“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known” – Carl Sagan
When I was young, in our loft was a long white box with plastic covers on each end. It was a telescope. A telescope that our father had made. The first telescope I looked through. To see the moon closer, to see the planets. To see the stars in their glory. That same telescope was donated to our school, had its own housing and mini-observatory built (even if it did later fall down and become the place to hold the score-board of the cricket pitch!) That same telescope helped underpin a school Astronomy club, that allowed Wednesday afternoons off once-month to go to London to the meeting of the British Astronomical Association, that allowed me to meet, shake the hand of a Legend and get his autograph (“To David, Patrick Moore”).
Spin back to 1969.
I was born 11days before 2 men stood on another world. I am told that I was placed in front of the black & white tv & stared as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked upon the Moon.
This wasn’t the end or even the peak of the space-race, as science fiction, became reality.
More missions to the moon. Voyager stretching out into the vastness of cold black space to photograph other planets close up for the first time. Soyuz & Apollo. Skylab & Mir, Astronauts and Cosmonauts.
These were the reality of my my first decade bolstered with Sci-Fi. StarTrek. Buck Rogers, BattleStar Galactica and of course…Episode IV: A New Hope. They fired the imagination with new worlds, star-fighters and space-travel, hyperspace & warp-speed.
Others as well that spoke of futures where the destiny of Earth and Humanity were questioned; 2001, Dark Star, Silent Running.
A decade which ended with the great Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series.
I think it’s fair to say that my mind & imagination were forever entangled with the vastness beyond our pale blue dot.
Martian Blueberries.
The Opportunity rover has been on Mars for eight years now. Amongst its more recent and interesting discoveries were geological “blueberries” which indicate water in the past.
If you have any comments or suggestions for a future blog subject please let me know below.
I remember the Space Race - the Russians 'won' with Yuri Gagarin. It was an exciting time and the photographs amazing - all in black and white!
ReplyDeleteThen the day men first walked on the moon...I watched it on TV with my Dad - Mom closed the curtains (better/clearer picture on TV without glare) I was so excited I almost cried when the coverage came through.
I still have original newspapers were both events...Dad bought them for me to keep and show my kids.
It was Dad who made me aware we were so tiny compared to whatever was out there - he was convinced other living things and would have done anything to have been able to actually go into space himself!
p.s.
ReplyDeleteBut Kieran and Verity weren't that excited to see the original newspapers!
Very sad indeed...