The Galaxy Song - Learn some astronomy in under 3 minutes!

[paul1961ist]

I love astronomy. Totally mind blowing

[mayhemrw]

I'm playing this to my year 9's!

[GaaraXItachifan]

My teacher played this, and now I'm memorizing it for my test XD But also memorizing the refined notes

[finlarg]

@GaaraXItachifan Excellent, I hope you are inspired enough to look into astronomy further!

[goreziad]

no no, teach both arguments... :) "lalalalala god did it lalalala can't hear you lalalala"

[MrBibblybobblyboo]

haha the last lines still apply

[laxgal33]

my teacher played this 2!!!! HOW FUNNY<333



[finlarg]

@laxgal33 It's great that teachers are finding the educational value of Monty Python!

[TheDuckielova]

@finlarg hahaha and mine :D

[AndrewTBriggs]

My teacher played this in Science class today. She is now my favourite teacher.

[finlarg]

@AndrewTBriggs That's great to hear! Not only does she have a sense of humour but she's getting the info across to her pupils! Science has helped me to see how amazing and awesome the universe really is. Understanding some of what's going on only makes it more amazing.

[iSteven51]

@AndrewTBriggs

My Bio teacher played the She's a witch from Holy Grail to illustrate the Scientific Method.

[sanlorenzoruiz1]

Great science video about astronomy...simple humorous that every kid must watch.

[finlarg]

@sanlorenzoruiz1 Cheers!

[Ragdangvu]

good job m8

[finlarg]

@Ragdangvu Thanks very much, though I think I could get the timing a bit better. I was using different software when I put this together and it caused my computer to crash a lot...

[Ragdangvu]

@finlarg which software you used? I like to use the "Corel Video Studio", btw this is a music video about astronomy i made last year :)

youtube.com/watch?v=2co-BJ6oMR­4

[finlarg]

@Ragdangvu I used Corel for this one, but it gave my computer major problems. Now I use Sony Vegas 9 and it works so much better!

Good video BTW, just watched it!

[vitorfray]

Actually, we move approximately one earth PERIMETER every 7 minutes. =)

[finlarg]

@vitorfray Perimeter, diameter, width... I'm not quite sure of the difference.... It's all relative anyway!

[bmwluvr2003]

who are the two guys to the left of Bush?

[finlarg]

@bmwluvr2003 Kent Hovind and Ted Haggard.

[IJustWatchEm71]

So much space, need to see it all...

[finlarg]

@IJustWatchEm71 There is so much we'll never see... it's SOOOO big!

[08joshuacrump]

Wikipedia and Google. Hmmmmmmmmmmm not quite sure it might be true

[finlarg]

@08joshuacrump Both are useful if you're looking for a specific image. For what it's worth I think wikipedia is a GREAT resource, of course there might be errors, but anyone who spots one can correct it. I've done that myself.

[tortillacats]

Eric idle was hot.

[finlarg]

@tortillacats You don't think he still is? :-P

[glpxt]

A further correction to the Pythons: Presently the number of galaxies is estimated to be "only" 100 Billions rather than "millions of billions". Nevertheless a great song.

[finlarg]

@glpxt Since the Hubble Space Telescope began sending back really clear pictures of deep space, we've been able to get a much better idea of the number of galaxies in the observable universe.

[wobblyboost]

Fantastic job, i saw in a python documentary eric sang this for fun and got confused with the words cos he knows the statistics have been updated lol! It's a great song and ppl are in awe when I sing it and ask me to repeat itso they can remember the mechanics of the universe. WD

[finlarg]

@wobblyboost Thank you! This song is one of the things which got me interested in astronomy, all those years ago!

[unassumption]

Wish tom lehrer's physics songs had recordings :(

can't learn anything in 24 hours or a year or 3 minutes people aren't willing to accept that because then they'd know there are a lot of things they'll never know - specialization is needed.

[finlarg]

@unassumption I need to look up Tom Lehrer, to refresh my memory....

[micahneckchin]

thanx...i think this song is awesome(and SO IS mONTY pYTHON)!!!

p.s. they are comedians...not astronomers...so if u wanna corrrect someones work...UR IN THE WRONG GENRE!!!!!!!!!

[finlarg]

@micahneckchin This song helped insire me to learn more about astronomy, years ago! I'm grateful to Eric Idle and the Monty Python boys and am glad to share the song here... my corrections are more like updates... the song is nearly 30 years old. We've learned a lot more about the universe in that time.

[beyondbeyondness]

Shared on facebook.

[finlarg]

@beyondbeyondness Very kind of you, thanks!

[TaNgLeD2121]

great vid!!

[finlarg]

@TaNgLeD2121 Thank you!

[irreverentreverend]

This is one of my favorite Python songs and your visuals fit it well.

Rev

[finlarg]

@irreverentreverend Thank you! It's a great song and I like the film... but always thought it didn't fit especially well into the film... at least the way they did it was a bit wierd! Live organ transplants indeed!

[Thisismyusername1010]

I am speechless (or very near, since I wouldn't have commented if I had nothing to say). I love this song, and all those pictures you put really capture it well. I like how you added the correct information during the instrumental. Just an overall great video!

[finlarg]

@Thisismyusername1010 Thank you very much! This is my favourite of all the Monty Python songs and is part of the reason I became so interested in astronomy. I wanted to see if the facts and figures were right or had just been made up to fit the tune.... and they were pretty accurate!

[Thisismyusername1010]

@finlarg You're welcome. It is pretty cool how close the song is. I wish my eighth grade science teacher had shown us this video for our astronomy unit. It basically covers most of what we learned in about three weeks in under three minutes! Plus, it isn't agonizingly boring (like him). Side note: I didn't know it was possible to make astonomy boring, but he managed it!

[finlarg]

@Thisismyusername1010 It's such a shame when the teachers themselves lack the spark of curiosity, so instead of inspiring the kids they tarnish something amazing, sometimes for good. With this song, a few years ago, I wrote it all down, then checked the numbers with various astronomy books, but had to convert most of the units from metres per second to miles per day etc. It took a while, but was good fun. I guess some people get from soduku what I get from astronomical numbers!

[Thisismyusername1010]

@finlarg That's really cool! I totally agree with you about teachers. Usually they're great, but when they themselves don't seem to really grasp the subject they're teaching, the students lose out. Knowledge is power! Correct knowledge is more power! (inspirational quote for today; courtosy of Thisismyusername1010)

I've been meaning to mention one correction I would make to the song; the universe itself is expanding faster than the speed of light. Pretty cool, huh?

[finlarg]

@Thisismyusername1010 Good quote, you can't beat correct knowledge!

I realise that with the expansion of space itself that it is possible for very distant galaxies to be moving away from us more rapidly than the speed of light, relative to us, and that one day it will no longer be possible to see them from here. Maybe Eric idle could be persuaded to write another verse or two, to bring it into the 21st century!

[Thisismyusername1010]

@finlarg That would be great! I don't know how we would get in touch with him though... And anyway, this song is a little off, but so what? We know the actual numbers, and the galaxy song is a classic.

[finlarg]

@Thisismyusername1010 I tried to work out the chords for this song, but didn't quite get it sounding right. If I do, I'll record a cover and maybe add a verse or two!