As humans, we’ve always had a connection with the stars and the moon. Myriad discoveries this week have showcased the longevity of that relationship. For starters, archaeologists found an ancient artificial lake in the Mediterranean. Certain features of the pool aligned with constellations, the team learned, and its horizontal surface served as a mirror for the movements of celestial bodies, reports CNN.
Two and a half millennia after that reflecting pool was built, Apollo 17 astronauts landed on one of those heavenly objects — the moon — and brought back samples. One sealed tube from the 1972 mission was just opened. It could inform the way humans explore the lunar surface when astronauts return this decade.
And this weekend, the Solar Orbiter mission makes its closest flyby of the sun, capturing images that could reveal some of the greatest mysteries of the star we’ve yet to solve.
Our quest to understand the cosmos is never-ending. It’s enough to inspire one to write a space age love song.