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[He describes the still-present and high Summer Triangle of Vega, Altair, and Deneb, and then ...] "...But the thing I really like to think about when I gaze up at Vega on these crisp nights is that our Sun and all its planets, including our Earth, are racing toward Vega at the incredible speed of 19 kilometres a second -- that's more than 69,000 kilometres per hour, which means that every year we get almost 644 million kilometres closer. "However, even though Vega is only 25 light years away, at this speed it would take our Sun almost half a billion years to reach it. "Astronomers call this point in space toward which we are rushing "The Apex of the Sun's Way". How lovely. How poetic. "... just after sunset, look almost overhead, focus on Vega and, if you have a vivid imagination, let your spirit soar and you might almost feel our tiny Earth hurtling through space toward ...." --------------- I find this truly mind-boggling, like much of what I know and don't know about our Universe -- e.g. who can contemplate billions of light years?? But after reading the above passages, at least maybe I can better contemplate just a tiny bit of it -- multiply half a billion years by 644 million kilometres ....! Cheers from Jim on Earth in Wolfville
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