When Star Trek first premiered in 1966, no one knew what its legacy would be.  But creator Gene Roddenberry knew a thing or two about capturing an audience’s attention.  In particular, he tapped into a fundamental aspect of human nature: curiosity.  And as the series progressed, it became clear that space fascinated just about everyone.

Fast forward to March 14^th, 2011.  Local astronomer Bernie Keuhn has just finished a one hour class on “How Telescopes Work” with 15 of our residents. It’s the second class in a month-long series, and his students are eagerly anticipating next week’s class.  By popular demand from our residents, this is the second series of astronomy classes that Bernie has taught since his initial presentation last August.

Like Gene Roddenberry, Bernie has an enthusiasm and avid curiosity for astronomy that is contagious.  His classes have covered an amazing variety of topics: the search for other worlds, spotting our favorite constellations, how telescopes work, our galactic neighborhood, and much more.  He’s tapped into that part of us that gazes up into the night sky, picking out constellations, and wondering about other planets, other galaxies.

Bernie has a wealth of fascinating material from which to present. New images and discoveries from the Hubble Space telescope are announced on a regular basis. Exploratory missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond are in progress, not only from the United States, but also China, India, and the European Union.

Given the drive to explore the unknown, it’s no wonder that Bernie’s classes are popular with our residents. They’re curious about the frontier, about the unknown, about the new discoveries that are changing our understanding of the universe.  It’s the same curiosity that drove the explorers to discover America, land a man on the Moon, to sail to Antarctica.

If curiosity is what drives our fascination with astronomy, then it’s no wonder that Bernie has been repeatedly asked to teach astronomy classes at Cornell Estates.  The classes spark our imagination, our desire to explore and acquire knowledge.  As his students will attest, age is no barrier to exploring the final frontier.

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