Day 1: The big
For Christmas this year I got some binoculars – not that I wanted binoculars for any particular reason, but rather my Mum put me on the spot and it was the first thing that came to my mind!
After unsuccessfully trying to look at some birds and a cat in my garden, and even more disappointingly discovering that I couldn’t really see into any of my neighbours windows, I decided to turn my binoculars skywards and have a look at the stars.
Now, I’m a biologist by training and have spent so much of the last few years looking down microscopes that I have seldom thought about the bigger things that live above my head. Yes of course I glimpse stars when I am out at night, and see star charts and pictures in magazines, but this was the first time I ever tried to examine the heavens for myself.
My first look at the stars through binoculars will live with me for a long time. In the past I never quite appreciated why people spent nights in cold fields looking at stars, but now I know! It’s really difficult to explain in words the experience of gazing at the vastness of the universe, knowing that the light you are seeing has travelled trillions of miles and has taken billions of years just to reach your eyes.
Of course, very few of us will ever escape this earth and visit these stars, however, if you ever need a sense of perspective, and want an insight into another world, I’d recommend grabbing some binoculars and having a look at the stars. It’s so easy to do, and I promise it won’t disappoint.
No comments:
Post a Comment