I captured this photo of the Milky Way in the California White Mountains; with its galactic center shown as the bright area towards the horizon. It takes our sun 250 million years to complete one full orbit; a galactic year. Dust clouds cover part of the Milky Way, creating the distinct "Dark River" that can be seen in the photo.
It makes you realize how small we are in the vastness of space. Carl Sagan sums it up perfectly: "Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot".

As we are but "one pixel" in the universe, incredible possibilities for exploration and discovery await. And to avoid us from destroying ourselves, its not a bad idea to have a backup plan. I created this website to understand the basics of spaceflight and to learn how we can one day become a multi-planetary species.