Humankind's passion for exploration - to forge that raging river or climb that lofty snow-capped mountain - has been at the heart of many an expedition.
Over time, those rivers were forged, those mountains climbed and new lands discovered. However, to many explorers the thought of venturing beyond Earth to see exactly what those points of light were in the night sky seemed a mere dream. But for a tenacious few, it was yet another challenge to engage with.
Long before Yuri Gagarin's epic voyage in 1961 on board Vostok 1, powered by a Vostok-K rocket, history recalls others who dared to dream. One such soul ready to conquer the heavens was 16th-century Chinese would-be astronaut Wan Hu, a public official with stars in his eyes.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Researchers searching for life beyond Earth spend a lot of time thinking about what telltale signs might be detectable astronomically. Forms of unambiguous evidence for the presence of life on another world are known as biosignatures. By extension, techno signatures are indicators of activity by intelligent, civilisation-building life.
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