Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey [Review]

Gaurav Shahane
Jul 27, 2017 · 3 min read
Collusion of Andromeda Galaxy with the Milky Way in next 8 billion years

It is a science documentary that takes us out of your own little worlds, out towards the edge of the observable universe and makes us look back towards our only home in the universe: the Earth. Over the course of the series, it becomes very clear that the earth is not indispensable. Like our home, we must care for it.

Watching Cosmos is an overwhelming and a humbling experience. I feel a gratitude towards Neal De Grasse Tyson (and Carl Sagan, and all the team) for creating the documentary series with such a perfect narration, writing, visual effects and of course, the storyline of the entire experience. Cosmos talks science in such an intimate way that it would touch you and leave with even more curiosity about the way the universe works.

The series also does a remarkable job of telling stories of the past scientists, their quest for innovations and the importance of their work in today’s context. We realize owe a lot to the past generations that shaped our present. I loved their narration of the Newton’s Laws of Gravity, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and Faraday’s Electricity Generator. Like the scientists themselves, these stories inspire to ask questions and understand the world as the science does through inquisitions.

The series starts with an introduction to the known history of the universe. Learning that the known universe is about 4.2 billion years old and We humans have become smarter enough to speculate about it only in the last 4000 years (Or less) was a huge wake-up call for me. Realizing that the universe is not at all about humans even though we are the smartest of all the species on planet earth (and there are no other species known to us in the Universe) made me look at the wonderful world around me. That helped :)

Cosmos changes you. You are no longer the same person after watching Cosmos. In my own experience, learning that our sun will die in next 5 billion years, or the Andromeda galaxy might collide with our Milky Way (Galaxy) in next 8 billion years was a shock for me. Of course, I am not going to last that much longer. No one will last that long. But again, after the initial dismay, leaving nothing back liberated me. Nothing I would do was going to matter if the planet Earth was not going to be around. The only thing that was going to matter was my experience of living this life in this space and time. The only people who were going to matter were the people I could touch in my lifetime. It gave me a perspective. It made me think about what really mattered in my life. And that is why I am grateful for Cosmos.

The series ends with the message from Carl Sagan: The Pale Blue Dot. Cosmos leaves us with the baton that has been passed by the responsible people who were here before us for the generations that will inhabit the Earth in future. It is the baton of responsibility towards Mother Earth and towards every living being on this beautiful planet.

At the end, you are left with your imagination and the size of your universe to decide the course of your action. At the end, someone asked me from within myself… Given that you know what you know now… how are you going to live the rest of your life?