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The Christmas Of Now: A Convergence Of Pasts

The present moment is made of a lot of pasts — and just as Scrooge's ghosts were really messengers of hope, the deepest truths of science and the infinite night are here for us, too, says Adam Frank.
Step back in time: This is what 100 million years ago looked like, in a galaxy far, far away.

Editor's Note: This piece originally ran on Dec. 24, 2013.

Ebenezer Scrooge was famously visited by three ghosts in A Christmas Carol. The past, present and future all converged on poor Scrooge in an effort to save him from his own narrow vision of the world and wake him to the wonders of the life right before his eyes.

As we navigate the frantic pace of

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