This may be one of the most important photographs in human history. It
is a picture of our planet from a distance of 6 billion km, taken by the
Voyager 1 probe in 1990. Later, inspired by this image, physicist Carl Sagan
wrote:
"Look again at this dot. This is here. This is home. This is us. Everyone
you love, everyone you know, everyone you have ever heard of, every human being
who has ever existed, lived out their lives on it. The multitude of our joys
and sufferings, a thousand self-righteous religions, ideologies, and economic
doctrines, every hunter and gatherer, every hero and coward, every builder and
destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every couple in love, every
mother and father, every bright child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of
ethics, every lying politician, every "superstar," every
"supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our
species lived here - on a speck of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage on a vast cosmic stage. Think of the rivers of
blood spilled by all these generals and emperors, so that, in glory and
triumph, they might become the short-term masters of a fraction of a grain of
sand. Think of the endless cruelties inflicted by the inhabitants of one corner
of this dot on the barely distinguishable inhabitants of another corner. How
often they disagree, how eager they are to kill each other, how hot their
hatreds are.
Our posturing, our imagined importance, the illusion of our privileged status
in the universe - all of them are worthless before this point of pale light.
Our planet is but a lonely speck in the surrounding cosmic darkness. In this
vast emptiness there is no hint that anyone will come to our aid, to save us
from our ignorance.
The Earth is the only world known so far capable of supporting life. We have
nowhere else to go - at least in the near future. To visit, yes. To colonize,
not yet. Like it or not, the Earth is our home now.
"They say that astronomy instills humility and strengthens character.
Perhaps there is no better demonstration of human conceit than this distant
picture of our tiny world. I think it highlights our responsibility, our duty
to be kinder to one another, to treasure and cherish the pale blue dot that is
our only home."
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