Carl Sagan's Cosmos is an amazing series that tells viewers about the seemingly endless wonders of the universe (including our own planet) in a comprehensive and exciting fashion, but we're not discussing that series today. This short from the 30s really does remind me of Cosmos even if it's puny compared to it. It's a science based short, so there isn't any plot. It essentially talks about how because your eyes are spaced slightly apart from each other, the appearance of objects can change a small difference if you keep one eye closed, and the effect is more noticeable the closer you are to the object. This applies to astronomy too, since astronomers in different parts of the world can look at the moon and, depending on their vantage point, can see different angles of it. We're then told that the moon is about a quarter of a million miles from Earth, and that 30 earths can fit in that space. The narration goes on to explain the origins of nebulae and how the surface of Mars probably looks like up close. We also see how Saturn is such a big planet that earth can fit in the space between the planet and where its rings begin. Saturn's rings are composed of ice and rock fragments drawn close to the planet by its gravity. One of my favorite parts shows how if we don't count the sun, the closest star to earth is Alpha Centauri, about 4 lightyears away. It's mind blowing to think it would take the fastest thing in the universe 4 years to get to this place. Even if you traveled at normal speed your entire life, you wouldn't reach it. The short also touches on how small earth is in the scheme of things, as the universe appears to go on forever. Humans are basically just a race of advanced apes who have evolved to the point of understanding our planet and creating wondrous technology, and that makes us special. Still, the earth itself is so small compared to the unimaginable vastness of space that it's little more than a grain of sand in the cosmic sea. While the ending of this short might make you depressed when you think about how unimportant earth seems, it's still an interesting thing to watch because it gives us some understanding of how people back then were often smarter than they are today. Despite this being a 1930s short, it still has a decent amount of accurate information on space.
Review of Voyage to the Sky
