One night almost fifty years ago, a grandfather took a little boy - his grandson - out in the yard of a small house in Los Angeles. He pointed a flashlight up in the sky and asked the little boy if he could see that star. The little boy said, "Yes".

Then the grandfather said, "Watch that star."

After a few minutes, the little boy said, "It's moving!"

"Yes," said the grandfather, "That is Sputnik. The very first satellite."

That little boy was me. Ever since that night, astronomy has been a passion of mine. I read everything on astronomy in the Encyclopedia Britannica when I was in grade school. I was crushed when I found out that I was too tall to be an astronaut.

You don't need to share my passion for astronomy to benefit from my free email newsletter. You just need to have some interest. I'll fill in the passion.

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May the stars shine gently,

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