The most astounding fact about the universe

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse  Tyson is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History and host of NOVA scienceNOW. Here he answers the question “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?”.

Try to understand as much as possible and make the best of this beautiful video. If you are so captivated by it that you would like to know everything he says, here's the transcript for you:


The Most Astounding Fact from Max Schlickenmeyer on Vimeo.

“The most astounding fact, the most astounding fact is the knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on earth - the atoms that make up the human body, are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures. These stars- the high mass ones among them- went unstable in their later years- they collapsed and then exploded- scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy- guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself. These ingredients become part of gas clouds that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems- stars with orbiting planets. And those planets now have the ingredients for life itself. So that when I look up at the night sky, and I know that yes we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up- many people feel small, ‘cause their small and the universe is big. But I feel big because my atoms came from those stars.”

That’s a level of connectivity. That’s really what you want in life, you want to feel connected, you want to feel relevant. You want to feel like you’re a participant in the goings on and activities and events around you. That’s precisely what we are, just by being alive.”

The bit we have just watched is part of another video Tyson recorded for Time Magazine for their 10 Questions feature.

You can watch the whole video below, but I am afraid we cannot offer a full transcript. Enjoy!