If the Earth were a grain of sand on a beach..

...then the distance from our planet to the edge of the visible universe is about the same as the distance from that grain of sand on the beach all the way to the orbit of Mars (about 36,000,000,000 miles).

What happens when the Earth rises above the horizon of the moon?

An Earthrise - one of my favorite things out of this world.

Using the beach for another analogy...

There are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on our entire planet.

If these facts make you feel small or insignificant, I think you're looking at them the wrong way.  When I hear stuff like this, sure I feel small, but I also feel inspired because I realize how lucky I am to be here now on this floating rock.

Think of it like this: if 13.7 billion years ago the Big Bang hadn't distributed just the right mixture of elements... if our sun was at a different stage of its life like millions of other stars out there... if our planet hadn't settled in a perfectly situated orbit around that sun (if it was any further, Earth would be frozen... if it was any closer, all water would evaporate)... if all of the people in your family tree hadn't met and started those branches that eventually lead to your parents coming into existence... and if they hadn't met and created the one-in-a-trillion combination that makes you who you are... then you wouldn't be here.

But you are here.  You're reading this sentence, breathing air and forming thoughts.  It almost seems impossible, doesn't it?  Looks like the impossible is possible - and if that doesn't make you feel special and significant then I don't know what will!

Pale Blue Dot - a view of our Earth from a little less than four million miles away.

Happy Monday everyone.