Galileo wondered about the proper relationship between mathematics, theoretical physics, and experimental physics. Albert Einstein was able to keep a sense of wonder even as his thinking matured, which allowed him to explore ideas that many adults simply don't dwell on. For example, what would it be like to ride alongside a light beam?
As we celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), SPS would like to know "What makes YOU wonder?" Your response will be added to those on this page, and we'll share select entries elsewhere online and in our publications, including The SPS Observer.
"I wonder whether we are alone in the universe, or if there are other intelligent beings out there. Then I wonder about how to find them, whether SETI is doing the right observations, how to do an even better search, and how to find funding to actually do the work." —Jill Tarter, Director of the Center for SETI Research, SETI Institute
Andrea Roma
"I wonder what exactly are the series of physical mechanisms that take a signal to your eyes and perpetuate it in various forms through the biochemical/ nervous systems of the body and translates it to that physical sensation you feel in that particular spot when you watch your daughter jump with surprise when she wins her first ribbon in her 4-H competitions." —Andrea Roma, University of Washington
Lorenzo Sewanan
Is there a physical particle, perhaps subatomic, perhaps imperceptible, that can correspond to the human soul, the will? —Lorenzo Sewanan, Trinity College
Leigha Dickens
I wonder what it must have been like for Galileo and other first observers of planets through telescopes? To look at that star-like object in the sky and see a circle with rings, or a crescent like the moon, without having expected such shapes? —Leigha Dickens, University of North Carolina, Asheville
"I wonder whether we are alone in the universe, or if there are other intelligent beings out there. Then I wonder about how to find them, whether SETI is doing the right observations, how to do an even better search, and how to find funding to actually do the work." 
"I wonder what exactly are the series of physical mechanisms that take a signal to your eyes and perpetuate it in various forms through the biochemical/ nervous systems of the body and translates it to that physical sensation you feel in that particular spot when you watch your daughter jump with surprise when she wins her first ribbon in her 4-H competitions." 
