{"id":3323,"date":"2019-01-05T01:38:37","date_gmt":"2019-01-05T01:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/colorado-wmopen-geology\/?post_type=chapter&p=3323"},"modified":"2019-12-28T01:06:05","modified_gmt":"2019-12-28T01:06:05","slug":"deep-time-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/colorado-wmopen-geology\/chapter\/deep-time-2\/","title":{"raw":"Deep Time","rendered":"Deep Time"},"content":{"raw":"

Science and the Big Questions<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\r\nFrom elementary school onwards through college and into adult professional and social life-- when we meet people, and when they meet us, what are we curious about?\u00a0 It's common to ask, \"Hey, how old are you?\" or \"Hey, where are you from?\"<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nThese are not just questions for individuals; they can also be questions about our species and our world!\r\nNot only has science led the way to wonderful innovations and medicine and technology, but it also provided (at least the beginnings of) answers to <\/span>what might well be two of the biggest questions that human beings have asked--\r\nWHERE are we?\r\nand\r\nWHEN are we?<\/span>\r\n\r\nThese are the concepts of SPACE and TIME.\u00a0 In modern society, most folks are comfortable with a deep\u00a0<\/span>cultural understanding and acceptance that we happen to live in a tiny corner of a huge universe, and that we exist for a blink of an eye along an enormous span of time.\u00a0 But it certainly hasn't always been that way.\r\n

Big Space<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\"\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nA classic Hubble Space Telescope Image, taken in the mid-1990's.\r\nIt was the brainchild of astronomer Bob Williams, who requested a RANDOM pointing of the space telescope!\u00a0 He (and other scientists) of course knew what they'd get...\r\n\r\nThe image is effectively a super close up of a tiny piece of sky about the size of a dime held at 75 feet from the observer.\u00a0 And what's in this RANDOM tiny piece of sky?-- almost every patch of light is a galaxy, similar to our own, with each containing billions of stars.\u00a0 This image is part of the road that began with people like Copernicus and Galileo who helped us recognize that the earth is not at the center of our planetary system, and the road brings us to the realization that we certainly live in a very big place (universe) that is chalked full of galaxies like ours, full of stars like ours, and undoubtedly full of planets like ours!\r\n

Deep Time<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nOK, space is big.\u00a0 What about time?\u00a0 It's both exceptionally ancient and with a staggeringly long future, which probably doesn't include people! Scientists love to do scaling analogies (like the nucleus of an atom, blown up to the size of a pea and placed in the center of a super-bowl stadium, in which case the outer electron shells would extend to the highest portion of the stands).\u00a0 A great scaling analogy is based on the definition of the Olde Englishe Yarde<\/em>.\r\n==> Tip:\u00a0 If you add \"e\" to the end of words, it makes them look old!\r\nBut seriously, the yard was defined by King Henry I, in the 12th century as the distance from the King's nose to the end of his outstretched index finger.<\/a>\r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a>If we King Henry's yardas time-line for earth history-- with the nose at earth's formation (some 4.5 billion years ago) and the end of the index finger as today-- then dinosaurs would have lived at the very outer part of the palm, and with one swipe of a nail file the entire time span of all recorded human history is erased.\r\n\r\nThe exceptional antiquity of our earth, and really of our universe, has been aptly termed \"Deep Time.\"\r\n\r\nNot sure if Paul was talking about the history of earth (ok, probably not)-- but give this time chart a click, and check out the exception detail to which geologists have segregated and demarcated earth history.\r\nDon't worry, no need to memorize; but just imagine that for over four and a half billion years, it really has been a time of miracle and wonder<\/span><\/em>.\r\nEvery single era and period and epoch has contained incredible natural events from the rise of mountains to the opening of oceans, and a wealth of life wonderfully adapted to each and every environment.\r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FKG6zN_EjWw<\/a><\/p>\r\n ","rendered":"

Science and the Big Questions<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

From elementary school onwards through college and into adult professional and social life– when we meet people, and when they meet us, what are we curious about?\u00a0 It’s common to ask, “Hey, how old are you?” or “Hey, where are you from?”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These are not just questions for individuals; they can also be questions about our species and our world!
\nNot only has science led the way to wonderful innovations and medicine and technology, but it also provided (at least the beginnings of) answers to <\/span>what might well be two of the biggest questions that human beings have asked–
\nWHERE are we?
\nand
\nWHEN are we?<\/span><\/p>\n

These are the concepts of SPACE and TIME.\u00a0 In modern society, most folks are comfortable with a deep\u00a0<\/span>cultural understanding and acceptance that we happen to live in a tiny corner of a huge universe, and that we exist for a blink of an eye along an enormous span of time.\u00a0 But it certainly hasn’t always been that way.<\/p>\n

Big Space<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A classic Hubble Space Telescope Image, taken in the mid-1990’s.
\nIt was the brainchild of astronomer Bob Williams, who requested a RANDOM pointing of the space telescope!\u00a0 He (and other scientists) of course knew what they’d get…<\/p>\n

The image is effectively a super close up of a tiny piece of sky about the size of a dime held at 75 feet from the observer.\u00a0 And what’s in this RANDOM tiny piece of sky?– almost every patch of light is a galaxy, similar to our own, with each containing billions of stars.\u00a0 This image is part of the road that began with people like Copernicus and Galileo who helped us recognize that the earth is not at the center of our planetary system, and the road brings us to the realization that we certainly live in a very big place (universe) that is chalked full of galaxies like ours, full of stars like ours, and undoubtedly full of planets like ours!<\/p>\n

Deep Time<\/strong><\/h2>\n

OK, space is big.\u00a0 What about time?\u00a0 It’s both exceptionally ancient and with a staggeringly long future, which probably doesn’t include people! Scientists love to do scaling analogies (like the nucleus of an atom, blown up to the size of a pea and placed in the center of a super-bowl stadium, in which case the outer electron shells would extend to the highest portion of the stands).\u00a0 A great scaling analogy is based on the definition of the Olde Englishe Yarde<\/em>.
\n==> Tip:\u00a0 If you add “e” to the end of words, it makes them look old!
\nBut seriously, the yard was defined by King Henry I, in the 12th century as the distance from the King’s nose to the end of his outstretched index finger.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>If we King Henry’s yardas time-line for earth history– with the nose at earth’s formation (some 4.5 billion years ago) and the end of the index finger as today– then dinosaurs would have lived at the very outer part of the palm, and with one swipe of a nail file the entire time span of all recorded human history is erased.<\/p>\n

The exceptional antiquity of our earth, and really of our universe, has been aptly termed “Deep Time.”<\/p>\n

Not sure if Paul was talking about the history of earth (ok, probably not)– but give this time chart a click, and check out the exception detail to which geologists have segregated and demarcated earth history.
\nDon’t worry, no need to memorize; but just imagine that for over four and a half billion years, it really has been a time of miracle and wonder<\/span><\/em>.
\nEvery single era and period and epoch has contained incredible natural events from the rise of mountains to the opening of oceans, and a wealth of life wonderfully adapted to each and every environment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FKG6zN_EjWw<\/a><\/p>\n

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