits and jetpacks, but you are no better than your primitive ancestors at naming stuff.
Manscape? What's a manscape? Or, maybe, I don't want to know? I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteAnd, although I'd really love to go peruse that poster, I'm not going to. No time at the present and, probably, I will not bother to come back to it.
Besides, I don't believe in the future. It's a myth.
Cool poster, Rusty! I wish it was easier to read, though.
ReplyDelete@Briane - Milkomeda is about the worse name ever. Just call it Milk of Magnesia and be done with it. And although that is distressing to me, my biggest freak out was learning that we've only got a million years before no existing glass on earth is left. I mean, I assume we can make more, but what about OUR glass. I really like my beer glasses. I don't want to think of them disappearing.
ReplyDelete@Andrew - Well, none of it's new info anyway, it's just compiled in such a friendly manner.
@Sandra - Yeah, I'm not sure how to make it any more viewer friendly, although clicking through to the BBC link leads to a much more legible version. At least it was for me.
Makes me want to go listen to that old 2525 song.
ReplyDelete