I was in the cockpit of a flying NASA observatory, speeding south through the Antarctic stratosphere. The aurora were arcing and dancing around us. In the back of the plane, a telescope was preparing to point at a star of my choosing, gathering data that would help me unravel one of the many mysteries of the universe that I’d dedicated my life to exploring. It briefly occurred to me that the aurora might, possibly, have a slight impact on the quality of the data. At that moment in time—astronomer or not—I couldn’t bring myself to mind.
