Undoubtedly, the first thought of what brings the past into the present are photographs.
That’s true. We tend to memorize a person who had died, events from the past, old sights (e.g., documentary photography) thanks to old pictures or movies. There is no doubt that both images and films can bring us many memories thanks to which we can feel in our mind many past events and feelings. I mentioned in my thesis, named „Farewell,” that what remained from my beloved Brother Marcinek, who had died in 1994, are only his pictures. Sometimes I need to recall my Brother’s appearance. It is the moment when I reach for his photographs. Do I cry while doing it? Yes, bringing the past into the present can get many good memories. People (including me) tend to fall apart while watching old pictures.
Nevertheless, there is also one other thing that can bring the past to the present.
For astronomers and for all people who look to the night sky to observe what is going on out there, the simple answer of receiving the past to present time is light. For me, it is simply unbelievable that many stars we are observing today are the visions of what how they looked like and what happened to them billions of years ago. The answer that the light brings the past into the present is equal to the answer that photographs do. Sometimes I try to imagine myself becoming closer to, e.g., The Eye of God (Helix Nebula – NGC 7293 HaO3RGB) and observe the vision is changing while I am approaching and becoming closer to this nebula.
Is it possible for humans to do it?
Of course not. It is a tremendous success that we were able to land on the Moon. Why? Because for the objects launched from Earth today (I wrote this post on the 12th of March 2021), it would take 25.000,00 years to leave for them our Milky Way galaxy. Thus, other space objects, with the exemption of the Moon, are out of our reach for today. We can focus on observing the light that comes to us from the Dark Ages and the farthest nooks of the Universe. Or, we can watch good, old photographs that will bring memories to us that are past times into the present time.
