Encounters With Greatness

Another cast member of the original Star Trek series has passed into the great beyond. News of Leonard Nimoy's death hit me pretty hard, for someone that I didn't actually know. I'm sure I can't add much to the Internet's many tributes to the man who brought Spock to life, other than to say the obvious. Nimoy's portrayal of Mr. Spock has made, and continues to make, my life fuller. The misfit character who wasn't quite Vulcan nor Human taught us much about ourselves. Star Trek wouldn't have been Star Trek without his thoughtful performances.

I never had the chance to meet Mr. Nimoy, but I did have one close encounter with him. I was one of the guests present at the 2006 re-dedication of Griffith Observatory. I was there because I had given some help to their California Astronomy exhibit. Nimoy was there because he had given them piles of money. If you go, be sure to check out the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater. That's two shots I took of Nimoy (along with his wife) being interviewed the evening of the dedication.

Aside from Nimoy, I've only seen one other member of the original Star Trek cast in person. The other happened years earlier when I attended the amazing 1977 Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy World Exposition.

James Doohan, Trek's Mr. Scott, was one of the guests. That's a scan of the pic I took of him at the event. I don't remember much about his presentation other than he was very warm and entertaining.

By the way, the Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy World Exposition was seriously awesome. In addition to Doohan, I saw Robert Heinlein, astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad and Carl Sagan. That was a pretty impressive line up for my then 14-year old self. Now that I think of it, that's an impressive and inspirational group of people to encounter at any age.

Of course, they're all gone now. The world was a better place for the real life explorations of Conrad and Sagan and for the fictional ones of Heinlein, Doohan and Nimoy too. They are all missed.

Cosmos Returns!

Carl Sagan's legacy lives on as a new version of Cosmos is coming back to TV. The show's first run on PBS in 1980 as Cosmos - A Personal Voyage was one of the top documentaries ever produced. Through his writing and his media appearances Carl Sagan had a profound and positive influence on so many people - including myself.

The media market has certainly changed enormously in the last 34 years and I hope that the new version, Cosmos - A Space Time Odyssey, will become just as successful.

In the new version Neil deGrasse Tyson takes over as host. The show is written by Sagan's widow Ann Druyan, who co-wrote the original version with Sagan. Here's the trailer for the new show, which debuts on Fox on March 9:


It certainly looks faster and edgier than the original Cosmos, but that isn't too surprising as that is what today's market expects.
In spite of it being somewhat dated now, Sagan's Cosmos is still very much worth watching. It is out on DVD (I have the set), but also available on line.

I wonder if the new series will have any moments like this one:

I hope so.

Bill Nye Speaks Out Against Light Pollution

In September 2011 along with the IDA executive director I had the chance to meet Bill Nye over at the Planetary Society offices.

It should be no surprise that the night sky has been a source of inspiration for their members.  A beautiful, inspiring sky can help make you want to explore the universe. We talked about how the two organizations might work together and it led to my article that was the cover story for last summer's issue of The Planetary Report.

Another eventual result of that meeting what that Bill Nye recorded a short statement on light pollution.  Check it out:


 It is great to have one of the more famous, dare I say, Science Guys on the planet speak out about this issue.

Of course, before there was Bill Nye there was Carl Sagan (one of the co-founders of the Planetary Society). Sagan had a passage on light pollution in his book Pale Blue Dot. It was moving enough that I used the quote to begin my article and I present it now here:

Before we invented civilization, our ancestors lived mainly in the open, out under the sky. Before we devised artificial lights and atmospheric pollution and modern forms of nocturnal entertainment, we watched the stars. There were practical calendrical reasons, of course, but there was more to it than that. Even today, the most jaded city dweller can be unexpectedly moved upon encountering a clear night sky studded with thousands of twinkling stars. When it happens to me after all these years, it still takes my breath away.

Well said, don't you agree?