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`Upsilon Andromedae´ is a star only a little more massive and just slightly hotter than the Sun. It is about 44 light-years away and the first planetary system known to orbit a normal star other than our Sun.
Q: What was made by humans and is over 6 billion miles (more than 11.000.000.000 kilometers) away now?
A: Pioneer 10. It is at the moment more than twice as far from the Sun as Pluto, bound for interstellar space at 28,000 miles per hour (about 52,000 km per hour). It was launched in 1972 and is at the moment more than 9 light hours away from Earth. It will reach the sun "Ross 248" (10,3 lightyears away) not until 30.000 years will had gone by.
As we know it takes eight minutes for the light to make the way from the Sun to Earth and about 14 seconds to orbit the sun equator.
PLOS and THE BENEFIT OF IT ALL
One can never forsee the consequences brought about by a hypothesis. But no one really can raise any objections against the maximum cost of this IDEA in comparison to that of 4 or 5 new high-tech fighters.
The idea is nothing new, except for the improved definition.
It`s the present full Earth. And it`s a possible simultanous worldwide broadcast.
There are no PLOS-screens yet to be found in the cities. And so it`s not the identical impression for all the people at the same time.
It appears to be desirable, finally to be able to receive a constant picture of ´now` from outer space.
Nowadays one can see everywhere globes used for animations, advertising and logos.
This has a lot more to do with the spirit of our age itself, the zeitgeist or collective conciousness, call it the on-growing evolution, which is just ready to create a steady picture of the whole biosphere to maybe inspire mankind to rethink its own way of acting as part of the whole. People seem to be very fascinated and enchanted when being confronted with pictures of their homeplanet, as if ... .
Already in the 1960s and earlier there were people who had a similar vision which we would like to be seen realized - it`s time to. Oddly enough we can because now the time is ripe. That which was a clever, rather utopian idea 40 years ago, is today technically and financiably viable, especially the Internet will be the right place to set PLOS in worldwide position first, in connection to a video beamer huge perspectives are at hand.