People have always dreamed of telling the future by looking at the sky. The mystery of how clouds and stars move has always been appealing. Predicting the weather and how it affects crops was our first lesson but, with the progress of technology, we have learned to look deeper and further. We now know that stars are giant balls of burning gas, and that our own Sun is one of them.

We later learned that the “wandering stars” were actually planets orbiting around the Sun and that the Earth, in turn, was one of them. Not many decades ago, we were wondering if there were creatures living on them but, as technology progressed again, we were disappointed to find vast deserts, or endless oceans of boiling, poisonous gasses. We now know that Mars used to have a lot more water, but it evaporated. We know that Venus is suffering from extreme temperatures because her atmosphere is keeping radiation in. We also know that a similar effect is happening in our atmosphere, causing more and more extreme weather each year. Most likely, it’s our fault and, most certainly, it’s up to us to try and fix it.

Could it be that looking at the sky has actually given us a glimpse of the future? One that we didn’t really hope to see, but maybe one that we needed to see right now. With recent findings of planets belonging to other stars, we, again, become more conscious of our place in the Universe. Sun, Earth and the family of planets may be more of a rule than the exception, but we still haven’t found another planet that may support life. And even if we do, even if we find the Universe is full of life, this planet is ours. And it would be quite a bummer to us if it were to go out of balance.

Have a nice summer. It’s going to be hot.