[광화문에서/김선미]I want to go to sleep

Seon-mi Kim, Deputy Manager of Industry Department 1

“Where can I see the falling stars?”

I left this question on Facebook earlier this year. When I heard that seeing the stars was a dream, my friends wholeheartedly recommended ‘Sacred Sites of the Stars’. However, he said that it was in vain if the car lights were on everywhere. A recent James Webb Space Telescope’s photo of stars from 13.5 billion years ago sparked a dream again. When I said, “What is my dream?”, an astronomer told me about the Yeongyang Firefly Observatory in Gyeongsangbuk-do. “It’s the darkest place in South Korea, so you’ll be able to see the stars. However, on the eve of the moonless moon, you must give me a clear day from the Holy Spirit… .”

There are a few days left before the end of the year, and the clouds are scheduled, but office workers have no choice but to aim for the weekend. However, if the expectations are high, the disappointment will also be great. “If you really look at the stars, that’s a miracle,” I decided.

The astronomical observatory, which ran over 200km from Seoul, was located in the Antelope Firefly Ecological Park, which was designated as Asia’s first ‘International Night Sky Conservation Park’ by the International Starry Sky Association (IDA). There was no light pollution, so it was pitch black. But a miracle really happened. The clouds lifted for a moment, and the stars visible with the naked eye were shot everywhere. Stars big and small shone in their own way.

American astronomer Carl Sagan (1934-1996) and his wife Anne Drian (73), author of the leading scientific bestseller ‘Cosmos’, said that humans are infinitely small from a cosmic point of view. This means that there is nothing to be embarrassed about or to be discouraged. In 1980, when they co-authored Cosmos, you can see a picture of them walking while looking at each other affectionately, and they are soul mates. Sagan wrote the foreword to the book. ‘Rejoicing to share one planet and a fleeting moment with Anne in the vast universe and infinite time.’

It was the universe that united the two. They first met at a party organized by film director Nora Efron in 1974, and in 1977 they worked together on the Voyager Golden Disc. Sagan’s imagination to send the sounds of the earth to an extraterrestrial intelligent life that may exist, was realized by Sagan. Even the sound of a human kiss, said to be the most difficult to record… . Drian said. “We loved because our souls, our hearts and our curiosity were in the exact same place.”

Their love for humanity has been passed down as a great legacy. Although Sagan is gone, Drian leads the popularization of science through scientific writing and documentary production. ‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’, released as a sequel in 2020, 40 years after the publication of Cosmos, warns of future disasters and speaks of hope. “It’s not too late. We need to prepare for a ‘different future’ from the long-term perspective of a scientist, not a politician.”

Taking my eyes off the digital screen and looking at the stars was a different experience. The digital world seems to contain all knowledge, but in reality, how narrowly it has locked us in. If one day you suddenly get a deep sigh, go see the stars. You can even find a soul comrade star looking at the same place. Above all, Sagan and Drian said that effective science education is essential for a person to mature into a sound citizen. It couldn’t be better than that if you fell asleep counting the falling stars.

Seon-mi Kim, Deputy Manager, Industry 1 [email protected]

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