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Scale

It is important to remember that, relative to the known universe, Earth is very small.

Size

The universe is vaster than can be comprehended, and possibly infinite in spatial extent.

Distances and sizes are readily available in common reference materials.

The image: "cosmic_scale.svg" cannot be found!

Distances and sizes are readily available in common reference materials.

Energy

The quantity of energy accessible in the universe is also vast beyond comprehension.

The image: "kardeshev.svg" cannot be found!

The Kardashev scale 1, as refined and extended by Sagan 2 and Gray 3. Other data sources include 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. See also a PDF.

A Kardashev scale value of about 1.0 would be the limit that human civilization could attain without becoming spacefaring, for beyond that level, regardless of the energy source, the waste heat from energy consumption would cause unmanageable ecological problems 13.

References

  1. Kardashev, N. A. By Extraterrestrial Civilizations. NASA Technical Translations 438(19). 1967. ↩

  2. Sagan, C. The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective. New York: Doubleday. 1973. ↩

  3. Gray, R. H. "The Extended Kardashev Scale". The Astronomical Journal 159(5): p. 228. April 2020. ↩

  4. Einasto, M., Saar, E., Liivamägi, L. J., Einasto, J., Tago, E., Martínez, V. J., Starck, J.-L., Müller, V., Heinämäki, P., Nurmi, P., Gramann, M., Hütsi, G. "The richest superclusters. I. Morphology". Astronomy and Astrophysics 476(2), pp. 697-711. December 2007. ↩

  5. Kaku, M. Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos. Doubleday Books. 2005. ↩

  6. Kent, S. M., Dame, T. M., Fazio, G. "Galactic structure from the Spacelab infrared telescope. II-Luminosity models of the Milky Way". The Astrophysical Journal 378, pp. 131-138. September 1991. ↩

  7. Lockyer, C. "Growth and energy budgets of large baleen whales from the Southern Hemisphere". Food and Agriculture Organization 3, pp. 379-487. 1981. ↩

  8. Mamajek, E. "A Modern Mean Dwarf Stellar Color and Effective Temperature Sequence". University of Rochester, Department of Physics and Astronomy. March 2021. ↩

  9. Pollack, H. N., Hurter, S. J., Johnson, J. R. "Heat flow from the Earth's interior: Analysis of the global data set". Review of Geophysics 31(3), pp. 267-280. August 1993. ↩

  10. Prša, A., Harmanec, P., Torres, G., et al. "Nominal values for selected solar and planetary quantities: IAU 2015 Resolution B3". IAU 2015 Resolution B3, The Astronomical Journal 152(2): 41. August 2016. ↩

  11. Smith, N., Hinkle, K. H., Ryde, N. "Red Supergiants as Potential Type IIn Supernova Progenitors: Spatially Resolved 4.6 μm CO Emission Around VY CMa and Betelgeuse". he Astronomical Journal 137(3), pp. 3558–3573. March 2009. ↩

  12. Wijers, R. "On the stellar luminosity of the Universe". arXiv preprint astro-ph/0506218. 2005. ↩

  13. Shostak, S. G. "Third Decennial US-USSR Conference on SETI". 47. 1993. ↩