Reading Record: [Three Kilometers to the Moon] by Shin Iyohara
The moon always shows us the same face.
This is because the moon's rotation period matches its orbital period.
And, in fact, it is gradually moving away from the Earth.
In ancient times, the moon appeared more than six times larger than it does now—
Even though it's a tiny distance of 3.8 centimeters a year, you're drifting away, aren't you, dear moon...
How do they even study something as far, far away as the moon?
Let alone things from the ancient past.
From the moon, weather, and fossils to elementary particles, sediments, and volcanoes,
these stories told within the novel
and the despair, throbbing, pain, and wounds of the people who appear
are linked together in this collection of short stories.
There is still so much I don't know,
like the time when the Earth was born
or stories about the far reaches of the universe.
Compared to that, my own existence is very, very small.
But, I am undeniably a part of this planet.
In every short story, the characters carry some kind of problem or worry.
Despair that makes them think of suicide,
the throbbing of trauma,
or wounds carved into their hearts over many years.
And at the end of each story, they conclude in a way that has them facing toward where the light shines.
There are human dramas like that, but
above all, I get excited by the stories that stimulate my intellectual curiosity.
For instance, that snow crystals come in various shapes beyond just hexagons, such as needles, plates, prisms, and columns,
and which one they grow into is determined by temperature and the amount of water vapor.
Or that by studying sediments, we can learn about past climate fluctuations.
Or that by researching elementary particles, we are researching the universe.
Is it because they were captivated by it,
or is it just that they simply want to know?
The thoughts of researchers may vary, but to me, continuing to pursue what you love is nothing but precious.
A volcanologist speaks of their love for mountains.
"I only realized it after I became one. The importance of what I do. The mountains aremy everything, but because of those mountains, people dying or getting hurt is the thing I hate most of all"
And the words of a man who has spent many years excavating ammonite fossils seemed to express the thoughts of a researcher.
"It doesn't matter who does it, but if you spend years, even decades, trying everything you can, and it still doesn't work, then you know this place is a bust. And then you move on to the next place.It's not about finding what you know, it's about the accumulation of work in finding what you don't know"
Oh, by the way, it seems that if you have a macro lens (which you can even buy at a 100-yen shop), you can photograph snow crystals with a smartphone or digital camera.
I want to try it! (Though it might be impossible this winter💦)
Also, the ISS (International Space Station) can be seen with the naked eye!
When I searched for "#LookForKibo," I found the orbital information.
In this book, there is a scene where a woman calls out "Hey!" toward the ISS. She is mistaken by a child for an alien because she is calling out to a spaceship (lol).
But isn't that wonderful?
I want to call out "Hey!" to the ISS moving across the night sky, too.