A New Hope

Sam had always been a good student in school. In science class he got an assignment to do an essay. It was to be over the solar system. So Sam being the good student that he was he got on his computer to do his work. He got to looking up all the information he could about our solar system. While he was looking at the information about our solar system he came across a link. He clicked on it and it just happened to be a satellite that had a telescope on it. 

Like most young kids do Sam got distracted and was just viewing the different stars. What he didn’t know was that this was a powerful telescope. It could see as far as other solar systems. After about twenty minutes of Sam just getting sidetracked and looking at the different stars a solar flare hit the satellite. 

The solar flare increased the power on the satellite and telescope. The power increased so much that Sam was able to see further than anyone had ever seen before. He was looking at the next galaxy over. On the edge of that galaxy there was a star. 

This star looked to be about the size of our sun, and it had planets orbiting it just like our sun. Sam had learned about Earth being in the Goldilocks zone. That zone was a zone where life could exist. There just happened to be a planet in the Goldilocks zone of this star, and it was blue just like Earth. Sam immediately wrote down the location that the satellite was giving him. Just after he wrote the location down the satellite blinked out. 

Sam started working on finding out as much as he could about the location. In all the searching he did all he found was the star nothing about anything else. 

So there was nothing on the solar system he found. Sam started getting excited. He had heard that people who discover something new get to name it. The more he searched coming up empty the more excited he got. 

Sam then came up with names for all the planets orbiting the star and the solar system also. The closest planet he named Flare and second one he called Plutous. The first one was named after the solar flare that let him see and the other was named after our Pluto. Sam hated the idea that they took Pluto’s official status as a planet away.

The next planet the third from it’s sun the same way earth is he called Ark. Sam called it ark because it might be Earth’s salvation. The way that Noah in the Bible made the Ark to save life. 

The last planets he named Leo, Alexander, Colossus, Titan, and Atlas. The whole solar system he named Olympus. Sam could barely contain his excitement. 

Sam started looking up who to get in touch with about claiming his find. The information he found was steps to claim with the International Astronomical Union. He then went through all the steps. 

The next day while in class the teacher gave the students time to write their essays. About half way though class there was a knock at the door. Mr. Johnson opened the door and a few people with NASA lab coats walked in with the principal behind them. The woman greeted the class while the man looked around to see Sam. Mr. Oliver asked Sam to come to the office. 

In the office the NASA officials asked Sam a lot of questions about his find and how he found it. Sam went though his explanation and they patted him on the back congratulating him. Then he heard them tell Mr. Oliver they wanted Sam to come visit NASA for a few days. That they was inviting his family also. Mr. Oliver agreed and said he would make sure Sam had all he needed in way of school work.

The officials then gave Sam a ride home so they could talk to his parents. When they got to his house Sam was shaking because he was so happy and excited. He couldn’t even get the news out when he tried to tell his mother. The officials told Sam’s mother about how proud they was of him and his discovery. They then invited Sam and his mother to go back to NASA headquarters. 

The plan the officials had for Sam and his mother was to see Sam’s Olympus Solar system. NASA astronomers wanted him there when they looked as closely as they could at the planet that most resembled earth. They was already trying to figure how long it would take to get to the system. 

So Sam and his mother got packed. Then they was loaded on a plane headed for NASA headquarters. When they got there they got settled into their hotel room and headed straight to the observatory. The astronomers already had his star pulled up on the screen. When Sam walked in the room they all congratulated him and then zoomed in over and over. The picture of the planet that most resembled the earth shocked them all.

The telescope that the astronomers was using could get a closer view than the one he had used. The reason everyone was shocked was cause the planet looked just like earth only the land masses was different shaped. The other major difference was that Ark was bigger in size. This planet might be the salvation of the human race. The astronomers and Sam mapped out a trip to the planet. They figured out that it would take close to five years to make it to the planet. 

Over the next couple days Sam helped the astronomers make preparations to send a drone. The drone was to have land rover controls to where it could fly or drive. Everyone agreed that sending the drone first was the best idea. The drone would be able to gather valuable information to see if we could live there. He got to look at all the planets with the astronomers.

The day they was to head home Sam was presented with certificates for each planet and the solar system. Also the astronomers promised to bring him back when the probe landed on Ark. Then Sam and his mother was flown back home. He ended up writing his essay over his solar system he had found and his trip to NASA.