BLUE SKY!! Uli Lani

Doing art in grade school my favorite colors were BLUE.  I would always use PERIWINKLE wearing my crayon down to a nub.  That passion for rich deep blues has remained throughout my life.  Here in Puna where we have some of the cleanest air on the Big Island, I can watch the sky and cloud play for hours.  But, what color is the sky?  There are so many shades of blue!  I am reminded of the song lyrics we have all sung --

Mont Blanc -- Saussure's Blue Muse

Neil Young “Helpless Helpless”

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless.

The measuring device he used -- I printed out and use.

To early science, the sky was a puzzle and a challenge.  But Swiss born Horace-Bénédict de Saussure was undaunted by the challenge and through his ingenuity, he was the first to create a means by which to measure blue.  He grew up a naturalist, encouraged by his family and he was inspired particularly by the grandeur of Mont Blanc - the highest peak in Western Europe. 

At the age of 22 (mid 1700’s) he was appointed professor of natural philosophy at the University of Geneva. Excited as he was by his appointment, he winced at the prospect of having to teach students little younger than himself. Yet his brilliant lectures in mathematics, physics, geology, natural history - even philosophy - and his experiments, won him their admiration.  

 

He loved the scientific methods of measurement – and when he couldn’t measure things, he designed new instruments to do so. The color/s of the sky intrigued him.  Armed with his tools and a small chemistry set, he trekked round the valleys and beyond. As his trips carried him ever higher, he puzzled about the color of the sky. Local legend had it that if one climbed high enough it turned black and one would see, or even fall into, the void - such terrors kept ordinary men away from the peaks.  An expedition to the top of Mont Blanc allowed him to conduct his experiments. It was a thrilling moment when he documented the deepest blue he'd ever seen at 39 degrees blue. 

What I love about this story is his passion to discover, his indomitable curiosity and his ingenious invention that allows ME – 250 years later to walk out of my house and “measure the blueness" of the Hawaiian sky.  ULI LANI.

(Paraphrased from Wikipedia)