“The total of stars in the universe is greater than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of planet earth.” So claimed Carl Sagan in 1980. This means the majority of humans have no basic visual access to their own galaxy in an immediate, astronomical sense. As 2014 over 50% of the world’s population live in cities, by 2050 it is projected to be 70%. Because of nighttime light pollution, the Milky Way is simply not visible in urban areas. We are from the inside looking outward and inward at once, a part gazing at the whole, partially but not impartially. As a band spanning the sky it seems like some distant river, but in fact we and our solar system are cradled quite deeply within its arms. Carl Sagan (Episode 1: The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean, Cosmos, 1980) We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” We long to return, and we can, because the cosmos is also within us. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. Recently, we've waded a little way out, maybe ankle - deep, and the water seems inviting. On this shore, we've learned most of what we know. “The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean.
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