Enjoy this sneak peek from our Summer 2019 issue, in which Ramon Horca of Galactic Wicklow discusses the wonder of the stars. You can read the full article in our Summer 2019 issue. Just click here to find your nearest stockist, or subscribe to receive a copy direct to your door.
Wonderstruck
Be amazed by the stars
by Ramon Horca
When was the last time you looked up at the stars? When was the last time ancient light travelling vast distances across the galaxy hit your eyes and awakened a completely new perspective in your life? As a student of the universe who’s always had a love of space and its vast energy, I got so much more than I bargained for when I began to really look. I found that I was looking into myself.
Now I cannot unsee what I’ve seen, or unlearn what it’s taught me about my life, my connection to my fellow brothers and sisters, and my relationship with this beautiful planet we live on. The equipment we use makes it possible to gaze into the vast galactic star fields of millions of suns just like ours. The question ‘are we alone?’ becomes almost laughable when you gain this new perspective.
You start to understand there’s so much more going on out there than we realise, and that most of the stars you see have other worlds orbiting them. Look at another galaxy like Andromeda, 2.5 million light years away: when the light left from its stars on its way to us, we came into being. Great civilisations were built and lost. And we built the telescope, that caught the light, that hit our eyes on its vast journey from 2.5 million years in the past. These are mind-melting numbers, but ultimately, experiencing a moment like this grounds you to your home galaxy and your place in it.
You can read the full article in our Summer 2019 issue. Just click here to find your nearest stockist, or subscribe to receive a copy direct to your door. To learn more about Ramon’s stargazing tours with Galactic Wicklow, just click here.
