“Why do we study the universe? Why do we look at the sky and ask questions, build telescopes, travel to the very limits of our planet to answer them? Why do we stargaze? We don't know exactly why, but we must.” ScienceTelescopesStargazing Book:The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers Source: The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers
“Dinner on Kitt Peak wrapped up in time for everyone to head outside and watch the sunset together before scattering to the telescope, a time-honored tradition of astronomers everywhere. If asked, we would all supply some good practical scientific reasoning behind the habit - you get a glimpse of what sort of night it's going to be, a sense of upcoming weather, the sky quality, and so on - but the basic reason remains that it's simply beautiful. Standing on a remote mountain with the earth stretching out into the distance and slowly spinning away from our nearest star, it's a wonderful quiet moment to enjoy the vastness and stillness and colors as the night begins. On any given evening, I can promise you that scattered across the planet are a few small groups of astronomers, standing on dome catwalks or dining hall patios or even just a stretch of hard-packed earth and pausing in their work for a few moments to admire the simple beauty of the sky.” ScienceAstronomySunsetTelescopesStargazing Book:The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers Source: The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers