Last night I saw the constellation Centaurus for the first time in my 58 years in this material form.

Thus I also saw Alpha Centauri for the first time.

It has never before been visible to me, because I’ve lived only in the Northern Hemisphere.

It’s difficult to explain how meaningful this was to me. I first learned that Alpha Centauri existed and was just over four light years away when I was around nine or ten years old.

It appeared in science fiction stories as a destination, a source of alien intelligence, a goal, even. It became how, for the first time, I conceived of four light years as being nearby. Sci-fi writers imagined it expressively.

So last night, when I finally saw the procession of Sagittarius, Hydrus and Centaurus for the first time with my own eyes, it was a long-held desire, and an inspiring moment.