Is anyone interested in astronomy/space, what do you find most fascinating about it?

Question

Is anyone interested in astronomy/space, what do you find most fascinating about it?

Answer 1

it is deeply rooted in culture and philosophy,it has obvious practical applications, it is a forefront science that contributes to mathematics, computation, and other technologies, it reveals our cosmic roots, our place in time and space, and a universe that is wondrous and beautiful

Answer 2

the universe. before the universe was created, there was no time and no place for the big bang to happen. i guess the mystery of the universe is the most fascinating.

Answer 3

well what i found most fascinating is the fact that there are so many so much greater and bigger than earth and that we (humans) are so self-centered-- for lack of a better word-- that we cannot grasp that there are things bigger than us and that, even though we learn it in school, it still does not compute in our minds or in our style of living

Answer 4

The dual nature of Light, energy/matter, wave/particle, it's existence in space/time and our consciousness of it.

Answer 5

i am interested in it all so its hard to pick,first off the possibility of ET in the cosmos is very intriguing,the vastness,the diversity of it all.the energy output of some stuff,such as LBV,neutron stars like magnetars,and pulsars.

wolf rayit stars,AGN from quasars,blazers,and radio Galaxy's...Seyfert Galaxy's to!and the instruments used to study it all!!!

Answer 6

I am fascinated about space because, among other reasons, it is infinite, and human brains are finite so no matter how hard we try, it will be truly impossible to completely understand it

Answer 7

No, nobody here is interested in Space and Astronomy, that’s why we come to this forum.  Some answerers here are astronomers and astro-physicists, but they don’t really care for space and astronomy, do they?  I have been into astronomy since the age of 7 and I write articles and give presentations on the subject.  But I don’t really care for it.  

The most fascinating thing I find at the moment, especially after seeing some of the questions and answers here, is that we live in the space age and most of the world has little knowledge of the most basic aspects.  They don’t know stars are suns.  They don’t even know what causes the phases of the moon.  Most think that the position of the planets effect their lives, and most on here are more obsessed with aliens, conspiracies and armageddon than the really exciting things we know about space.

Answer 8

E = mc^2.   If you take matter and turn it to energy, you get a lot of energy.  Now look at all the matter in the Universe and imagine it turned into energy ---- Dang !! that is impressive !

Answer 9

The way everything fits together beyond our belief.  How people still don't understand even the smallest bit of it.  Anyone can look at stars, the one who figures them out is the real genius.

Answer 10

Galaxies and just how much stuff is actually out there.

Answer 11

the size and scale of it all. how small all of us really are. also the fact that we are all made from star dust

Answer 12

The sheer size of Universe and how insignificant our little rock actually is. When you start to understand the magnitude of the distances that every object is from everything else!

Also the wow factor. It is one thing to read about an object, one thing to see it in photo but it is another thing entirely when you actually see an object for the first time through a telescope - breathtaking. Even objects that are relatively close like within our solar system are awesome. A couple of quick examples:

*The first time I tried to view the moons of Jupiter through simple binoculars - and it worked! I was astounded there they were 3 little dots of light in a line just beside the great planet. One moon on one side two on the other. The 4th one must have been behind Jupiter. But through binoculars, who would have thought!!

* The first time I saw Saturn through a large telescope I audibly gasped! I couldn't really believe what I was looking at live. The rings were so pronounced I could even observe the shadow they form on the planet itself. I was as dizzy as a kid in toy store!

* The first time I saw the 'Jewell Box' and 'Omega Centauri' through a telescope. Lots of oohs and aahs!

So, aside from the serious side of timing occulations and observing meteor shower frequencies, the excitement of seeing an object for the first time, particularly the spectacular ones fills me with excitement and awe. It makes me realise each time I see such objects how irrelevant we truly are.