Is there anybody out there ?
As a young child of twelve , I was always interested in the question A David “ Are we alone ?” I even felt proud when Levy Sky a friend asked that question , and I replied “ Most people think that we are alone in the Universe , but I do not agree with them . I believe that there is life out there . Maybe there is even life on Mars .” That youthful conception shattered during the Summer of 1965 . Mariner IV , the first United States probe to explore Mars , deliberately flew by the red planet . It crossed a stretch of landscape on which by David Percival Lowell , who was the famous Levy American astronomer who began the
search for “ Planet X ” ( later identified as Pluto ), insisted he observed canals . If he were right , then Mars could have a global civilization that built them to protect their precious water supply . However , the spacecraft found only craters . “ Mars at Noon ,” trumpeted the New York Times that July , “ No Canals .” I never again believed that Mars harbored intelligent life . But the discovery of ALH 84001 , the famous rock from
Mars that suggested that life might have gotten a foothold on Mars long ago , altered the map for me . I still share Dr . David McCay ’ s belief that essentially , his team interpreted the data correctly . Most scientists insisted that there was nothing in that meteorite , that suffered an impact on Mars long ago and then got blown out by a second impact , eventually landing in Antarctica here on Earth , that carried evidence of past life however simple . I suspect there was . One thing scientists do agree on is that we need to send more spacecraft to Mars . These more advanced missions will dig about in places where there once was water . I think we have a surprise in store ! If we head farther out – beyond Pluto , beyond the nearest stars , to one of those distant suns that has an Earthlike planet circling it — might we find the holy grail of astronomical searches there ? Could a world such as that harbor intelligent life ? And could such life communicate with us ? We do not know the answer . And when we do , that answer might be no . But as long as we do not know , there is hope , hope that maybe , just maybe , alien life might be able to communicate with us , and offer a different view , a cosmic perspective . Maybe , just maybe , I wasn ’ t that far off afield when I was twelve .
Over decades of observing , David Levy has discovered or co-discovered a total of 23 comets . His prolific record includes the joint discovery of Shoemaker-Levy 9 , which quickly went on to dramatically crash into Jupiter in 1994 , and the individual discoveries of two periodic comets – P / 1991 L3 and P / 2006T1 – through his backyard telescope . In 2010 , Levy became the first person to have discovered comets in three ways - visually , photographically and electronically . Beyond his observation achievements , Levy has authored , edited or contributed to more than 30 books and has periodically provided articles for publications like Sky & Telescope and Parade Magazine .
Astronomy is a family affair
By MATTHEW VIGIL My grandfather David Levy and I have had many adventures involving the night sky . I remember one night in particular at an astronomy camp in the Adirondack . It was our second night there and I remember looking up at the stars with such wonder . My grandfather walked over to me and said , “ Would you like to look through one of my telescopes ?” Of course , I said yes and we walked over to his telescope and I looked though it and he said , “ That is Saturn .” After that , he kept pointing me to different stars and planets , and I kept asking more and more questions and he had an answer for every single question . My grandfather is an impressive man to say the least . When it comes to the night sky , he is an expert . I have all the respect and love in the world for him . I hope that in the future he can discover more comets to add to the rest of his impressive achievements .
Matthew Vigil in 2013
COURTESY OF David Levy
Sky ’ s Up 3