First class reunion
Star Men “The thing that I like most about life is being able to ask questions.” So says Neville “Nick” Woolf, one of a quartet of fascinating astronomers at the heart of this gloriously thought- provoking documentary.
Fifty years ago, Nick was one of a handful of newly minted PhDs on a field trip to visit telescopes in the U. S. southwest. To mark the anniversary, they decided to do it again, with filmmaker Alison E. Rose tagging along.
Things have changed. The men are older; their ride newer. And our view of the universe has also grown and altered over the decades; these men helped shape it.
Nick developed new ways of making high- precision mirrors for telescopes. Roger Griffin’s method of determining stellar velocities paved the way for modern planet hunters. Donald Lynden-Bell’s work in radio astronomy gave rise to the theory that most galaxies (including ours) circle massive black holes. And Wal Sargent’s observations from the Mount Palomar observatory bolstered the big bang theory.
The scientists discuss what led them to their field — growing up during the London wartime blackouts made for great childhood stargazing — and touch on topics as diverse as the search for extraterrestrial life, the possibility of a creator, and the meaning of life — and death.
Nick notes that we all learn things that turn out not to be true, and that when we die, those outdated ideas die with us, while truth gets passed ahead. And Donald calculates that if you live for a century, you’ll have experienced about 300,000,000,000 hundredths of a second — comparable to the number of stars in our galaxy, and the number of galaxies in the universe. He seems to take some comfort in the cosmic parallels.
Though well into their 70s, Roger and Donald are spry enough to repeat a twoday hike to Rainbow Bridge, a natural stone arch in Utah. Clambering over rocks, these hale explorers are reminiscent of Apollo astronauts, similarly aged but healthy. Certainly their contributions to our understanding of our universe are no less. ΩΩΩ½ Star Men opens Feb. 12 at the
Bloor cinema in Toronto.