Searching for Clues Requires Remembering How to Think Like a Child

Some years ago, I found out there was going to be a partial eclipse of the sun. Knowing how rare it is for such an astronomical event — and hearing the various news stories about how unusual this event would be — I packed up the car and drove out to what I expected would be my personal experience to rival Dillard’s “Total Eclipse.” Upon arriving, I realized my adventure would parallel Dante’s rather than Dillard’s. The first indication was the truckloads of T-shirts embossed with slogans like “I SURVIVED THE ECLIPSE” and “WHAT ECLIPSE? IT WAS SO DARK I COULDN’T SEE ANYTHING.” The night was a dismal failure, and I drove home unfulfilled.

When I was young, I wanted to be an astrophysicist. OK, I couldn’t spell that, so I wanted to be Mr. Spock instead, but I gave that up as my spelling improved. At some point, I discovered we could actually see other galaxies through telescopes. I decided I was going to see one of these galaxies myself.

I convinced my mom to take me to the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles, the only place I knew of that had a large telescope. The man who ran the telescope was quite receptive when my mom told him of my peaking interest in science. He showed us slides of the cosmos, talked at length about stars and planets, and then finally he led us to the telescope.