"The Sun and the Moon is not a planet"

January 21, 1993 – “I like space. Space is fun to learn about. We live on Earth. Jupiter looks like a bright star from our Earth…” These are the first few sentences in a journal I had started in the third grade which my brother has recently found buried in the bottom of a box somewhere in my mother’s attic. I believe it’s safe to say, that from a very young age, I had an interest in, well - space. However, the study of “space”, is a lot more involved then picking up a book and looking at pictures, or venturing in to your backyard with a telescope and starring at the night sky. The study of space, or the universe, or astronomy, or whatever you may want to call it - involves quite a bit of math; the type of math in which you would need to pursue this specialty as a career, is safe to say, I am nowhere near. Calculus I, Calculus II, and Linear Algebra – they’re like the stepping stones to even consider making a living off of in such an occupation. Today, I am in my second week of College Algebra (yes, that course you probably took in high school). Back in my younger days, math wasn’t a very important subject in my life. Today I look at math in a different light - and although I still have a hard time understanding and applying it, I must admit, I do respect it. In addition to that, I believe I am actually starting to like and enjoy it. Nevertheless, that is to say that you are doing it on a professional level. Most people are not professionals though. Most people are like me - who find awe in and are intrigued by, every aspect that has to do with the universe. Therefore, what’s to say someone can’t venture in to their background, grab a telescope, and take a look into the past? Or pick up a book to gaze upon the magnificence that fill the pages? Is math always needed when wanting to endeavor upon a field of science as a hobby? One of the amazing things about being deployed to third world countries is the lack of electricity. While you are sitting on the mountain tops or in the desert wash while pulling security and thinking about your life back home, is you tend to look up from time to time. The beauty of the night sky without any sort of light pollution is one of the most magnificent views you will ever see in your life. You are able to capture millions upon billions of objects with your naked eye, however, we had the added advantage of night vision devices. With the green glow of the PVS-14's, a lot more light was capture and even more so, the beauty of the universe illuminated my face. From planets to stars, to the arms of our own galaxy, and to galaxies far, far away - it was all there, right in front of my face. Together with, hopefully answering the questions from above, this blog will range in topics, yet, may not include: The history of NASA, The Hubble Space Telescope, The International Space Station, The Apollo Missions, the Shuttle Missions, water on Mars, possible life on Europa, the James Webb Telescope, SpaceX and their pursuit to establish a better system of shuttling objects from ground to orbit, the discovery of a possible ninth planet outside the Kuiper Belt, moreover, is hypothesized to orbit the Sun every 15,000 years or so, and along with some luck - much, much more. I will leave you with another passage from my third grade journal, “Neptune is my favorite planet, I like to learn about space.” You do not have to be a math whiz to enjoy a scientific topic as a hobby. As long as you have the passion and love for it, anything can be enjoyable. ​