Space photography gives us some of the most breathtaking and awe inspiring photos in history. I figured it would be a travesty if I didn't explore it on my own blog! My Favorites
Space Station transit across Moon Photo Credit: Thierry Legault (http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/)
The International Space Station doesn't get nearly enough attention. I mean in light of all the fancy space ships in sci fi movies ... not many seem to accept that we've already got one out in space! Maybe it's because how hard it is to relate to it. So that's why this picture of the ISS flying in front of the moon is incredible. For a moment it's very much within our realm of perception.
The Hubble Deep Field
This one is one of the earliest images that captured my imagination. Released in the mid 1990s, this very dense image, filled with close to 3000 galaxies doesn't look very interesting but here's the kicker; the image represents a very very..very small section of the sky. It's about the size of a grain of sand held at arm's length. Yep, there's is a lot of stuff out there. #Scale
Nice try Hollywood... This last piece will be about a set of images actually. All credit goes to NASA for this. They thought it'd be neat to see if they had any images that resembled the photography in the 2013 movie Gravity. What an awesome idea. You can check them out here but here are some of the most striking ones:
My obsession with the skies began during my childhood in the 1990's. I was around 7 or 8 years old and whenever I would be whisked away on family trips, it would be the drive home during the night that I would most look forward to. The world around me ceased to exist as I gazed at the awe inspiring night sky. I spent the majority of the drive sitting back as far as I could, legs crossed, and my head resting on the "rear deck" (don't worry, this is the first time I had the need to name that obscure part of the car). (Thankfully I suffered no long term injuries) What was I trying to look at?
This.
Curiosity about the world around me and my existence within it lead me to discover my passion for astronomy. I wanted to know more about the Universe I lived in and what my place and scale within it truly was.
So... I'd like to begin by asking all of you to watch a YouTube video.
Recommended Settings:
Full screen (connected to your TV is even better)
HD settings maxed out and music/speakers on
But before you do I need you to bear in mind the following:
This is not computer generated...at all..not even a bit of it
This is not from a Video Game, Movie or any other piece of Fiction
This is absolutely 100% real
Here's the link in case you are on mobile: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FG0fTKAqZ5g
That...is where we all live, that not-so-real and that-must-be-from-a-movie looking wonder is our planet earth as seen from the International Space Station. This video is truly a prolific moment in the history of modern civilization. A time-lapse that let's anyone experience, for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, what it would be like to see earth from the outside looking in.
That was a perfect example of what this blog is hopefully going to be about. Future posts will show you both the awesome and terrifying wonders of the universe as I share my obsession with all of you.(I may meander in some different related topics at times)
To end, I will leave you with a quote from Carl Sagan, someone who dedicated much of his life trying to bring astronomy to the mainstream (and succeeded)
We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.- Carl Sagan (1934-1996)
NOTE: Credit for clever title of blog goes to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams NOTE: Credit for the not as clever URL landing page title of the blog goes to "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke NOTE: Both of the above books are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
