jbjb Electrons? Moon speeding around a giant planet made of gas? Planets orbiting a distant
star? Satellites? This light is an idea an idea that promises new understanding simply
by delivering fresh perspectives and new perceptions. We perceive light--we see it but what we see
and what it means are not the same. Without context, detail means nothing. Oh, there are
so many factors at play here: what wavelengths of light can we see, how well can our brains
take what we see and turn it into something we understand? And also, how do we compare
ourselves to the thing we re observing? What tools do we use to help us capture information?
How do we turn light into data, data into pixels, pixels into meaning?
Start with a planet. For example, Earth. And as long as we re at it, let s tip the Earth
to spin properly on its axis. Now, recall our original points of light. Our idea. These
are satellites in orbit. Satellites collect data as the Earth rotates beneath them. Think
of satellites as paint brushes working in reverse: instead of painting planets with
light, satellites collect light reflected from planets below. With enough data we can
paint a world. Data that make this image come from instruments on two NASA satellites called
AQUA and TERRA. These instruments see the Earth in what we might regard as natural color.
They can also see certain events as they happen. There, splattered like white paint on a blue
canvas, something important: Hurricane Katrina. These satellites are only two of many that
can see hurricanes. The stripes you see building up come from a unique spacecraft called TRMM.
Among the many remarkable things TRMM can do, it can look inside hurricanes like nothing
else in the world. See for yourself. TRMM sees the actual body of the beast in three
dimensions. Orange and red zones indicate higher rainfall rates. Cloud spires called
hot towers drive the storm s greedy grab for energy. Removing the clouds, a separate instrument
on the AQUA satellite measures ocean temperature. Temperatures matter. Warm water is the gasoline
that powers hurricane engines. This thermal footprint shows fuel in the tank vital information
for forecasters and scientists. The Earth changes. It breathes. And it surprises.
Though we live on a planet largely covered by water, we often forget that huge tracts
are frozen solid. Let s change the perspective. Ice covers much of
the world. The eternally frozen parts are called the Cryosphere. It s the planet s thermostat,
and a hydrological warehouse, and in terms of a changing climate, it s the canary in
a coalmine. You may live your whole life and never visit these places, but these places
will affect your life nonetheless. You know this place. The Moon. Earth s closest neighbor
is little more than a beautiful stranger across an airless room. There are mysteries here
and answers. And, like love, perhaps, destiny. Back on Earth, day and night change like moods,
with points of light pricking the darkness like vaguely remembered dreams. City lights
shine into space at night, like ancient campfires, like candles of civilization. No other place
beyond the Earth shows signs of life like this, or shows signs of life at all. But we
re looking. Before we can find life elsewhere, we need to be good at reading its signs at
home first. And on Earth, life is everywhere. This is the living Earth: the biosphere. Phytoplankton
bloom in vast oceanic fields. Land plants pulse rhythmically with seasonal growth. Together,
these sound the global heartbeat, the pulse of life powered by the sun. The Sun. All energy
on Earth comes from the sun. The car you rode in this morning, the unabashed tomatoes and
perfumed basil you coax from your garden each summer, the two bars out of five on your cell
phone, they re all quantities of energy. And that means they re all connected to the sun.
If you live on Earth, this is the nightlight that matters most. The Moon the Earth the
Sun: celestial spheres we see and feel everyday. But in our solar neighborhood, there are other
places, too. Fabulous places. Mysterious places. As a tourist destination, Mars has an impressive
brochure. The longest, deepest canyon in the solar system. A volcano so high it s peak
climbs above most of the Martian atmosphere. Nothing like these places exists on Earth.
Nothing. This is Mars seen differently. You re looking at an elevation map made with an
orbiting laser. Red and white areas reach high above the average. Blues and purples
show lowlands. If Mars were covered in oceans, the northern hemisphere would be under water.
Imagine the first human footprints left on the shore. What is the world we create in
our minds? We create, depending on what we want to see. At first, it was enough just
to walk, to run, to get wet in the rain, to simply touch the forces of nature. But once
in motion: imagination. Then: space, perspective. We see what we set out to find. we see what
we choose to see. There are often surprises. This is from a NASA mission called WMAP. If
the whole universe were a person, this would be its first baby picture. There are no stars
here, no galaxies, certainly no planets. But there is energy. The rest came soon enough,
once the new kid could collect herself. This is the universe we see today. It s a lively
place. That s a gamma ray burst, spotted by NASA SWIFT satellite. These cosmic blasts
have long puzzled scientists. They may be stars collapsing in upon themselves, or two
densely packed remnants of stars merging together. But in either case, scientists believe they
herald the births of black holes. They re the most powerful explosions in the universe
after the Big Bang. And they seem to happen all the time, as often as once a day. Satellites
like WMAP and SWIFT are rapidly coloring our perceptions about our place in the universe.
What we know is a function of what we think to ask, what we challenge ourselves to see.
We look outwards as much as we look inwards, for if there is any certainty in the journey
of knowledge it s that travel in any direction can lead to the same destination. We see only
what we look for, and in space and on Earth we seek the wisdom to ask the right questions.
Electrons Normal Thomas Lucas Microsoft Word 10.1 Thomas Lucas Productions, Inc. Electrons
Title Microsoft Word Document NB6W Word.Document.8