Watch The Skies!

The skies are afire with wondrous things - it dawned on me recently that we (i.e. humanity) are making some serious headway in the exploration of our solar system.
Three years ago, I became aware of the Curiosity lander on Mars. I'd followed previous excursions - Opportunity, etcetera, but Curiosity had better PR, and presents some of  the best quality images - and of course the Mars Orbiter (or mothership), like a benevolent watchful satellite continues to monitor from above... I must admit, I was stunned when Curiosity even successfully landed, given the previous track record of landings on Mars.

Curiosity 'selfie' on Mars

So far, so good - then I learned that Voyager is heading into deep space, mankinds first ever probe to go that far. Hurrah! -because I'd forgotten all about Voyager - didn't we all ?
Then, following a path that began with a launch in 1973, Rosetta, in a nail-biting moment sets a new record by placing a lander on a comet !
Now the Dawn explorer has entered orbit around distant mini - planet Ceres, and in July the New Horizons explorer does a flypast of outermost planet Pluto and its moon , Charon!

Ceres with the mysterious double-dot

What a time to be a science nerd! My inner 'Sheldon' is truly amazed!
 I vaguely remember the black and white moon landings (well they were black and white on our tv back then) , and then the slow building of the ISS, and the sad fate of the Beagle2 (Colin Pillingers ill-fated eccentric British Mars lander).

But now, it's an all - out space race! (without the Cold War posturings).
Heck, there are even people who've signed up for a one-way ticket to Mars! - in fairness, I don't feel so excited by this, infact, maybe I've seen too many dystopian sci - fi films, but I feel a bit queasy when I think of people on Mars.
Don't get me wrong, though - the future is now- we have robots exploring the outer solar system!
It's here and it's real!
(this burst of childish enthusiasm will only be understood by those who remember the old Look and Learn magazines)

Sunset on Mars taken by Spirit rover

Recent Mars findings indicate the former presence of a huge ocean which once covered most of the red planet. This is interesting, but what of the subsurface ocean of Jupiters moon Ganymede, as recently purported ?
What of the iced -over oceans of Enceladus with their geysers issuing plumes up to 500 kilometres into space, with minute particles of silica becoming part of Saturns rings?

The geysers of Enceladus, up to 500 km high

It  is astonishing, and it's information that's reaching us on an increasingly frequent, almost daily basis.
My tiny mind is well and truly boggled !
But -focus- this means that there are considerable bodies of water, with the potential for life, in our own solar system. Yes, this little solar system on the distant outer edge of the milky way.
Not some far flung and rubbish - named  planet in the mythical 'goldilocks ' zone of a distant sun, but
right here.
On our doorstep.

Leaving Before The Rush

Sometimes I sit down and go blank.
My last post was a slightly surreal piece drawing parallels with the behaviours of social media, and I withdrew it from public view .
The post was called 'Anti-Social Media'.
The little post prior to that was about the recent passing of  Leonard Nimoy.
Maintaining interest in the fantastical, the logical direction of this post would be to mourn the passing of Terry Pratchett (Sir Terry, technically, but I'm sure he didn't stand on ceremony) - sadly taken from us following a lengthy battle with early onset Alzheimers disease.

He was a prolific writer, blessed with a wild and limitless imagination, which spanned some forty books of the Discworld, and thirty others .

My first experience of the Discworld was actually book number 33 in the series , 'Going Postal', with its parallels of snail mail versus the internet, or 'Clacks'.
 Beneath the hyperactive comedy, it contained an almost whimsical melancholy, bemoaning the loss of the old ways - and this was the essence of the man - the way that he could address so many simple truths in such seemingly oblique ways.
The entire construct of the Discworld is modelled on some slightly skewed vision of  London and New York, being almost but not quite , yet entirely true.
His body of work contains many words of wit and wisdom, and I can only recommend that you make his acquaintance.
Just start small - one book, perhaps. Nothing daunting.
Which one, you ask ?
Ahh - of course, a circle begins anywhere.

I am not going to detail his battle with early onset Alzheimers, as that is covered elsewhere in greater depth - suffice to say that with his great standing, he helped raise the profile of that vile 'embuggerance' as he called it, which hopefully helped many other sufferers.

His legacy of wondrous , humourous writings is global, and it means that his ongoing existence will be assured for a long time. Possibly longer.

The t- shirt Terry Pratchett wore to conventions

To quote (Good Omens, the nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes The Nutter):
Don't think of it as dying, said Death. Think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush.