Sagan once said, “We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”

“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.”
– Carl Sagan, astronomer

Last Monday scientists began examining tiny comet dust particles captured by the robotic Stardust spacecraft, which flew past comet Wild 2 in January 2004.

The comet dust grains are believed to represent the earliest examples of material that coalesced some 4.5 billions years ago to form our solar system and everything in it — including us.

No doubt the comet dust particles will answer old questions, raise new ones and even prove old theories wrong. But whatever we learn from these particles, this latest human achievement is yet another notch on the belt of humankind’s amazing technological abilities.

News of such achievements compels us to ponder some of the great mysteries of the universe, to be re-amazed once again.

I have had a long-time fascination with the very big and the very small, thanks to the late Carl Sagan and his book “Cosmos” (which is also a made-for-TV series). In fact, were it not for my poor math skills, I am certain I would have studied astrophysics or particle physics.

Whenever I ponder the universe a host of questions rush into the forefront of my mind, the first being who or what — if anything — created the universe?

Some people do not ponder such cosmic questions because religion and faith provide their answers. But religion has never satisfactorily answered my questions. Science and faith, however, do not have to contradict the other. To quote Sagan again, “Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.”

When faced with the seeming breakdown of the laws of physics at the quantum level, Albert Einstein is said to have declared, “God does not play dice!” This says to me that Einstein believed in a God that created a universe, and that this universe could be understood via mathematics. For Einstein the study of physics then, was the study of God’s mind.

Two ideas about the universe that I find to be completely mind-blowing should impress anybody — religious, agnostic or atheist. If you are already familiar with what will follow, I apologize.

The first has to do with the very small. The distance between the nucleus of an atom and its surrounding electrons is mostly empty space. Thus, all matter in the universe is made chiefly of nothing! Freaky!

The second deals with the very big — the Drake Equation — which states that N = N* f_p n_e f_l f_i f_c f_L.

Amazing, huh? What, you don’t get it? Then you’re an idiot.

Ahem. In all seriousness, the Drake Equation is a formula for focusing on how many intelligent and communicating civilizations may exist in the Milky Way Galaxy.

There are an estimated 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Out of this number, a percentage of stars will have planetary systems. As you narrow it down, there will be a percentage of stars that should have earthlike planets orbiting them — planets that could sustain life; planets where life will evolve; and on some of those planets, sentient life.

Finally, a fraction of those planets might evolve beings intelligent enough to communicate with other intelligent beings. The Drake Equation suggests that extraterrestrial intelligent life could easily exist in our own galaxy, notwithstanding the potential for life in other galaxies!

As Sagan once said, “We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”

Is there life out there in other galaxies, in our own? Owing to the vast distances between us, does it matter? I don’t know, but it seems to me like it would be a colossal waste of planets, stars and galaxies if we were alone in the universe.

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