Abigail Juskiewicz 
By: Hannah Taylor
Have you ever wondered what’s above us or what’s actually out there? Astronomers have studied the stars, planets, and many other wild things in the sky for years, but there’s still no end to the answer because the sky is never ending. Many refuse to touch the topic and suggest that we take a different route, but most have gone above and beyond to search our skies. It’s no secret that our galaxy is filled with things beyond our reach, but have you actually taken the time to learn what’s really out there?
One popular question when talking about the sky is , “What is a black hole?” A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out. Black holes form at the end of some stars’ lives. When this happens, no light will be able to get out, which is why we cannot see black holes. Dr. Smethurst’s book A Brief History Of Black Holes states how she recalls the term “black hole” dating back to 1961. She says, “A black hole isn’t the absence of something; it’s the presence of everything; matter in its densest possible form.” By this she means that black holes aren’t just a “matter of nothing” but that it’s matter that is so tiny we cannot see it. The author of The Life and Death of Stars, Kenneth R. Lang explains in his book how stars are fueled by a nuclear fusion of hydrogen to form helium deep in their interiors. Both scientists agree that stars are an outflow of energy.
Others argue that the study and research of stars should be left alone. Author Aldous Huxley emphasizes in his book Brave New World that the study of astronomy should be avoided. He believes that it is a way to give the government more power to control the world. He warns us in his book about state control and new technologies. Contributing to this argument is another author named George Orwell. Orwell talks about how the Soviet Union is overthrowing the world and we are in one big cage because of the control and power they have. In his book, Animal Farm, he uses animals as a metaphor, emphasizing that not all knowledge should be used as power.
On the other side of this argument, many scientists like physicist Stephen Hawkings have gone far to study the skies. Hawkings broke down black holes, space and time and the theory of gravity. In his book A Brief History of Time he explains how “everything is in motion” using the example of a chair: A stationary chair may seem to be at rest, but it is in motion since it’s sitting on a moving earth. He writes that “The law states everything is already in motion and objects are constantly moving in relation to one another.”
The study of astronomy has opened new discoveries beyond the limit of our atmosphere, allowing us to move beyond our reach into the galaxy. It could be a new channel to the latest thing happening, like the two new black holes discovered near Earth. We wouldn’t know what’s out there if it wasn’t for the knowledge gained over centuries of research.
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