Horizon

I always like going to the sea. I find it humbling. Nothing but water for as far as the eye can see, yet only a small fraction of this planet which bears us all in our voyage through the cosmos. The horizon seems so much closer to me now, than it ever did before. Practically within reach. A reminder of just how small planet Earth really is. Small and isolated. Compared with the immense distances to the stars, a mere horizon seems just a stone's throw away. I like to look to it sometimes and contemplate the size of our little world. Take a deep breath and feel the planet turning beneath my feet.

I may have said this before, but the interesting thing about studying astronomy is that you end up holding stars inside your mind. The stars ceased to be mere points of light to me a long time ago. When I look at a night sky now, I see places. Some so close I'm seeing their light from just a few years ago. Some almost unimaginably distant. I'm also aware of the places which I don't see. The ones so far away that their light is far too dim for my feeble human retinas to detect.



The sea itself is a constant reminder of how the Earth moves, playing its role in the vast machinery of the cosmos. Pulled at by the gravity of the Moon, the sea is in constant motion. Buffetted by kinetic friction from the wind. Roiling in turbulent waves, breaking into a billion fractal droplets of water as they crash to the shore, finishing as little but a fine mist of spray to moisten my skin and leave the faint taste of salt on my lips. Countless trillions of water molecules, all in constant motion, spinning and resonating in harmony. Tiny fleeting hexagonal shapes and forms gather within the water, too small to ever be seen, held together by tenuous intermolecular forces, before almost instantly they dissipate and return to the morass of water molecules from whence they came. Nature is a beautiful thing.

So it's now the last day of 2009. It's sometimes nice to take some time out at the end of the year to reflect on things. Gazing to the horizon sometimes has that effect on me. This year has been somewhat tumultuous, but the high points have been the highest of my life. All in all, on reflection, I think 2009 was a fine year. Here's hoping 2010 will be even better!