It is rare, when remembering someone who has died, to feel a liking as genuine and strong as the one we all must have felt for Margherita Hack.
Be it her irrepressible Tuscan accent, her nonconformist TV appearances, without concession to form or diplomacy, or her nonchalant, confident support for a host of “anti” stances, she has always elicited a mixture of fondness and admiration for her knowledge.
Her encounter with Rinnovabili.it was light, in keeping with her persona. I recollect that just before the 2011 referendums we were discussing the pros and cons of nuclear energy, and that with her characteristic honesty she declared her rejection of it, but also voiced her doubts on our ability to do without that source of energy. Her easy manner, despite her scientific and human stature, led her to join in our Scientific Committee and to participate actively, from the pages of our Journal, in the major issues that have affected the world of environmental and energy-related sustainability.
Even though as an outstanding astrophysicist she could not believe in a different dimension after death, we like to think of her up there, among her beloved stars, still taking an interest in our work with the consideration and affection she has always shown us.
Goodbye, great Margherita.
Translated by: Silvia Modena