Day 2 - 194 -- Up Close and Personal with Pluto

Today an historical event occurred. The probe sent into space over nine years ago has travelled to the end of our solar system, sending back amazing close up photos of Pluto. This seems surreal in many ways. Think about it. Something made by humans and launched into space from our wee blue planet has travelled 3 billion miles over the past 9 years. And the camera systems are still operational and doing what they were designed to do -- let us see the surface of Pluto better than we've ever seen it before.

I grew up with the space program from the earliest forays into space to orbits of the earth to the moon landing and the space stations. It is still amazing to see something new happen. I have brought the technology from space programs into classrooms, particularly as these have affected food technologies and better treatments for osteoporosis and several other diseases. Much of this research occurs in the background and many people don't fully understand the enormity of these programs of discovery. So much more to be learned, but for today, let's take a moment to enjoy this latest achievement.

The selection for today brought to mind travelling out among the stars -- even if we are here on earth, each one of us could travel vicariously today to the end of our solar system. Wow! Enjoy!

Shining Star -- Earth, Wind and Fire