Paul Hopkins: Our Universe: What in the world do we know?

It is 2004 and I am traversing South Africa to write a major national newspaper report on the country celebrating 10 years of independence. I am travelling with the South Africa Ambassador to Ireland, Melanie Verwoerd – one-time partner of the late Gerry Ryan – the youngest, at 24, and only woman elected to Nelson Mandela's first parliament.

Somewhere in this vast terrain, returning to base from a four-hour night safari – animals in the bush at night are an engaging escapade – our driver Thandiwe stops the Land Rover and says, Lie back and look up. We do. It is the most beautiful sky where, seemingly, every star is visible, twinkling away so brightly in the still of the night.

I have never forgotten that night, that heavenly, majestic view that exuded a comforting calm and an eerie but sacred sense of my own Self in the Universe.

I mention all this because on Saturday, January 25th, all major planets in the solar system will form a harmonious lineup, creating a gravitational and energetic pull that will resonate on Earth. Such planetary alignments are rare and often seen as harbingers of new beginnings. The Universe pressing a giant 'refresh' button.

It is believed by many that this alignment energises personal growth and transitions. Those considering a career change, educational pursuit, or lifestyle makeover might find this alignment supercharging their plans. It’s a cosmic invitation to shed old habits and embrace new opportunities. Go for it, so.

Not all of us take time to look up and, anyway, for so many living in cities and big towns the neon lights and street lamps, not to mention the clouds, cancel any great view of the aeons away stars.

Supporting what noted cosmic scientist Carl Sagan maintained more than 40 years ago, scientists today say our planet has 7.5 sextillions (75 plus 17 zeros) grains of sand on beaches, in deserts and sandboxes. That there are more stars in the Universe than grains of sand on Earth.

Consider this awesome fact: Our Milky Way is just one of hundreds of billions, maybe trillions, of galaxies in the Universe. Each galaxy is made up of billions or trillions of stars, each of which could have planets. Could any of them be just like ours?

The Universe is everything. It includes all of space, and all the matter and energy that space contains. It even includes time itself and, of course, it includes you, me and the family cat.

Earth and the Moon are part of the Universe, as are the other planets and their many dozens of moons. Along with asteroids and comets, the planets orbit the Sun. The Sun is one among hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and most of those stars have their own planets, known as exoplanets.

And the Milky Way is but one of billions of galaxies in the observable Universe — all of them, including our own, are thought to have supermassive black holes at their centres. All the stars in all the galaxies and all the other stuff that astronomers can’t even observe are all part of the Universe. It is, simply, everything.

Now, should we go there? Parallel Universes I mean. Parallel Universes are no longer just sci-fi. There are now some scientific theories that support the idea of Parallel Universes beyond our own. However, the multiverse theory remains one of the most controversial theories in science.

As I said, our Universe is unimaginably big. Hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of galaxies spin through space, each containing billions or trillions of stars. Some researchers studying models of the Universe speculate that its diameter could be seven billion light-years – a light year is 6,000,000 million years – across. Others think it could be infinite. Mind-boggling.

But is it all that's out there? Science fiction loves the idea of a Parallel Universe and the thought that we might be living just one of an infinite number of possible lives. Scientific theory explores, and in some cases supports, the case for universes outside, parallel to, or distant from but mirroring our own.

In other words, there is another you, or many yous, out there identical in every way except maybe unwed or bald or with a super IQ.

Or another me out there writing this column. Except 'out there' my Editor rejects it for publication.

Which puts paid to my sense of Self in this vast Universe of ours…