03-24-2008, 09:12 PM
I can't believe I missed this. I can't believe this was not major news.
Clarke died on 3/19/2008 at the age of 90 & was burried in Sri Lanka-his adopted home.
I admired this great man most of my life. 2001 A Space Odyssey was and remains unparalleled in it's imagination and excellence. But this was only a small part of this great man. He was a genuine scientist. His major claim to fame was the realization of the geostationary orbit. Putting a satellite in space and having it orbit around our earth at precisely the same location and speed as the earth rotates thereby fixing it's relative position from earthbound observatories. (without this there would be no satellite communication and much of what we know today would not exist).
Clarke was a prolific genius writer too. I read around 11 of his works including 2001, 2010, 2061, childhoods end, rendezvous with Rama, islands in the sky.
He had a great love for Sri Lanka and often mixed religion in his works. This was never so evident, in my opinion, as in his book Islands in the sky. But his introduction of the "devil" in childhoods end still staggers me to this day.
He was Knighted several years ago for his great contributions.
Rest in peace Sir Clarke.
Clarke died on 3/19/2008 at the age of 90 & was burried in Sri Lanka-his adopted home.
I admired this great man most of my life. 2001 A Space Odyssey was and remains unparalleled in it's imagination and excellence. But this was only a small part of this great man. He was a genuine scientist. His major claim to fame was the realization of the geostationary orbit. Putting a satellite in space and having it orbit around our earth at precisely the same location and speed as the earth rotates thereby fixing it's relative position from earthbound observatories. (without this there would be no satellite communication and much of what we know today would not exist).
Clarke was a prolific genius writer too. I read around 11 of his works including 2001, 2010, 2061, childhoods end, rendezvous with Rama, islands in the sky.
He had a great love for Sri Lanka and often mixed religion in his works. This was never so evident, in my opinion, as in his book Islands in the sky. But his introduction of the "devil" in childhoods end still staggers me to this day.
He was Knighted several years ago for his great contributions.
Rest in peace Sir Clarke.