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3 Apr 2003

A MESSAGE FROM ALAN HALE (CO-DISCOVERER OF COMET HALE-BOPP)

"During the wee hours on Sunday morning, July 23, 1995, nature gave
me a present."

With these words I began my book Everybody's Comet. That present was,
of course, the comet subsequently known as Hale-Bopp, which when it
appeared as a brilliant object in our nighttime skies a year and a
half later gave me, for a little while at least, some worldwide
recognition. For that all-too-brief moment in time, the entire world
stopped what it was doing, to gaze in wonder at this heavenly visitor
from afar. 

Several years have elapsed since those days, and that brilliant comet
has now receded back into the depths of the outer solar system. Here
on Earth, meanwhile, life goes on, and we've returned to our
struggles and our daily lives. Unfortunately, the times nowadays
appear dark, and our headlines are filled with news of war, and
hatred, and destruction. In the face of all this it can be difficult
to retain any sense of optimism that there could be brighter days
ahead of us. 

But I have always believed we are better than that. Indeed, over the
years we have made much progress in our attempts to understand our
world, and ourselves. But at the same time, it is quite clear that we
still have a long way to go.

Throughout my "15 minutes of fame" and ever since I have continuously
pointed out that we have the capability within ourselves to build a
better future world, if we would only develop the will, and the
courage, to utilize it. Certainly, the challenges confronting us are
many and complex, and the work ahead is difficult and daunting. But
we can build a world at peace; we can eradicate war and hatred and
poverty; we can educate and feed all of our children; and we can
expand into space as well as explore our deepest inner selves. We can
do all these things, and many more, if we truly believe that we can,
and are willing to find the strength within ourselves to make these
things happen.

Allow me to offer myself as one small example of what we can do. In
late 1979, when I was a midshipman in my senior year at the U.S.
Naval Academy, the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, was seized, and
hostages were taken. Like almost all the other midshipmen at the
Academy, I was ready and willing to travel to Iran and fight if
called upon to do so. While that did not happen, during subsequent
years like most Americans I harbored a deep distrust and enmity
towards the people of Iran. 

Four years ago, however, I had the privilege of leading a delegation
of American scientists and students on a "science diplomacy"
expedition to Iran when the path of a total solar eclipse crossed
that country. One year later I had the opportunity to lead a second
group as we attended an international gathering of astronomers within
that nation. As a result of these visits my fellow delegation members
and I have established numerous friendships with, and have explored
both our differences and our common humanity with, the people whom I
at one time considered my enemies. 

My lifelong study of astronomy was an integral part of these
endeavors, and helped establish a common reference point with my
Iranian colleagues. It is, after all, the same sky we all see at
night; and we, together with all the peoples of the world, are all
here together on this one tiny planet that floats in this glorious
universe that we inhabit. 

In this spirit, over the past year I have conceived of a project that
I have christened "Earthrise." In its fullest vision, Earthrise will
be a globally interconnected network of astronomical facilities that
will allow participating students to carry out astronomical
activities both on-site and remotely. While at one level Earthrise
can thus be considered as a research and educational endeavor, on a
deeper and more fundamental level it is designed to encourage
collaborative projects among facilities around the nation and the
world, with the ultimate goal being that participants grow to see
their counterparts elsewhere as friends and colleagues, and not as
enemies to be hated and killed in some future conflict.

Earthrise will take many years, and significant resources, to realize
its fullest vision. For its first step, I am concentrating on
developing the initial facility on property in the Sacramento
Mountains in southern New Mexico that is immediately adjacent to the
site from which I discovered Comet Hale-Bopp. To do so, I need your
help. With this letter I am asking all those who share my vision of a
better and more peaceful tomorrow to consider contributing to the
Earthrise project. For each contribution of $100 or more I will
provide one specially autographed copy of Everybody's Comet and will
honor those contributors as being founding contributors of Earthrise
on a plaque to be erected at the facility. 

All donations to the Earthrise project are fully tax-deductible as
charitable contributions. Checks (payable to the Southwest Institute
for Space Research) should be mailed to: 15 E. Spur Road, Cloudcroft,
New Mexico 88317. Please include a stamped, self-addressed mailing
envelope for the book, and your name(s) as you would like to have
them inscribed on the founding contributors' plaque. Additional
information about Earthrise, including photographs of the site and
some astronomical photographs taken from there, can be found at
http://www.swisr.org/earthrise.html. 

The comet that bears my name will be making a return visit some 2400
years from now, and at the end of Everybody's Comet I ask my readers
to envision the world that will greet it when it comes, concluding
with these words: "The world that we leave our descendants of that
far-future era begins with us, here, today." Earthrise is my
contribution toward building that just and peaceful world of the
future, and I ask you to join with me in helping to make this vision
a reality. 

Sincerely,

Alan Hale

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