Colloportus!

The search phrase "end of an era" has peaked in recent days, largely attributed to the recent closing of two worldwide phenomena that have inspired two generations - NASA's Space Shuttle Program and the Harry Potter movies. Sure, criticize me for comparing two arguably incomparable* events of great magnitude in their respective realms of science and pop culture, but I'm just describing what I see:

Data up until July 13th. I will update this when more data is released.
(A) is the last shuttle launch, while Harry Potter's premiere is still flying upwards.
(for reference, (B) is the second last shuttle launch, (C) is the closing of Microsoft's Antitrust era)
Interestingly, these peaks pale in comparison to June 2006, when Nightwish,
a Finnish Symphonic Metal Band, premiered its "End of an Era" DVD.

Both series (of shuttle launches and books) captured the imaginations of its fans and supporters, with NASA's space shuttles maintaining the spirit of the Apollo missions and commanding high TV ratings throughout its program. Space travel in the last three decades has created a widespread pop culture movement that would rival the success of Harry Potter, conquering movies, books, and TV shows.

Discovery.

Of course, neither series will be ending their ventures (or adventures) this week. After Universal Studio's recent opening of a Harry Potter theme park, J.K. Rowling is building hype for Pottermore that will bring the Wizarding World to the digital age, showcasing the e-book versions of each book in the midst of a virtual environment filled with elements from the series. NASA's not done either. Astronauts will continue going into space, and new focus is being placed on other projects, including Mars and discoveries outside our solar system.

Granted, I am [at the very least] a bit sad with this weeks' closure of both phenomena. Even as a somewhat late Harry Potter fan (I started getting really into it after the Goblet of Fire was released), Hogwarts has been in my mind for about half of my Muggle life. My passion for the series was arguably highest in my middle school years: I wrote a rather extensive book report on the Order of the Phoenix, dressed up as Harry for Halloween for two consecutive years, and had my thirteenth birthday party a few weeks in advance to coincide with the movie release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Subsequent Potter books were purchased on the release date, if not preordered.

Looking back: hand prints, footprints, wand prints. 

Nevertheless, closure is often happier than sad. It's nice to look back at our Harry Potter years or Shuttle Launch decades (speaking for older generations, I guess) and remember the defining, or most exciting, moments of our younger lives. Like Harry and his friends in final epilogue as well as the movies' actors and actresses, there is much to look forward to in our upcoming years. And for our astronauts and NASA's researchers, there are more places to explore, and higher (or further?) heights to reach.

Personally, I felt the "end of an era" sentiment most strongly in 2007, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released (probably not a surprise since I've previously described myself as "not a movie person"). To be honest, I didn't love it, mainly because my favourite part of every novel was Hogwarts and living the life of a wizardry student - learning spells, exploring the halls, interacting with the paintings, getting points for your house, and those defense against the dark arts classes (minus Umbridge, naturally). Yes, the final battle was exciting, but it seemed to detract from what I loved most about the books (though this should turn out to be a plus for the movie series' finale).

I thought a picture of Fawkes being
reborn would be highly appropriate,
but apparently those are copyrighted,
so here's Phoenix, Arizona.

Not being much of a movie goer or a great fan of Deathly Hallows, I have yet to see (or plan to see) Part II of the seventh movie** (or Part I for that matter, though I have seen up to the Half Blood Prince), but when I inevitably do see it, yes, it'll feel like the end of an era. Yet, with an ending more happy than sad, it'll be nice to finally lock that door on my life and place it in my pensieve for safekeeping and occasional revisiting.

As for the space program, I eagerly await the next technological achievement that will define my generation. As cliché as it might be, the end of an era only paves the way for a start of another one, and hopefully we make each one better than the last.

* huh, so this Spell-checking Quill tells me uncomparable isn't a word!
** to my friends (and sister) who are diehard Potter fans, I am truely sorry for any pain that line may have caused.