It’s time to zoom out and give yourself some space. Stop looking at your screens but look up and out. Take our cosmos and look beyond the Milky Way, there are so many stars and planets. The earth has a tiny space in the cosmos, let’s be humble, zoom out and gain perspective. The stars are the original recycling bins, cleaning outer space. We are all stardust, we are all born from the same supernova and all born from the same atoms; we are all children of the stars. And yet, we abuse what we have been given. Let's start to do things differently. Earth is a tiny and vulnerable planet, but we don’t treat it that way. We need to conduct ourselves differently, we need to listen to the stars and keep zooming out. Just remember: look up, think cosmically and act accordingly. Govert Schilling has spent his life exploring the stars. A science journalist by trade and a passionate astronomer by heart. He has shared his passion for astronomy through various articles and books, but recently also through his own television program on Dutch national TV. Across 6 episodes, which were broadcasts in the Spring of this year, he explored man’s place in space and time, and what the future holds for all of us. He still draws great inspiration from man’s first moon landing in 1969 but is also eager to see what impact the manned space flights to Mars will have.

For his work in the field of popularization of astronomy, Govert received various prizes and awards, including the Simon Stevin viewer of the Royal Dutch Society of Weather and Astronomy. In his talk ‘Why every politician should follow a crash course in astronomy’ Govert explains how a more cosmic view of human existence can lead to a more humane society. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx