The amazing galaxy

[Zacharine]

Hello fellow Escapists.

Having drunk some beer, I'm getting sentimental. I know, this is a gross mistake for any male who has other male company with him at the moment, but I can't help it.

So I've been watching trough some Hubble telescope pictures from youtube(again) and can't help but marvel at the beauty of the universe. (one linky for readers provided)

Spoiler

My friend, who is here with me, thinks the same. The universe (or creation, depending on one's personal views) is arguably one large, neat and beautiful place. Stars everywhere eye can seen, yet so distant and apart, seperated by cold and merciless void of almost nothingness. And here were are, marvelling at its beauty (or too busy playing Starcraft II Beta to notice), on a lonely planet in the outskirts of galactic nowhere.

Tell me, fellow Escapist, have you ever sat down and appreciated the universe around you? Looked and seen the wonders that surround your everyday life, both biological and mechanical, near and astronomically far? Thought of the advancements and marvels we take for granted (like semi-conductors and plumbing) and simply been in awe of it all?

My like-minded friends, share your moments where the pure awesomeness of reality simply hits you like a brick and demands notice. Moments where no game can compete, no fantasy measure up to what is surrounding you at the very moment you are reading this message. Moments where that which is real overwhelms any fiction and you are glad to be alive right here, right now.

Or have you not experienced one yet? If so, please tell me where or how the world around you fails to deliver it's dose of awesomeness and why fantasy is or can be better.

 

[delet]

I'm going to go ahead and interpret what you want as "Amazing/awesome things I've seen from nature"... At least, that seems at least somewhat like what you've asked for...

Though I truly hate the cold winter months and everything about them, there is one exemption from that: Snow. Specifically, late at night around 3 or 4 in the morning, after a snow storm has just ended and the snow is piled up, yet untouched on the ground. 1 of 2 situations usually occur, the later being the most beautiful.

1) The moon light reflects off the snow making it almost seem like daylight and I can see outside with perfect clarity at the marvelous, untouched snow as it lies there in mounds.

2) This only happened once. For some strange reason, the night sky illuminated itself in a strange purplish-redish colour on a winter night, glistening off the snow and supplying me with the most beautiful scene I've ever seen.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I must admit; I have never really been fascinated by space. Rather, I am simply terrified of it. While great beauty exists in it, so much of it is just an enormous black void that seems to stretch on forever. When I look into space I see a vast expanse of darkness, dotted by a few bits of light from distant stars. Everything looks so far about. But then you look at a picture of our galaxy, and it looks like everything is closely bundled together. And that black void I see in the sky is tiny compared to the space surrounding our galaxy. The thought of something being so big, yet so empty terrifies me. It's difficult for me to explain why.

I've just looked for natural beauty on Earth instead. Particularly in the ocean. I've a,always been fond of the ocean and the world that lies beneath the waves. Of course the ocean is also vast and empty in many places. So I don't know why I find it to be so fascinating when it is similar to space in that way.

Yeah stars and the universe amaze me, much like you described... But underwater too, in the depths of the ocean there are some amazing things...

I think something like this helps me pinpoint why I find much more beauty in our world rather than in space. Space is, for the most part, barren. Life is incredibly rare and as far as we know Earth is the only planet capable of supporting life. While their are certainly amazing spectacles to be seen on other planets within our own solar system, I don't find much beauty in them. What really interests me are the creatures of an environment and how they interact with it. To me, the true beauty of nature is seeing how just one creature fits into it's own ecosystem, and how it interacts with both its environment and the other organisms around it.

Space doesn't have that. For every amazing sight we have seen, there are no living organisms to complement them. And for that reason I believe I will never truly interested in space. The absence of life both bores and terrifies me.

 

[El Poncho]

I did stay up late to watch that meteor shower last year, that was pretty cool.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

Yes i enjoy a good looking around the wide space of the world in front of me and noticing it's beauty. My favorite thing to see is the moon and stars during late nights when the clouds don't exist and even better when i can see different colors among the stars which i believe are the other planets in our system. It's so awesome i just want to take pictures.

 

[The Last Nomad]

Yeah stars and the universe amaze me, much like you described... But underwater too, in the depths of the ocean there are some amazing things...

 

[Cinnonym]

I was twenty years old when my little sister was born. Throughout my mother's pregnancy and even when we finally brought her to the hospital for the birth, it was all pretty meh. The doctors wheeled her down the hall saying, "All right, we're taking your mom into surgery. Might take a couple hours." And I said, "Sweet, I'mma go down the street to Starbucks!" I got back with my latte and went to the window and they were just then bringing Emily Grace out for viewing, and it was so amazing that this thing that a few hours ago wasn't even "present" was suddenly here and wriggling around that I was so moved AND DEAR GOD THE TEARS WHY WON'T THEY STOP!?

Aside from that, I went to the Rocky Mountains after a lifetime of light-polluted skies and the view of the heavens is so profound and breathtaking, I'd hike up there all over again.

 

[Zacharine]

Specifically, late at night around 3 or 4 in the morning, after a snow storm has just ended and the snow is piled up, yet untouched on the ground.

Indeed, that is one of the reasons I brave the winter camp of our scout organization year after year. A few days out in the cold is an acceptable pay for seeing the winter night after a snow-storm. I voluntarily choose the after-midnight firewatch on a full-moons eve (usually the least wanted) for that 'hour of daylight night' as we call it.

The moonlight of a full moon on a fresh snow... is the closest thing to 'magic' I can think of in real life.

 

[Jensu]

Ohhh yesss, do that all the time, normally when im drunk Always makes me think about all the life that im potentially looking at. Just the idea of it all gives me that sinking feeling in my stomach. I use google sky for that, seen some great sights there. Also, is it just me or does anyone else have a song or two they listen to when thinking/looking at the vast depths of space?