If you had asked me just on a year ago what I thought about astronomy, space and exploration outside our atmosphere I would’ve replied that it was interesting and probably left it at that. But after spending a year looking into such exciting projects as Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne I started to believe that it might be possible, in our lifetimes, for those who wish to travel into space to do it without spending untold millions for the privaledge. I think it was at that time I realised that if I wanted to do something like that, I should start filling my head with the knowledge of space.
What really got me started was looking at pictures of the vast array of space projects that America, Russian and now the European Union paticipate in. It was in my travels across the internet that I stumbled onto The Big Picture by The Boston Globe. They have some of the most awe inspiring pictures I have ever seen, and I believe everyone should see them. Of course, I’ll also point you in the direction of some of my choice series which got me hooked on the site in the first place đŸ˜‰
Enceladus: An amazing array of pictures centered around this amazing moon of Saturn. Picture 2 is a piece of art and the animated picture 9 shows just how incredible it is that we have pictures like this.
The ISS, Shuttle and Baikonur Cosmodrome: Something a little more close to home that really shows the human effort involved in getting into space and maintaining a presence there. My favourite is definitely the ISS, I can stare at pictures of that place for hours on end.
It is my hope that one day we will all have the chance to take pictures like this, and not just look at them.
