Solar System Ambassadors
Michael Garcia
Michael Garcia remembers the last time Haley's Comet flew by the Earth in 1986. He was 11 years old and had no real access to astronomy information, so he easily forgot to go outside and just look up at the sky. He was extremely disappointed that he missed the comet and even more so when he realized that it would be back in 75 years! Since then, he tries not miss those rare "once-in-a-lifetime" experiences. Astronomy and space exploration have slowly guided him to view those rare experiences as special moments that he doesn't ever want to miss. One of his most recent, impactful memories has been viewing the International Space Station during a fly-over at dusk. The sky was slowly changing over to night with all the colors of orange, yellow, blue and violet when the ISS was overhead at a lower altitude than usual. It was then when he was able to see the light reflect off the solar panels that he was able to make out the shape of the ISS without binoculars. It was such a breath taking moment that has stuck with him ever since.