The Next 120 Start Here

In this issue of The Commonwealth, you will find astronomer Andrew Fraknoi talking enthusiastically about the new James Webb Space Telescope. He reveals what is the object farthest away from Earth that humanity can now see—and because looking at great distances means looking back in time (speed of light and all that), we are able to see galaxies that were formed closer and closer to the very beginnning of our universe.

As The Commonwealth Club of California celebrates its 120th birthday, I find myself in an astronomical mindset. We measure our age by the number of times our planet has circled the sun. Put the Club on a different planet in our solar system with a longer or shorter year, and our birthday would be quite different from February 3. We also measure time by how many times our planet has turned on its axis. Sunrise, sunset. Over and over. That, too, would be different on any other planet.

We don’t even need to get into Einstein and other physicists’ theories about how time itself can be slowed or speeded up. Hours, days, years, centuries, millennia are all good enough for us to keep tabs on time in our little corner of the galaxy.

What matters is what you choose to do with your time on this planet as it careens around the sun. By suppporting the Club, you are part of more than a century of important—and sometimes just fun—events that have helped shine a light on common problems and possible solutions. And 120 years after we were founded, we are using technology, which is sometimes blamed for isolating people, as a way to bring people together. We have listeners and viewers across the Bay Area, throughout the nation, and around the globe experiencing our programs, sharing them, and asking quesitons.

Day after day, week after week, month after month, people are coming into the Club’s headquarters and meeting others, listening to and meeting speakers from a wide range of backgrounds and viewpoints, and returning home better informed about politics, art, science, technology, business, education, and a whole lot more.

We’re grateful for everyone who has been with us as we circle the sun and try to make the most of our time on this planet.

Volume 117, Number 1

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PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ed Ritger, Sarah Gonzalez, James Meinerth.

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The Commonwealth (ISSN 0010-3349) is published bimonthly (6 times a year) by The Commonwealth Club of California, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105. Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, CA. Subscription rate $34 per year included in annual membership dues. Copyright © 2022 The Commonwealth Club of California.

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The Commonwealth magazine covers a range of programs in each issue. Program transcripts and questionand-answer sessions are routinely condensed due to space limitations. Hear full-length recordings online at commonwealthclub .org/watch-listen, or via our free podcasts on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Audible or Spotify; watch videos at youtube.com/ commonwealthclub.

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