What astronomy can teach us about the wonder of vicarious travel – Telegraph.co.uk

The home of robotic space exploration is the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which oversees all of Nasas interplanetary missions. JPL also tracks asteroids that pose a threat to Earth, operates satellites that monitor our climate and oceans, and measures the thickness of ice at the poles.

It was through one of these missions that a JPL engineer named Gael Squibb travelled to England in the 1980s. He stayed at my parents B&B in Windsor, after escaping a terrible hotel in Slough, and he quickly became a firm friend of the family.

His later visits came with mission stickers, posters, and stories of remarkable technical feats. Once while I was on assignment in California, Gael arranged for me to visit JPL in Pasadena. JPL does not have a glitzy visitor centre, but it does host full-sized replicas of the two Voyager space probes, which were launched in 1977 to study the outer planets.

The Voyager spacecraft captured my imagination: my favourite childhood book was full of photographs from their fly-by of the ringed planet Saturn; and, aged six, I was allowed to stay up late to watch a programme about Voyager 2 reaching Neptune. In 2012, Voyager became the first man-made object to enter interstellar space, and it is now 14billion miles from Earth.

By following those formidable spacecraft, I felt like I travelled alongside them. My inability to visit Jupiter or Neptune in person did not matter, because the images and stories were so vivid and compelling. Astronomy developed my sense of adventure, and I share that passion with anyone who will listen.

On a recent Army Reserve training exercise, I used a pair of binoculars to show the Galilean moons to the training warrant officer. He could not believe what he saw a mere point of light, revealed to be a whole system of worlds and, the next evening, he borrowed my binoculars to show the same thing to one of the colour sergeants. Inspiration is infectious, and wonder never gets old.

Whenever theres a clear night, youll find me looking up at the ever-changing sky. This week, Ive been captivated by the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, as a trick of orbital mechanics made them appear to touch in the firmament.

I may never visit those planets in person, but Ill never get bored of enjoying them from afar. This year, I have had to do the same thing for my own world. Instead of jumping on planes and trains, I have buried myself in travel books and documentaries. I will not pretend that I prefer it, but vicarious travel provides something unique because it forces me to see the world through another persons eyes.

Of course, I will return to travel when I can, but Im loving my rediscovered passion for remote observation. Over the past few months, Ive been saving up to buy myself a telescope. That way, I can pull those planets just a little bit closer, and be transported to those worlds of wonder and possibility.

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What astronomy can teach us about the wonder of vicarious travel - Telegraph.co.uk