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It’s another midnight, another sprawl of sky and stars; the twisting trails of constellations and lunar cycles. You recognize the patterns. You’ve learned them all, have devoted your evenings to memorizing every shape, every aspect. The distance is well charted and well known. And this is why you immediately understand that something has… changed. Your universe is not as it was the day before. It has instead yielded a prize.
And you’re the one who found it.
There is one truth in Astronomy that can never be denied: its discoveries are without prejudice. Men may struggle for years, hunched behind the rattle of their equipment, charting out all possibilities. And yet their theorems will offer no realities and their efforts will only bring frustration. They will give month after month of their lives, only to receive nothing in return. Their sacrifice will be in vain. And you–a hobbyist, spending your idle hours on a hill–will suddenly discover what others have been seeking.
And it was all simply by staring in the right direction at the right time.
Unlike the harder sciences (which can only by followed by those versed in their principles, in obscure mathematics and formulas), Astronomy is accessible to all. It can be understood by any who wish to learn it and requires little more than patience and a telescope. And, through this, amateur exploration is possible–and is often accomplished. Revelations can be made by luck and simple curiosity.
And such a notion distinguishes Astronomy from its sister-sciences. This is not a field dominated to impossible codes and technological intrigue. It is instead a field that allows any to participate. There is no limit to the sky and there is therefore no limit to the ones who can view it.
And this allows vital discoveries to be made by simple good fortune. All have the chance to achieve greatness. All have the opportunity to leave their mark on the world.
Astronomy offers equality and the far more important hope.
