Looking Up

I had a pretty amazing experience last night. Actually, I had two.

I went outside mid-evening to take a look at the blue moon (second full moon of the month). It wasn't up yet, but I could see a glow from behind the neighbors' trees that indicated it was on the way. I went inside to finish watching something on television and then I went back outside at 10:00.

Since we have a tree in our front yard, I had to walk down the front sidewalk and along the street a little to see the moon. It was definitely worth it: a big globe of white against the dark sky, framed by a few wispy clouds. I admired that sight for some time, the first amazing experience.

Next I let my eyes roam the sky, taking in the few stars I could see (our streetlight makes most of them invisible). Then I noticed movement and focused on that. There was a gold-tinted dot of light moving steadily over my head, from the southwest to the northeast.

I had only seen it for a few moments when I knew what it was, although I couldn't quite believe that was possible. It's been a few years since I last saw it, but I remembered the experience well: I was seeing the International Space Station!

What are the odds that I would walk out at that particular time, look in that particular direction, and recognize that particular dot of light???

I knew it, though. I was positive! The way it moved made it obvious it wasn't a plane and its size made it obvious it wasn't a satellite. I tried to comprehend that there were humans soaring above me, even while I was scurrying down our street to follow its path. It was visible for a few minutes before it sank out of sight to the northeast.

Only when it was gone did I rush into the house and turn on my laptop. I first checked the HDEV site, which showed me that the trajectory was correct to take the ISS over Kansas. I then checked the NASA site that lists times when the station will be visible for various locations. Both of them confirmed that I had seen the ISS.

If you want to check when you can see the ISS in your area: spotthestation.nasa.gov

If you want to see the view from the ISS: NASA HDEV

July can be a long, hot month, but its last evening was pretty cool for me this year.

Summer

It's Summer! (I know it's felt like summer in some places for quite a while, but now the calendar agrees with the weather.)

Summer is good and bad, I know, but I prefer to think of it the same way I think of Spring Training for the Cubs: anything is possible and you might as well bask in it before ugly reality hits. Ha, ha. Okay, maybe not "ugly" reality, but reality anyway.

Among your other plans for the summer, you might want to look up occasionally and remind yourself that there are humans soaring over our heads daily, gazing down at this incredibly beautiful planet and realizing how amazingly lucky they are to be aboard the International Space Station. We might not be able to join them, but we can either see the view from the station (through the link in my May 17 blog) or we can actually see the station itself! I've done it twice so far and it's really worth it! I was surprised at how exciting it was to see a gold-colored dot of light soar over my head and to recognize that there were people up there. The station can be seen with the naked eye. No binoculars or scopes are necessary. For details on how to spot it, go here: http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

Otherwise, have a safe and wonderful summer. May it live up to all of its promise.

Perspective

I've been spending too much time lately staring at the images produced by the cameras aboard the International Space Station.  Here's what I've learned about Earth:
1) It's beautiful.
2) There are a LOT of clouds.
3) The people living on it had enough ingenuity to put a station up there so I could see these amazing views. I'm so lucky!

Another thing I've learned is that no matter what my mood, I will feel better when I look at our blue and white planet from above. For one thing, darkness lasts less than an hour up there, so the sun is going to rise again soon.

And the funny thing is that this is a big theme in my third novel! It couldn't be more timely for me to see the embodiment of darkness giving way to light.

It's dark and scary over there to the left, but all of that is shrinking away against the returning light.

Darkness has its purpose and is not always bad, but it's only part of the equation. The trick is to pass through it without becoming part of it.

And down here on this part of the surface, the days are getting longer.
Enjoy your summer.

Recollection

Happy Memorial Weekend! It's the unofficial start of summer, but it's also a time to remember ...

I started to think about those I remember, and it saddens me that the list is longer than I expected. I guess we can't escape that unless we have no human contact whatsoever, which wouldn't be worth it. The sadness is accompanied by a feeling of gratitude to have known them as long as I did. Family and friends, you are not forgotten.

I plan to use this weekend to make as much progress as I can on my third novel. Yes, there is a third, and yes, I have a rough draft. I'm in the polishing stage. That's when I read over what I have and wonder, What was I thinking when I wrote that???
Then I fix it (at least I hope so). I enjoy jumping back into that world temporarily, especially when this "real" one gets a little hectic.

Speaking of different worlds, how would you like to know what it's like to be aboard the International Space Station, gliding peacefully over the Earth? I don't know about you, but I would spend the whole time staring out the window ... and now I have the chance to do that! No, NASA hasn't invited me up there (although I would accept the invitation, NASA! Call me anytime). Instead, the Internet has come up with yet another way to suck up my time. Look at this.

How would you like that view out your window? Here's your chance to see it! It's here: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/  (If you go there and the image is gray or black, give it about 30 minutes. The station orbits in and out of darkness several times a day. One orbit takes a little over 90 minutes.)

So while we remember the ones we've lost, we can also remember what an awesome planet we live on and how much it's worth saving.