Last night people from around the planet looked toward the sky to see a phenomenon that will not occur again for another generation or so. I remember where I was at the last lunar eclipse, about a generation ago and can only dream about the possibility of seeing the next one. Our ancient ancestors had their own mythology about the sky, the characters in it and the messages that it held for their society and the entire culture of the time. Our "scientific" approach to astronomy tells us that we are just looking at balls, racing through space. "Nothing to see here" seems to be their policy and belief. However, that did not stop billions of people from looking up last night. We are still startled to amazement at the transformation we saw, unfolding before our eyes as our closest neighbor in space drifted (or raced, depending on your perspective) through our shadow.
Our neighbor girl came outside just before the disc of the moon began to show the dent made by our planet. She is in Junior High and seemed to believe that the eclipse would occur a little each night for several weeks. Imagine her surprise when the moon changed form in real time and turned dusky red in just an hour or so! When we look to the sky, with knowledge about how vast it is, even though we may understand that each night more stars become visible as their light finally reaches us from distant parts of the universe, it still has the power to amaze and overwhelm our senses, especially if we flee the lights of the city. You see, our human-made light pollution comes between us and our heavens as surely as a chain link fence topped with razor wire comes between Syrians and their freedom.
Each day, the Universe expands, or at least our ability to see it does. The net gain in the size of the universe (because the light finally reaching our planet) is Sixteen billion, ninety-four million, seven hundred sixty-four thousand eight hundred miles. This distance radiates out in all directions and has been doing so since the beginning of time. It is funny that one of our closest neighbors in space can often get us thinking about the faraway ones as well. Here on Earth, we are experiencing the same sort of unfolding of consciousness. With ever-faster communication techniques and the digital revolution, my words can b shared as fast as the speed of light with more and more people each day. My words may never grow old and in perhaps ten thousand years they will be just as topical and wondrous as they are this day. The very nature of time has changed because as long as the ideas we find are new to us, they have the patina of new ideas. On the internet, there will never be the smell of moldy or mildewed paper. Whatever font is popular today will look the same, or be updated to please the eye of the reader with the click of their mouse.
It has been said that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
The sky was alive for those who spent far more time outside at night than we can imagine and some cultures still believe that the heavens are populated by ancestors and great leaders of the past. It can feel pretty good to think/know that one day you will once again be with your loved ones. Today, science has proven beyond a reasonable doubt so many things that it is difficult to imagine that one day we will be transformed from stardust back into to an actual star but the idea of heaven survives.
Centuries from now, if there are people to inhabit this planet, we will still recognize the Autumnal Equinox as harvest time, we will still select the seeds we save for planting next year and we will still celebrate the abundance of the growing season and the moons will continue to speak to us about the passing of time, the wonders of the heavens and the nature of the rest of the Universe. A friend shared a comment attributed to Neil DeGrasse-Tyson in which he said that the difference between a super moon and a regular moon is like the difference between a sixteen inch pizza (40.64cm) and a sixteen point zero seven inch pizza (40.8178cm). I think his point was to minimize the difference, but the fact remains. If you like pizza, more is always better! If you like information, knowledge or stars, this is your time! What we do with it is up to us. There will always be more, that is the nature of the Universe, why not accept it?
Our neighbor girl came outside just before the disc of the moon began to show the dent made by our planet. She is in Junior High and seemed to believe that the eclipse would occur a little each night for several weeks. Imagine her surprise when the moon changed form in real time and turned dusky red in just an hour or so! When we look to the sky, with knowledge about how vast it is, even though we may understand that each night more stars become visible as their light finally reaches us from distant parts of the universe, it still has the power to amaze and overwhelm our senses, especially if we flee the lights of the city. You see, our human-made light pollution comes between us and our heavens as surely as a chain link fence topped with razor wire comes between Syrians and their freedom.
Each day, the Universe expands, or at least our ability to see it does. The net gain in the size of the universe (because the light finally reaching our planet) is Sixteen billion, ninety-four million, seven hundred sixty-four thousand eight hundred miles. This distance radiates out in all directions and has been doing so since the beginning of time. It is funny that one of our closest neighbors in space can often get us thinking about the faraway ones as well. Here on Earth, we are experiencing the same sort of unfolding of consciousness. With ever-faster communication techniques and the digital revolution, my words can b shared as fast as the speed of light with more and more people each day. My words may never grow old and in perhaps ten thousand years they will be just as topical and wondrous as they are this day. The very nature of time has changed because as long as the ideas we find are new to us, they have the patina of new ideas. On the internet, there will never be the smell of moldy or mildewed paper. Whatever font is popular today will look the same, or be updated to please the eye of the reader with the click of their mouse.
It has been said that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
The sky was alive for those who spent far more time outside at night than we can imagine and some cultures still believe that the heavens are populated by ancestors and great leaders of the past. It can feel pretty good to think/know that one day you will once again be with your loved ones. Today, science has proven beyond a reasonable doubt so many things that it is difficult to imagine that one day we will be transformed from stardust back into to an actual star but the idea of heaven survives.
Centuries from now, if there are people to inhabit this planet, we will still recognize the Autumnal Equinox as harvest time, we will still select the seeds we save for planting next year and we will still celebrate the abundance of the growing season and the moons will continue to speak to us about the passing of time, the wonders of the heavens and the nature of the rest of the Universe. A friend shared a comment attributed to Neil DeGrasse-Tyson in which he said that the difference between a super moon and a regular moon is like the difference between a sixteen inch pizza (40.64cm) and a sixteen point zero seven inch pizza (40.8178cm). I think his point was to minimize the difference, but the fact remains. If you like pizza, more is always better! If you like information, knowledge or stars, this is your time! What we do with it is up to us. There will always be more, that is the nature of the Universe, why not accept it?
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