A Space Oddessey 2061 Book 3 Chapter 2: First Sight PART I : THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN

A Space Oddessey 2061 Book 3 Chapter 2: First Sight PART I : THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN

It is not true that one must leave Earth to appreciate the full splendour of the heavens. Not even in space is the starry sky more glorious than when viewed from a high mountain, on a perfectly clear night, far from any source of artificial illumination. Even though the stars appear brighter beyond the atmosphere, the eye cannot really appreciate the difference; and the overwhelming spectacle of half the celestial sphere at a single glance is something that no observation window can provide. But Heywood Floyd was more than content with his private view of the Universe, especially during the times when the residential zone was on the shadow side of the slowly revolving space hospital. Then there would be nothing in his rectangular field of view but stars, planets, nebulae - and occasionally, drowning out all else, the unblinking glare of Lucifer, new rival to the Sun. About ten minutes before the beginning of his artificial night, he would switch off all the cabin lights - even the red emergenc…