The distinction between geophysics and astronomy was once clear. Events on Earth constituted the realm of geophysics, while astronomy encompassed objects that are located many light years from the Sun and Earth. Interstellar clouds were “out there”, where they could be observed from isolated observatories nestled under the starry skies of the world’s deserts. Geology relied on shovels and drill bits to obtain samples of mud and ice that contained clues to the paleoclimate.
