What Do Astronauts See When They Close Their Eyes?

A compilation of science stories that go beyond fiction.

On the first night of the voyage to the moon, Buzz Aldrin felt something strange when he closed his eyes. First he thought it was in his head, but then he realized the same thing was happening to his companions. None of the Apollo 11 astronauts was ready for that change in their vision, a phenomenon no one had experienced before then.

This disturbing anecdote opens a selection of reports and accounts written in recent years by scientific journalist Antonio Martínez Ron. In its pages, there appear physicists who provoke aurorae borealis, biologists who drop LSD to talk with dolphins, pathologists who steal brains, and soldiers in pajamas launched to the limits of the stratosphere. Stories that could appear in a science fiction novel, but have the added value that they actually occurred. A fascinating reminder that the world is much stranger and more fascinating than we think and that science is the source of the strangest stories of all.