journey to the heart of the milky way
My Dear Readers,
This was a most busy week for me! I was suddenly called away by NASA to do a little space mission!
Two orbiting space telescopes, named Hubble & Spitzer, & their friend Chandra (an x-ray observatory in space), were used to take a picture of the center of your galaxy, the Milky Way!
Since humans have not been able to travel to the center of the Milky Way yet, NASA asked if I would be willing to zoom over there in my space kayak, so they would have a focal point for their photos.
I said, “Okay!”
Once everything was all arranged at home, I started off on my little journey…
…after quite a while, I reached the center of the Milky Way, where my mission was just to park the space kayak for a while, until all the telescopes could get properly focused.
What is it like there, you may wonder? Well, it is very quiet…very illuminated…unbelievably vast.
I would say it is a transcendental experience being in the center of the Milky Way…that is perhaps the best way to explain it…
I have never experienced anything quite like this before in my life!
…after some time had passed…like at any other momentous occasion in one’s life…
…a picnic was in order!
First, some blue tortilla chips, which actually make absolutely no loud crunching sound in space–so you can eat them quite stealthily!
Next, a crispy green salad…(I have a collapsible cooler, which hangs off of the other side of the space kayak, not seen in this photo…& all of my dishes are, of course, tethered to the cooler!)
Here, I am just enjoying the center of the Milky Way galaxy, soaking in the ambiance, & posing for the triple telescope photos, all the while savoring a pot of chamomile tea…
Then…oh dear!
…All of a sudden–maybe I rolled about too quickly–my new glasses flew off & started floating away from the space kayak! Oh! I heard the faintest strains of beautiful Tuvan music as they drifted away!
In a flash, I jumped overboard…but somehow, I catapulted a little too far in my enthusiasm…
All this time, the two telescopes & the Chandra observatory were still focused on the space kayak…where the tea pot had landed back safely after the upheaval…
In this photo, you cannot see me, but I have found my glasses & am frantically swim~flying back to the space kayak using a special technique, which, loosely translated, is termed “the doggy paddle.” I am not sure what my tea pot is doing in this meantime…it does not really seem very upset by the sudden turn of events…
Well, the good news is that we made it back to the space kayak! …And so, my space mission was complete!
I just gave a little wave to signal to the telescopes & Chandra that I was heading back home.
I flew quietly home through the Milky Way. It is so still, so vast & illuminated…an amazing sight, really. It takes my breath away each time I fly through…
Including my trips to the moon & Orion as a child, and our recent trip to take a tiny peek at my beloved Adromeda Galaxy, this is only my 6th or so time flying through the Milky Way, so it is still something very special for me. What a beautiful galaxy you have!
Just a little while ago, I arrived home…
…so happy to see the lights of our friendly little neighborhood & to be home with my sweet children again!
love,
Clay Ball
These photos are courtesy of NASA–thank you NASA! And a special thanks for giving me this amazing opportunity to see the center of the Milky Way Galaxy!
