Dinosaurs, Black Holes, and the Edges of the Universe

✨Some questions make me laugh at myself even as I ask them—like, what if dinosaurs were once intelligent beings who built civilizations and then erased the evidence? But the truth is, the universe is so vast and mysterious that no question is too wild to wonder. From ancient life on Earth to the size of the cosmos to the secrets inside black holes, every thought leads me deeper into awe.

🦖 Were dinosaurs intelligent?

Most evidence suggests dinosaurs, though extraordinary, weren’t “civilization-building” intelligent in the way humans are. A T-Rex brain was about the size of a cucumber, and many plant-eaters had even smaller brains relative to their massive bodies.

But not all dinosaurs were simple-minded giants. The small, birdlike troodontids had relatively large brains, and their intelligence may have rivaled that of modern crows or parrots—animals that use tools, solve puzzles, and even recognize themselves in mirrors.

Did they build cities? There’s no fossil record of advanced technology before humans. But I still love the thought experiment: what if some dinosaurs became advanced, sensed Earth’s end, and left for the stars? If so, perhaps their descendants are still out there, looking back at this planet they once called home.

🌌 How big is the universe?

The honest answer: the universe is bigger than we can ever fully know.

Astronomers estimate the observable universe—the part we can actually see—is about 93 billion light-years across (that’s roughly 546 sextillion, 840 quintillion miles). In other words, we’re seeing galaxies whose light has been traveling billions of years just to reach us.

For perspective, if you hopped in a car and drove 60 mph without stopping, it would take about ten quadrillion years to cross that distance.

And yet—that’s only the visible patch, the “horizon” of our cosmic view. Beyond that? Space may go on forever. We simply can’t know, because light from farther away hasn’t had enough time to reach us since the Big Bang (13.8 billion years ago).

So when we say “93 billion light-years,” that’s just the ocean we can see from our little shoreline. The full sea of the universe may be infinite. Imagine standing on a beach, gazing at the horizon, and knowing the water stretches far beyond your sight—that’s our view of the cosmos.

93 billion light-years? And here I thought Charleston to Paris was a long trip! When I see that number, I stop worrying about being ‘behind’ in life. Compared to 546 sextillion miles, I think I’m doing just fine.

🌀 Where do black holes lead?

Black holes are the most mysterious objects in the universe. Born when massive stars collapse, they have gravity so strong that nothing—not even light—can escape.

But what happens inside? That’s where physics falters. Some possibilities:

• Singularity: Everything collapses into an infinitely dense point.

• Wormholes: Some theories suggest black holes may connect distant parts of the universe—or even open into other universes.

• White holes: Theoretical opposites of black holes, where matter and energy burst outward instead of being pulled in.

We don’t know yet. Black holes are like locked doors in the cosmos. One day, if we find the key, they may rewrite everything we think we know about time, space, and reality itself.

✨ My reflection

What amazes me is that these three questions—dinosaurs, the size of the universe, and black holes—are all connected by possibility.

Dinosaurs remind me that intelligence can take many forms. The size of the universe humbles me with its unmeasurable scale. Black holes whisper that reality itself still hides secrets beyond our grasp.

The more I learn, the less I feel certain about—and the more I feel grateful to simply be here, living and loving in the middle of this great mystery. Maybe that’s the point: not to solve every riddle, but to marvel at them, and to let that wonder shape how we live.

💛 Honey