Watching Space

摘要

The success of the Space Shuttle Discovery mission took place amid fervent speculation about NASA's value. Few software project managers would envy the attention. Though I've never followed NASA activities religiously, several factors have conspired to elevate my interest lately. My four-year-old son loves the state-of-the-art Chabot Space and Science Center that's just up the hill from us in Oakland, a curvaceous monolith rising amid the redwoods. A few months ago, we saw Saturn through the 20" refracting telescope; I was amazed at the clarity with which we could view the rings and the four moons, twinkling like tiny stars. Afterwards, we saw images from the Cassini mission, now in Saturn's orbit, and gained an even fuller picture of the planet.