Did you look at the sky last night?
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By Kim Sun-ae
In Seoul, not many people can see the stars. Fortunately, I live in a home on a hill. So on a clear night, I can see the stars and the moon. On a starry night, I marvel at the fact that we live in this place among innumerable stars in the universe.
What about the moon? Every day, the moon shows us ever-changing shapes, which are a delight to look at.
Last summer, I took astronomy classes at the Seoul Observatory. We listened to lectures about planets in the solar system and the stars. And I, for the first time, saw the moon through a telescope. The big, nearly full moon was shining beautifully.
We also observed Saturn through a huge telescope. The small planet with rings was cute, although it is actually 9.5 times bigger than Earth.
On the last day of class, six students, including myself, were in attendance. Each of us made a small telescope with lenses and thick paper of various colors, following the teacher’s instructions. Most of us were in our 30s and 40s, and the oldest person was in her 60s.
Our teacher said to us we were like his high school students. We were deeply absorbed in making the telescope, carefully choosing the color of paper and cutting the paper. I also felt as if I became a young student again.
These days, I am taking other classes on astronomy. Recently, our teacher showed us the 1997 movie “Contact,” based on the American astronomer Carl Sagan’s novel of the same name.
The protagonist ― an ardent scientist played by Jodie Foster ― was wonderful. She wants to know the mysteries of the universe. And she risks her life to go into space, although she does not know what will happen. Of course, we on Earth do not know what will happen the next moment, either.
Traveling to deep space, the protagonist cannot find words to capture its beauty. She says, “They should’ve sent a poet.”
The stars in the night sky and astronomy help us see life from a wider view. Things that seemed big become small, when we look at them stepping back.
The Earth and the sun seem they will exist forever. We have depended on the sun that has given us light and warmth. But sometime, the sun and the Earth will dramatically change.
Scientists say that in about 5 billion years, the sun will expand and then cool gradually. In the process of its expansion, the sun may engulf the Earth. The sun’s changes will also affect other planets ― Mercury, Venus and so on.
Before that time comes, the sun will slowly become hotter, and our planet will be too hot for life. There will be a time when the Earth is not a home for countless living things any more.
We are sharing this fleeting moment. How vast the universe is. How short our lives are. How precious this moment is.
Nowadays, people in many cities cannot see stars because of smog and light pollution. However, stars are shining day and night in their places whether we see them or not.
We live every day on this Earth that is rotating on its axis and orbiting the sun, the nearest star to our planet. How did you spend your time while the Earth finished its latest revolution spinning on its axis?
The writer lives in Seoul. Her blog address is https://blog.naver.com/dancinglf.