Tag Archives: Astronomy

Follow the Clues

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here A surprising number of astronomers believe it’s out there somewhere. Planet Nine. No, not Pluto, the iconic “ninth planet” that was discovered in 1930, but then downgraded to the status of dwarf planet two decades ago when astronomers concluded it wasn’t big enough to sit at the grown-ups table. Planet Nine… Read more »

Three Minutes of Wonder

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here This very day, millions of Americans will have the chance to see something they may never see again. Purdue University is playing in the March Madness championship game. OK, there’s that.  But an event of vastly greater significance than what’s happening to my alma mater will be happening in the skies… Read more »

The Center of It All

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here It’s one of those stories that inevitably comes up in the ongoing harangue between Science and Christianity.  It’s called the Copernican Revolution.  The story is usually told like this:  Simple-minded Bible readers declared that the Earth sits at the center of the universe, proving the cosmic significance of the human race.  Polish astronomer Nicholaus… Read more »

God of Wonders

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To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” according to the old adage.  If that’s so, it’s difficult to calculate how many words it would take to express the worth of one of the most extraordinary pictures in human history. It’s called the Hubble Deep Field image.  It’s actually a combination of hundreds of separate… Read more »

The Goldilocks Planet

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To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. What makes the world go round? Vocal artists and astronomers provide different answers. The Stylistics sang that people make the world go round.  Soul crooner Deon Jackson and the rock group KISS proclaimed that love is what keeps things spinning.  For the cynical, the musical Cabaret hits just the right notes: “Money makes the… Read more »

The Perfect Planet

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The opening decades of the 21st century may well become known as the time astronomers bade farewell to one beloved planet and said hello to thousands of others. Pluto lost its place at the grownups table in our solar system back in 2006.    Even though “the little planet that could” was cherished by myriads of amateur sky-watchers – especially… Read more »