I can't explain why, but stuff about the universe, the unfathomable (well, partly fathomable by scientists, but still) dimensions of distance and time ... always give me comfort. Things like "we saw something 1000 years ago, which had actually happened millenia before, "in a galaxy far, far away", make me feel less anxious, less stressed. They relativize my silly little worries and cares. I find that oddly liberating, being reminded how tiny and evanescent I am, we are, everything that seems to matter to us now is. I always tend to think it should frighten or demoralize me, that kind of thought, but it does the opposite. Even just looking up and thinking, the sky isn't actually blue, and there is sooo much more beyond what I can see - but I sure am glad I often get to see the sky as a pretty, summery blue, or I get to see the Aurora when I go to Iceland (seen it twice so far, if that's not an awe-inspiring yet comforting sight, I don't know what is. The gods are putting on a show for us, silly little humans ... the Aurora pokes my atheism with its insinuation of the divine at play, but that's yet another tangent). Also, I just realized this is my safe place for formulating silly little grandiose thoughts like this - which is due to your writing. I've commented several times how much I admire your way with words, the flow of your essays and entries, but really what they so often do is make me ponder, make me remember things I've felt but never voiced, make me look deep inside myself and get a little philosophical. They knock on some doors that are often kept closed because I feel people would think me silly and grandiose. Thank you
The sumptuous beauty of your writing makes me weep sometimes. As in always. And in this case it touches the heart of awe and wonder. What a great thing to read first thing in the morning!
As Carl Sagan observed: “You spend even a little time contemplating the Earth from orbit and the most deeply ingrained nationalisms begin to erode. They seem the squabbles of mites on a plum.” Thank you for this beautiful piece.
It was a balmy -4 C outside when I finally got a picture of Orion I like. (The cold clears out the water vapor making for excellent seeing.) I added a not half-bad set of pictures of the Pleiades & picture of One-horn the buck who came by to see if he could snarf some more apples in the snow - he already ate the two I chopped up and threw out for him & his friends. It was a lot colder at 6:30 am this morning: -12 C. Cold enough to freeze the snow.
What I love about this piece is how you ground something so vast with the experiences of individuals. It makes a topic that could feel coldly scientific warmly relatable. I teared up at the end, thinking of saying goodbye to a star the way you would a relative. So beautifully done.
Beautiful. Seeing this from Ali's perspective makes it special. I can just imagine the amazement he would have felt. Starry nights on the Nile are amazing. This one must have been spectacular.
Summer, I love this so much. I’ve been dealing with and writing about grief and the stars myself over the last few years, and it has given me such comfort to look above and see and ponder the cosmos, even—maybe especially?—from a non-science background.
Thank you for this—I can’t wait to see that larger work once it’s out in the world. ❤️🙏
I'm thinking about signing up for A Year of Writing Dangerously. Do you know when the live workshops/sessions will be? Even if you just know the broad strokes, like approximate time of day? I know you said you will share the recordings, but I'd love to be able to attend them.
I had to find events . 1000 Vikings lived on Greenland. 1000-1200 Arctic and Europe become warmer. population grows.
July 5 1054 supernova explosion lasts 23 days. It created Crab Nebula in constellation Taurus. Chinese and Japanese record event. 1061 Norman’s invade /conquer Sicily. 1086 plague epidemic hits Great Britain. 1095 Nine crusades are launched. Crusaders return with new knowledge to Europe.
11th century China has gun powder fueled rockets. Europe maintains good health, more crops available , wealth accumulated and Notre Dame cathedral is being built.
So amazing to consider; thank you for sharing this bit of enlightenment.
Nearly a millennium before instantaneous global communication, people in various places were chronicling this occurrence, spectacular to their own sight, likely never imagining that someone could one day connect the dots.
I am imagining a monk, awake and alert in the middle of the night, for first prayers of the day, finding a moment during the monastery’s busy horarium to inscribe a note about this unusual sight in the heavens.
I enjoyed this piece so much. It reminded me of The Star by H.G. Wells. Good to know that the style still works and isn't too vintage or literary for current speculative writing.
I can't explain why, but stuff about the universe, the unfathomable (well, partly fathomable by scientists, but still) dimensions of distance and time ... always give me comfort. Things like "we saw something 1000 years ago, which had actually happened millenia before, "in a galaxy far, far away", make me feel less anxious, less stressed. They relativize my silly little worries and cares. I find that oddly liberating, being reminded how tiny and evanescent I am, we are, everything that seems to matter to us now is. I always tend to think it should frighten or demoralize me, that kind of thought, but it does the opposite. Even just looking up and thinking, the sky isn't actually blue, and there is sooo much more beyond what I can see - but I sure am glad I often get to see the sky as a pretty, summery blue, or I get to see the Aurora when I go to Iceland (seen it twice so far, if that's not an awe-inspiring yet comforting sight, I don't know what is. The gods are putting on a show for us, silly little humans ... the Aurora pokes my atheism with its insinuation of the divine at play, but that's yet another tangent). Also, I just realized this is my safe place for formulating silly little grandiose thoughts like this - which is due to your writing. I've commented several times how much I admire your way with words, the flow of your essays and entries, but really what they so often do is make me ponder, make me remember things I've felt but never voiced, make me look deep inside myself and get a little philosophical. They knock on some doors that are often kept closed because I feel people would think me silly and grandiose. Thank you
The sumptuous beauty of your writing makes me weep sometimes. As in always. And in this case it touches the heart of awe and wonder. What a great thing to read first thing in the morning!
As Carl Sagan observed: “You spend even a little time contemplating the Earth from orbit and the most deeply ingrained nationalisms begin to erode. They seem the squabbles of mites on a plum.” Thank you for this beautiful piece.
It was a balmy -4 C outside when I finally got a picture of Orion I like. (The cold clears out the water vapor making for excellent seeing.) I added a not half-bad set of pictures of the Pleiades & picture of One-horn the buck who came by to see if he could snarf some more apples in the snow - he already ate the two I chopped up and threw out for him & his friends. It was a lot colder at 6:30 am this morning: -12 C. Cold enough to freeze the snow.
elm
adios sn 1006!
What I love about this piece is how you ground something so vast with the experiences of individuals. It makes a topic that could feel coldly scientific warmly relatable. I teared up at the end, thinking of saying goodbye to a star the way you would a relative. So beautifully done.
I am so happy and blessed to have access to your writings. Missed you while you took time off over the holidays! Now life is back to how it should be.
Beautiful. Seeing this from Ali's perspective makes it special. I can just imagine the amazement he would have felt. Starry nights on the Nile are amazing. This one must have been spectacular.
Summer, I love this so much. I’ve been dealing with and writing about grief and the stars myself over the last few years, and it has given me such comfort to look above and see and ponder the cosmos, even—maybe especially?—from a non-science background.
Thank you for this—I can’t wait to see that larger work once it’s out in the world. ❤️🙏
https://amandaleduc.substack.com
I'm thinking about signing up for A Year of Writing Dangerously. Do you know when the live workshops/sessions will be? Even if you just know the broad strokes, like approximate time of day? I know you said you will share the recordings, but I'd love to be able to attend them.
I had to find events . 1000 Vikings lived on Greenland. 1000-1200 Arctic and Europe become warmer. population grows.
July 5 1054 supernova explosion lasts 23 days. It created Crab Nebula in constellation Taurus. Chinese and Japanese record event. 1061 Norman’s invade /conquer Sicily. 1086 plague epidemic hits Great Britain. 1095 Nine crusades are launched. Crusaders return with new knowledge to Europe.
11th century China has gun powder fueled rockets. Europe maintains good health, more crops available , wealth accumulated and Notre Dame cathedral is being built.
So amazing to consider; thank you for sharing this bit of enlightenment.
Nearly a millennium before instantaneous global communication, people in various places were chronicling this occurrence, spectacular to their own sight, likely never imagining that someone could one day connect the dots.
I am imagining a monk, awake and alert in the middle of the night, for first prayers of the day, finding a moment during the monastery’s busy horarium to inscribe a note about this unusual sight in the heavens.
Must’ve been about time of Crusades. Wonder what else was going on?
This sounds amazing!
I enjoyed this piece so much. It reminded me of The Star by H.G. Wells. Good to know that the style still works and isn't too vintage or literary for current speculative writing.