40 Years

This past century has marked the most revolutionary paradigm shift in astronomy since the 1600s. The Universe expands. Light curves. Man on the Moon. Pulsars. Radio Sources. Voids. Galaxy Formation. Dark Matter. Black Holes. Pluto saw it's rise and fall in one century (it was classified as a planet in the 1920's, then demoted ["plutoed"] in 2005). The Hubble constant, light years, galaxy neighborhoods, variable stars, dwarf stars, exoplanets, and many, many more. I could keep going but I shall refrain.

This is a golden age for astronomy, and it ain't over yet! There's still a lot coming. And trust me, it's going to get even better.

I remember when Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars. I was 14. I watched online (very closely!) for every bit of news. Where they landed, what they were doing. I remember downloading the first image of the Martian landscape. I got choked up and teary. I'm not kidding! I remember thinking, "I'm crying over some red dirt! This is SO COOL!"

O how loud
It calls devotion! genuine growth of night!
Devotion! daughter of Astronomy!
An undevout Astronomer is mad.

— Edward Young, 'Night Thoughts.'

Astronomers, like burglars and jazz musicians, operate best at night.

— Miles Kington, 'Welcome to Kington.'

From our home on Earth, we look out into the distances and strive to imagine the sort of world into which we were born. With increasing distance our knowledge fades until at the last dim horizon we search among ghostly errors for landmarks scarcely more substantial. The search will continue. The urge is older than history. It is not satisfied and it will not be suppressed.

— Edwin P. Hubble, 'Realm of the Nebulae,' 1936