Michael

As I write this, the temperature outside my home is 12^oF. The wind chill is predicted to be below zero. This is not the coldest weather I’ve been in, but it’s still really cold.

I had to go outside because I had left something I needed in my car. After bundling up, I ventured out and retrieved the item I was looking for. As I walked up my steps, I looked up and noticed how the moonless night was unbelievably clear. The stars seemed sharp as knives cutting through the cold air making them seem brighter than normal. I love the winter sky for this very reason.

Looking at the heavens has always generated immense pleasure for me. As a young child, I began to wonder what it would be like to travel between the stars. What is out there in the almost infinite space? Where are other civilizations located? What do they think about? Do they look up and wonder like I do? What is it like to travel through a nebula? How much life is spread through the universe?

Still today, when I look up in the night sky, I began to think about these things again. I don’t think I will ever stop wondering. That’s a good thing.

I hope you are warm wherever you are located.

Michael