Humans have been called the storytelling apes. Imagine the earliest of us – fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts – warm beside a campfire, giving names to the stars and constellations above. We are all those lucky children this month, seeing the first James ...
Humans have been called the storytelling apes. Imagine the earliest of us – fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts – warm at night beside a campfire. Giving names and histories to the stars and constellations wheeling above. Andromeda, Orion, the Great Emu. Gods and creatures undimmed by light pollution, growing brighter as the fire cools. On tiny Earth, circling the small star Sol, constellations were children’s picture books.
Jupiter, and its moon Europa , as seen through the James Webb Space Telescope In an image provided by NASA and other agencies.I was very young when my father first showed me the stars through a small telescope. We lived on one of the outer streets of country-town Armidale in NSW, far from the light pollution that bleaches city skies to a scattering of stars. I was fascinated by what he showed me of Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s moons. It’s a special memory with an adored parent.
Some of my research was even closer to home. I’m a teacher and I’ve peered out through classroom windows at the white dome of an observatory visible over the school boundary fence. A suburban astronomer has built it in his backyard. One evening, I watched him demonstrate his telescope to our students. He had the same fascination with the stars as an astronomer of any generation.
Australian fiction too is often written with a view to the stars. Surely we have a special place for First Fleet astronomer William Dawes. His work included tracing a comet and learning the Eora language. It’s been argued that he was an exploitative colonialist, but it’s as a scientist that he wanders through many notable Australian novels. Jane Rogers’ begins with young Dawes using lunar tables as “blind faith” navigation on his journey to Terra Australis.
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