The Poor Astronomer
The most interesting thing about the universe is how easy it is to ignore. Things like the fact that the moon is tidal locked to the Earth, and consequently the same side of the moon always faces us. This means we don't have to see the moon spinning on its axis and try to explain it. We can just accept it as a picture flying through the sky that returns every night. Likewise, the planets visible with the naked eye get bigger as they get farther out, and so they all appear about the same size as a star. But if Jupiter and Mars swapped orbits, Jupiter would look 20 times bigger, and much harder to ignore. If we took everything to be simple, it would in fact be simple, because we wouldn't know any better. But we are through the rabbit hole now, the one we call outer-space, and there is no turning back from the reality we have opened. Unfortunately, a knowledge of the cosmological is often seen as a somewhat exclusive club. Perhaps it is a fear of the calculus that usually accompanies sophisticated astronomical discussion that deters most people, and I don't blame them. But although the hard math is necessary for future discovery, it is not at all necessary for people to discussion the universe. The rings of Saturn aren't concerned with the physics of circular rotation that is required for their formation. They exist completely isolated from the math. And so the things we know about the universe become highly accessible to understand, and it becomes our duty as sentient beings to understand the universe in which we live. Start by saying hi to the neighbours.