I am not a big fan of science fiction. I don’t like Dr Who or Star Trek. I don’t understand black holes and the concept of a huge infinite universe melts my brain completely.
But a fiery sunset can take my breath away. A rising creamy moon spills magic onto my world. There is little quite as beautiful as a shimmering tent of stars overhead on a dark night. These things speak to my soul. They tell of wonders that exist just beyond my understanding and comprehension. They never fail to move me and remind me that there is so much beyond this world; that our journey is far more than we can see or feel or touch.
On the 20th of July 1969 Neil Armstrong took his ‘giant leap for mankind’ onto the surface of the moon. For decades it seemed to me that this was the pinnacle of man’s achievement in space. Nothing has ever come near to wonder of that first space walk.
Sure, I am aware of probes to Mars and the fact that we have a Space Station hurtling around us where all kinds of experiments are carried out. My twitter feed for the last few years has occasionally told me about ISS passes and what time it might be visible over Dublin. I think I saw it just once. It was not much more exciting that knowing the aircraft overhead is a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York.
Then on the 5th of January a tweet appeared in my Twitter timeline with this photo. The caption read Tonight’s Finale: I’m not quite sure! Ireland, Wales or England, through a gap in the cloud. Where is this port town?
The tweet had originated on the ISS and was sent by a Commander Chris Hadfield. Commander Hadfield had found Dublin and Ireland was just beginning to find Commander Hadfield. More stunning images followed including the one below of the moon setting over the Earth.
Who knew Canada had astronauts? But they do and to borrow a line from a famous ad… If *insert beer name* did astronauts, they would do Chris Hadfield.
Commander Hadfield is exactly what I thought an astronaut wouldn’t be. He is creative. His photographs show a remarkable eye for composition and the words he chooses to accompany these pictures are beautifully crafted and carefully chosen. But more than that, as I quickly discovered, Chris Hadfield is an accomplished musician.
In February he posted a video of his accompanying a children’s choir from Canada, singing a song called “Is Somebody Singing” … you just have to listen to the words…. It captures beautifully the magic of looking at our world from 240 miles above in space. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvAnfi8WpVE
I was hooked. Hadfield posted photos of cities and towns and landscapes, as we had never seen them before. We saw amazing weather patterns and sometimes con trails from aircraft far below. And we saw moon rises like never before.On the 18th of February he posted a magnificent night time shot of our capital city with the words Tá Éire fíorálainn! Land of green hills and dark beer. With capital Dublin glowing in the Irish night. And an entire nation fell in love. Irish in space – imagine that.
He sang Danny Boy for St Patricks Day, he made videos explaining life without gravity but most of all he captured the magic and wonder of our little blue planet. He showed us a little of what he could see from his ‘tin can in space’.
There have been many nights in the last six months when I have gazed skywards. I could have been putting something in the bin, or locking the car or calling in the cat and I have smiled, knowing that up above my head somewhere was the charismatic Canadian with a guitar. An astronaut with the heart of a poet and the soul of sage.
Commander Hadfield, a man of science, sees the wonder and the magic of our universe and of our planet. But more than that, he knows exactly how to capture it for us so we can get a taste of the magic, the beauty, the wonder back here on earth.
I would dearly love to have five minutes some day to interview him. To hear him speak of this wonder, to hear if it has changed him, to know how it feels to see life from 250 miles above this little blue planet…. And to know what he is going to do next….
Thank you Chris for sharing… it’s been wonderful.
You have captured all our thoughts so beautifully, Barbara! Thank you for thanking Chris for all of us. Pat
Barbara,
I, like so many, have also been captivated by the various postings and in particular the photography of Commander Chris Hadfield. And his rendition of Bowie's 'Space Oddity' was sublime. You have captured beautifully in this post something of the difference this man has made. I echo your closing sentence – and add a 'thank you' to you, Barbara, for expressing what so many of feel about Chris Hadfield's tour of duty on the ISS.
John
A great blog, Barbara, I love it. Commander Hadfield is indeed someone special and his photographs from space were wonderful. I hope some day they'll be published.
Great blog Barbara – as has been said, you have put in words what most of us think 🙂
A lovely post, Barbara. It echoes exactly how I imagine many others feel, myself included. Chris Hadfield certainly is a very special man. I hope we see and hear more from him and his experiences in the future. Thank you for a beautifully expressed post.
what a beautiful tribute – says all the things I felt but didnt know how to express. thank you. missing the pics – was my guilty pleasure just before going to sleep each nite.
Barbra, such a wonderful blog, like you I have been a fan of Cmdr Hadfield for some time, I have found myself looking for his tweets, following the ISS obit, looking at all his pictures and feeling this truly is an international space station working on behalf of us all, I felt part of it because he made it so real and made it part of us all. In west cork on a clear nigh bereft of city lights, star gazing in wonderment a sort of reawakening of my youth and the dreams of a young boy. I am so pleased you have written my blog and the blog of so many others who have come to know Chris over the past five months. Well done and thanks. John