I’ve been interested in astronomy since I was a little kid. Became a member of the Planetary Society around the age of 9 and begged and cajoled my parents into getting a telescope (which wouldn’t have been very useful given the amount of light pollution in Mexico City). The interest remained as I attended observation nights in high school and university but life went on. When I moved to Finland I found out there was an astronomical society, but unfortunately for me back then all its literature was in Finnish.
My parents remembered my interest, so when I graduated from my first degree I was given a Meade DS-2060AT telescope. It is not one of the fanciest out there, but it gets the job done. I’ve been able to watch the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and some deep space objects in the darkest nights Finland has to offer. The pictures below don’t do justice to how things look with your own eyes, but hey, it can probably give you an idea.
Jupiter from my balconyJupiter with Galilean moons. The planet is currently the closest it has been to Earth in almost 50 years.
One of the passions of my youth was space. I still own a telescope that is occasionally used, and recently renewed my membership in the Planetary Society. Founded by Carl Sagan, it is an organisation that tries to impulse space knowledge and exploration, with members in 125 countries around the world.
They are the guys behind different projects such as Seti at home, Red Rover, Red Rover and S.O.S. Save our Science. With them my name, together with that of the other members of the society at the time, landed on Mars with the Mars Pathfinder, and they have continued their activities for over 25 years.
As troubled as our world is, and as unrealistic as it may sound, I believe that the kickstart of a new age of exploration is what humanity needs. Just by watching the news every day, I guess we're not that many who think that.
