Author: sueyockneyauthor

Dark side of the Moon

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astronomy-ball-shaped-black-and-white-957626It could have a bright future

Ever since the release, in 1973, of the ground-breaking Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon with its iconic prism cover, I have been a little mystified by the exact nature of this part of our closest cosmic neighbour. In fact, for many years, I believed that it was always dark there. I don’t blame Pink Floyd for this as, despite the title, this album was more to do with mental illness than anything lunar. However, at an impressionable age, it was certainly instrumental in cementing this idea into my brain. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t feel the need to do any research into the topic which would have uncovered the truth. In this regard, I was not unlike our ancestors who believed that the world was flat. If it looks flat, it’s flat. If it looks dark, it’s dark.

So when China landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon recently, I was interested to read why it appears dark to us on Earth. I discovered that it’s all to do with the fact that the Moon takes the same time to rotate on its own axis as it does to complete an orbit of the Earth. Therefore, although we never get to see it, the far side of the Moon is exactly the same as the Earth facing side and experiences daytime and night-time.

Of course there are far more exciting things about this mission than sorting out my misconceptions. For a start, the far side of the Moon is free from the radio wave pollution emanating from Earth. This could mean that if they set up a radio telescope there, it could pick up weaker signals from space. Who knows who, or what, has been trying to get in contact with us and not be able to get through.

They will also undertake some very significant research up there, increasing our knowledge of the lunar surface and its mineral make-up. In addition, the lander carries a container with potato and plant seeds, as well as silkworm eggs, so that it can perform biological studies. The plan is to see if these organisms can thrive in a controlled and contained environment on the Moon. All of which will be very helpful information if they ever decide to develop lunar tourism in the future. Or even, as pre-eminent scientist and science fiction author Isaac Asimov predicted in 1983, set up the first space colony there.

Asimov got an awful lot of things right when he was asked to give his views about what the world would be like in 2019. In particular, he got it spot on when he said that we would be governed by computers in all aspects of our lives. What he didn’t get right though was our progress in the area of space exploration, believing that we would have mining and solar power stations firmly established on the Moon by now and be well on the way to settling there. Perhaps the Chang’e-4 mission will be a major step in making his vision a reality.

Arts versus Science

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Man in front of light display

They didn’t make Leonardo choose, did they?

Recently I’ve been thinking about how I came to be writing Science Fiction, ever since I caused surprise and confusion to a woman who, on discovering that I was a writer, asked what sort of novels I wrote. My answer was not what she was expecting. She stared at me speechless. It was as if I’d said something outrageous and that the choice of that particular genre was not a suitable one for a woman of my age. I’ve always been passionate about Science Fiction, I said, but it fell on deaf ears. She’d given up on me. I didn’t fit the mould.

It could have been so different though, if I hadn’t been forced to choose, at the tender age of 15, between Arts and Science. I chose Arts, for no more considered reason than that I was a girl and it

It wasn’t that you were banned from studying art if you were in the Science group, or visa versa, because the two girls caused a bit of a stir by choosing to study A-level art and spending all their time in the Art Department. It was just that, at the time, having taken up the arts label and being of a less bold disposition, I felt that I was duty bound to conform to it.

The upshot of this was that I felt that a whole swathe of knowledge had been denied me before I’d really had a chance to explore its possibilities. Whether it was conscious or not, I immediately became fascinated in what I thought I couldn’t have and started to devour everything ‘science fiction’ – books, films and TV. I read anything I could get my hands on – A.C.Clarke, Vonnegut, Asimov, Ballard, Philip K. Dick, all the greats, plus lots of obscure anthologies of SF short stories that I didn’t understand most of the time, but somehow it didn’t matter.

The first time I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey, I experienced a life-changing moment. I can’t explain what happened, but I came out of that film a different person than the one who went in clutching a medium sized box of popcorn, which remained largely uneaten. That film remains, to this day, one of my all-time favourites. And, although I went on to study art, I never lost my passion for Science Fiction.

So, here’s a thought. If Leonardo da Vinci had been forced to choose between Arts and Science at the age of 15 would he have designed a tank 400 years before it became a reality; conceptualized the helicopter; studied and made detailed drawings of the human body; or painted the Mona Lisa, the most famous painting of all time? I think his innate curiosity and thirst for knowledge would have meant he’d have worked something out, I’m sure.