A cold dark night woke me up

Nils Kongmark

December 2, 2012

In early 1941 I lived in Sweden, a country very isolated because of the war. There was shortage on most things, especially petrol so walking was the common mean of transportation. We were invited to dinner by neighbors some km away and we walked in the dark in the light from the stars. There was no moon light but suddenly an aurora borealis started and spread over the northern sky. We admired this giant curtain that changed colors from green to violette. I suddenly felt that there were something more than air over me and that it belonged to me or I belonged to that, in short, I felt that I was no more isolated but part of universe. As from that moment I have tried to learn as much as possible about our universe and by chance I live in a house where I from my dining table have a perfect view on the little observatory where Mayor et al. discovered the first planets outside our solar system. When I heard of The Planetary Society I joined and I find me at home there, intending to hang on as long as possible.