I don't remember if it was when I was 12 or 13, but it was a hot July evening not unlike this one, when sitting on my parents' flat balcony I watched Jupiter rise above the eastern horizon through a 60mm refractor telescope, while down below a Catholic procession carrying a figurine of the Holy Mother or some saint snaked it's way through the streets chanting and praying. I remember the feeling of exhilaration upon seeing the Galilean moons. Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and the faintest, Europa. No details. Just barely visible dots. How Galileo must've felt! Any religious fervor or elation simply pale in comparison.
STS-135 - Atlantis launched today. That's that for the space shuttle program. We're grounded again, despite having tech which is way out of the ball park in comparison to the stuff used to put man on the Moon. Hell, my mobile has more flops than the computer on the LEM. Now I can't help but think of this quote by Palahniuk.
STS-135 - Atlantis launched today. That's that for the space shuttle program. We're grounded again, despite having tech which is way out of the ball park in comparison to the stuff used to put man on the Moon. Hell, my mobile has more flops than the computer on the LEM. Now I can't help but think of this quote by Palahniuk.
When deep space exploration ramps up, it'll be the corporations that name everything, the IBM Stellar Sphere, the Microsoft Galaxy, Planet Starbucks.
Your childhood sounds somewhat disturbing.
ReplyDeletePlanet Starbucks sounds nice though.
Oh, how I like this note :)
ReplyDelete@Mo: Disturbing in what way?
ReplyDelete