1
00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:11,090
[music playing]

2
00:00:17,110 --> 00:00:20,190
Bill Atwood:  I grew-up during the age of Sputnik.

3
00:00:20,190 --> 00:00:24,270
I remember my Dad taking me out when I wasā€”I was ten years old.

4
00:00:24,270 --> 00:00:31,300
We got-up at 4:00 in the morning, and it was late spring as I remember

5
00:00:31,300 --> 00:00:34,460
but it could have been late fallā and I remember going outside

6
00:00:34,460 --> 00:00:38,580
and being so excited as this little point of light went whizzing across the sky.

7
00:00:42,710 --> 00:00:38,710
Dave Thompson:  And everybody else was going out and looking up at the sky

8
00:00:42,710 --> 00:00:44,820
and trying to look for these satellites going overhead.

9
00:00:44,820 --> 00:00:48,940
I went out and looked and said, "you know, that sky is fascinating out there."

10
00:00:48,940 --> 00:00:52,020
There are lots of other things.  There are planets, there are comets,

11
00:00:52,020 --> 00:00:56,110
there are stars, there are nebulae.

12
00:00:56,110 --> 00:01:00,200
And I started learning about those on my own, and always it was fascinating.

13
00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,260
Julie McEnery:  I always really cared and was curious about how the world works

14
00:01:03,260 --> 00:01:08,360
and how it worked fundamentally.  So, I don't just want to know how a car drives down the street

15
00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,420
I want to know fundamentally how energy is formed,

16
00:01:11,420 --> 00:01:14,440
why the world is here, how the universe works.

17
00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,550
Steve Ritz:  What I remember really loving in science classes

18
00:01:16,550 --> 00:01:19,620
is when there was a lecture demonstration.

19
00:01:19,620 --> 00:01:23,660
And I remember very well when there was a surprise.

20
00:01:23,660 --> 00:01:27,730
And I remember that wonderful feeling of excitement,

21
00:01:27,730 --> 00:01:36,790
almost disorientation for a minute, wonder, that we could find out new things about the world

22
00:01:36,790 --> 00:01:39,790
surprising things about the world through scientific investigation.

23
00:01:39,790 --> 00:01:44,840
Neil Gehrels:  I grew-up in a family that was--my father is an astronomer.

24
00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,880
When I got to college, I thought, "well I really want to do something else just to be different."

25
00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:53,950
But I realized after awhile that this was really my passion and my biggest interest.

26
00:01:53,950 --> 00:01:59,080
So, I came back to studying physics and astronomy, and it's been a delight ever since that.

27
00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,150
Peter Michelson:  I've always been interested in physics.  It's really a hobby.

28
00:02:02,150 --> 00:02:06,210
I like--I'm one of the luckiest people in the world, because I'm doing what I like to do.

29
00:02:06,210 --> 00:02:10,330
I don't think of it as a job.  It's fun. It's interesting

30
00:02:10,330 --> 00:02:13,420
and you know, you learn something new every day.

31
00:02:13,420 --> 00:02:17,510
Kevin Grady:  I think for me personally, we want to get a telescope up there that they

32
00:02:17,510 --> 00:02:26,660
can do great things with.  And at that point, I'll be extremely pleased.

33
00:02:26,660 --> 00:02:30,800
Chip Meegan:  The past few decades have been a golden age for astronomy