Thanks to the valiant efforts of Bernal’s own space exploration team, we know what it’s like to stand in Bernal Heights and gaze far into the heavens. But what does an astronaut see when looking at Bernal Heights from outer space?
Indeed, because of Bernalwood’s innate vanity, many locals have long assumed that when astronauts look down from their zero-gravity perch, they think: Wow! I can even see Bernal Heights from way up here!
Sadly, we now have reason to suspect this is not true.
The evidence comes to us via the Twitter account of Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station. Astronaut Chris recently floated over Bernal Heights, but when he looked down from space, from his attention was drawn elsewhere:
The Golden Gate Bridge from space, and if you look closely, its shadow. http://t.co/lz4HEoMb—
Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) January 24, 2013
Notice: No mention of Bernal Heights. Disappointing.
Apparently, we’re not the only ones who felt that way. Bernalwood happened to see that a certain other transbay crossing was not very pleased either:
Hello, @Cmdr_Hadfield! I imagine we haven't been properly introduced. I'm the gray bridge, the longer one, in the center of the photo. Hi!—
The Bay Bridge (@SFBayBridge) January 25, 2013
PHOTO: @Cmdr_Hadfield
But the area you’ve circled isn’t even Bernal Heights at all. What you have circled is the Portola/Bayview area
You raise an excellent and entirely correct point. Thank you. The image has been corrected.
In my own defense, I think this error only serves to underscore the magnitude of Bernal’s orbital branding problem. We may need to paint the entirety of Bernal Hill hot pink or safety orange.
I tried to correct Commander Hadfield’s error (regarding the Bay Bridge, not Bernalwood) right after he posted the original tweet: