Deneb

For all two of you who follow my blog, I apologize. I haven't had much to blog about, mostly because I have finally started working. However, seeing as how it is 3:30 AM and I can't sleep (mostly thanks to said work) I will blog.

I went stargazing for the first time since starting my astronomy class tonight. I only had to go out to my 'front yard' (which is a parking lot...how poor am I?) but I was able to see a triangular portion of the 'northern cross' constellation, and most notably Deneb. Modern estimates put Deneb at approximately 1,550 light years from Earth. That means the light I am getting in my eye at this moment in time was created when the following was happening on earth.

410: Rome sacked by Visigoths

c. 440: Anglo-Saxons settle in Britain

453: Death of Attila the Hun

476: Traditional date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire

Also in the 5th century: The founder of Zen Buddhism was born, the horse collar was first used in China, and metal horseshoes became common in Gaul.

Imagine where the human race will be 1,550 years from now, when the light that Deneb is producing now reaches our descendants. Will they be speaking of how 2009 was the point of no return for the American Empire, or will the history books instead read about how a world united itself under the banner of peace and understanding in the 21st century. Either way, the stars will continue to shine, providing distant generations a common link to the past.