Conversations about the size of our universe has left some people freaked out
People have been left having an ‘existential crisis’ after a women pointed out an unnerving fact about our universe.
It’s perhaps one of the biggest understatements ever to point out that the universe is absolutely f**king massive.
Astrophysicists agree that the Observable universe is 93 billion light-years in diameter and around 46.5 billion light-years from earth to the edge of the Observable universe in any direction.
To put that in a little more context, it would take 25,000 years to travel to the edge of the observable universe at light speed.
Should you want to make it from one end of the Observable universe to the other at a more reasonable speed of 65mph, the New York Times reckons it would take you a steady 480,000,000,000,000,000 years to get there.
Like we said, the universe is a big place.
It’s understandable then why conversations about the endless expanse of space often leave people feeling a little freaked out. After all, it’s hard enough to imagine a life outside of Earth, let alone the size of space.
Therefore it’s unsurprising that a recent video shared by space communications expert Alexandra Doten on TikTok – username astro_alexandra – has left people feeling more than a little existential.
“Think about this, when you look up at the night sky and you see thousands of stars, what you’re not seeing is their planets,” she said.
Doten then went on to explain that ‘every star we’ve ever discovered has a planet’, adding that an average estimate is about ‘one to two planets’ per star.
Giving a little more context to this figure, she then went on to reveal that there is about 1,500 planets within 50 lightyears of Earth.
“Some stars could have up to 10 planets, so it could be even more,” she added.
Doten clarified that you wouldn’t be able to walk on every planet, as several would be gas giants like Jupiter, however, NASA estimated there is more than 10 Billion terrestrial planets – which are planets we would be able to walk on – in our galaxy alone.
“So when you’re looking up at the night sky you’re not just seeing stars, you’re also seeing the billions of planets that might orbit them and could potentially have life.
“And that’s just in our galaxy.”
Best not to think too much about what could be out there. (Alan Novelli/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The video left viewers with plenty to think about in regards to life and whether or not alien life exists somewhere in the universe.
“We know there’s life in the universe. we are proof,” one person wrote.
“I can’t even wrap my head around this. It always sends me into a spiral,” a second person added.
An existential crisis wasn’t the only reaction Doten’s video received, with one person joking: “yet I’m here… paying taxes,” while a second added: “How’d I end up on the one with a 40 hour work week.”
Featured Image Credit: (Getty Stock Photo/ TikTok/astro_alexandra)
