When television was young, there was a popular show based on the famous Superman fairy tale character. The opening of the exhibition featured the familiar saying, “Look. Up in the sky. It's a bird. The plane. He's a Superman! ” How dear Superman has become in our culture and worldwide fascination with outer space and all cosmic objects only emphasizes that there is a deep curiosity in all people about nature and astronomy, even if most people would not know how to call it astronomy.
Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. When archaeologists excavate ancient civilizations, even as far back as the caves, they often find an art form that reflects the irresistible fascination with the stars. To this day, you can easily find a moving discussion on the subject “Is there an intelligent life on other planets?”
Many have tried to explain how humanity seems to be obsessed with space because of memory or as part of an eternal human condition. Whatever the cause, people of all ages and nationalities are deeply interested in knowing more about our little planet, just a part of it.
It is very surprising because the real behavior of an avid student of astronomy is not a matter of high entertainment. You will never see the movie "Raiders of the Lost Arc" or "Jurassic Park" about the astronomer. The delight of lovers of science is that they spend the night observing the cosmos with a magnifying glass. But that fact does not seem to discourage tens of thousands of people from studying astronomy each year and the great worldwide interest in stars, planets, and the universe.
There may be no other human interest in the world that does so much to make international borders even the world's enmity. Outside the Olympic movement, international cooperation to achieve greater progress in the human race in space seems to be moving forward without interruption, even when nations engaged in such activities are at war almost on the face of the earth. It is strange to watch Russian, American and other astronauts work together as brothers in space even though their home countries are busy pointing arrows back at home. It probably makes you think we should put more energy and money into the space system, not less because it seems to be an obligation to end tensions rather than create oneself.
Why is astronomy so fascinating even when it has no dinosaurs, reptiles or any real danger for many who worry too much about discipline? It can go back to the basic wood that all people have about their natural habitat and this great mysterious thing out there called a place. Perhaps it goes back to that old saying at the beginning of Star Trek that space is "the final frontier".
But we all share that feeling of excitement each time we pull out our telescopes and look directly at the universe above us. We feel we are looking forward to the dawn of time. And because of the news of the speed of light which means that many glittering stars out there are really light from those stars that began their journey to us thousands of years ago, we are actually looking directly at the past every time we direct our eyes to the sky.
But we should not worry that we will ever cross the finish line and that our curiosity will be satisfied. There will always be more to learn and discover in the world of astronomy. And human curiosity about astronomy is also unlimited
You must be logged in to post a comment.