Tag: goodbye

Bye bye moon

One of the finest documentaries I have watched in recent years was by the British space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock. It was called Do we really need the moon?

Do we really need the moon?

I like Maggie, she’s one of those tutors you wish you’d had at school, she’s just so good at getting you to understand a subject, and is just so good at making you feel at ease through her enthusiasm and energy. As well as being the Chancellor of our local university in Leicester, she can also be seen on the popular BBC space programme “The Sky at night”

This documentary was released about 12 years ago but is not available on BBC platforms at this moment. I have however included the link to YouTube where you can watch the programme in its entirety.

One of the fascinating facts, and one that had me questioning whether it was a contributor to global issues is that the moon is moving away from Earth at a rate of about 3.8 centimeters (1.49 inches) per year. This might not seem like a lot, but over billions of years, it sure adds up. Since the Apollo 11 landing on the moon on July 20th 1969 the moon has moved away from us by approximately 209 centimetres or 6.85 ft. That’s in just 55 years. The moon invariably has an effect on a number of factors here on earth, with the major one being its effect on the tides.

The moon’s gravitational pull is the primary driver of the tides on Earth. As the moon moves further away from Earth, its gravitational pull weakens, which in turn affects the tides.

Effects on Tides

  1. Weaker tidal forces: With the moon moving away, its gravitational pull on Earth’s oceans decreases, resulting in weaker tidal forces.
  2. Lower high tides: As the tidal forces weaken, the high tides will be lower than they would be if the moon were closer.
  3. Higher low tides: Conversely, the low tides will be higher than they would be if the moon were closer.
  4. Reduced tidal range: The tidal range, which is the difference between the high and low tides, will decrease as the moon moves further away.

Don’t panic though as these changes will occur gradually over an extremely long period. It’s estimated that the tidal range will decrease by about 1-2% over the next 100 million years.

These distances between earth and the moon are calculated quite accurately by a piece of space hardware placed on the moon by the crew of Apollo 15 in 1971. It’s called a retro reflector unit. When a high intensity laser is fired towards it from earth, the time it takes to reach the reflector and then be beamed back to earth is measured, and from this measurement they can give an extremely accurate reading of the current distance. This system is still in use to this day. It also features in the documentary.

I’m fascinated by everything lunar related as I was brought up during the space race and was very much around when all of this occurred. I’ve witnessed a space shuttle launch (STS-79) and long to head back and witness one of the many launches taking place now in this revival of space travel.

My favourite ever quote was the one that went so:

“Don’t believe the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon”

Adventure, exploration, breaking barriers and exceeding limits. Everything that the human race is capable and very good at doing.

And some people are just fantastic scholars at teaching the subject.

Maggie is one of those special individuals.

Stay safe. Shine.

Is there a cure for a broken heart 💔

If so I’m interested.

Yesterday was a vile day as at 13:20 we said goodbye to our beloved little boy Alfie. He features on this site as there is an album of his pictures here: Alfie

Our beautiful lad

He has been very unwell for the last couple of years but in recent months his condition has progressed to the point that his little body was gradually shutting down, and the wonderful little character he had was starting to wane. He was just 11.5 years old.

Those who do not enter into relationships with animals will never understand what I’m posting here, however I’m sure a good number of you will understand. To be honest I’m not really worried who reads this, I’m writing this as I do most of my posts for personal reasons and to help me express my feelings and journalise my thoughts.

We are heartbroken. We were never able to have children, so we took on this dog as we had our previous two, as a stand in for the child we could never have. And that’s how they were treated. They featured in everything we did as a family, they went everywhere with us and everyone who met them had a story to tell of the little antics they experienced with them.

Alf – our little fellah

A dog leaves his paw print on your heart. In fact a dog will steal your heart, he plays with it all his life and when he leaves you he breaks it into a million pieces. That’s not a bad thing, but it hurts to a level I can’t explain.

When my parents passed I cried and I was emotional, of course I was, but I have unashamedly cried more tears for this little fellah. I think the difference is that we were his whole world, he depended on us. We had to feed him, water him, walk him and look after his well being and for the last few years we’ve medicated, washed, treated him and ensured he had his ever growing list of medications. He was fully dependent on us whereas our parents were not and they had two families to help and care.

Alf was special to us, we didn’t go looking for him, he came to us under strange circumstances that I can’t write here. It was meant to be. He came to us and was with us through some of the most testing and awful times we have experienced in our married life. He was our comfort, he helped us, he stayed with us when others just walked away. He saw it through and though he was only small he was our little lion, he protected us.

Now he has left us, his job is done. For whatever reason he came to us he has filled our hearts with beautiful memories, however he has broken them irreparably with his leaving.

Last night was strange. I could still hear his little movements as my mind was playing tricks. In the early hours I could hear my wife quietly weeping as if she has lost a child, the connection she had with him was unique and now he’s not there.

I give her a cuddle and we just talk about him, we laugh lightly, but it always turns to tears.

We’ve had three wonderful little dogs in our married life, all surrogate children to us but they’ve all had to go. Alfie is our last. There will be no more, as the pain is just too severe and I don’t think our hearts could take any more damage. Their leaving is the most horrendous feeling to go through as the guardians of one of these beautiful animals.

Alfie

I took him for his last walk yesterday, to be honest it wasn’t much of a walk, he sat at the entrance of the park and just watched the world go by. We were approached by a beautiful 11month old puppy called dolly who wanted to play but he just let her sniff around, he had nothing left in the tank. It was then our time to go as we had to see the vets.

He built a relationship with two vets, Kian and Emily and they loved him. Fortunately they were both there yesterday to prepare him for his last journey. They were so good with him, and us, he was peaceful there, they treated him so well and he remained in our arms right up to his final breath. He knew he was loved, and he loved us.

He’s now gone, and we have a massive dog shaped hole in our hearts that the memories we have of him will hopefully fill over time.

If you are ever gifted one of these beautiful animals, remember.

They are only here for part of your life, but to them you are their whole life.

You will experience no other unconditional love and affection. And we have been very fortunate to have been blessed with three of the finest in our marriage.

Rest in eternal peace dear Alf, cross that rainbow bridge and there will be two little dogs on the other side awaiting you. Run free, no pain now, Mum and Dad love and miss you so much.

We will all meet again, and it gives us great comfort to think you will be there wagging your tails when our time comes.

Does anyone know the cure for a broken heart 💔