The Miraculous Pale Blue Dot

On october 13, 2021,
Star Trek’
s Captain James Tiberius Kirk, in the guise of 90-year-old actor William Shatner, rode aboard a Blue Origin rocket ship 67 miles to the edge of space. He experienced about 3 minutes of weightlessness and was able to observe the Earth from a perspective few have had the privilege to undergo. From his elevated vantage point, he was able to see how really thin the Earth’s atmosphere is and he could catch a glimpse of the dark enormity of the rest of the surrounding universe. He said that he was struck by the vulnerability of the Earth and the relative sliver of the atmosphere.