Greenwich Observatory
Lord of the starfields
Ancient of Days
Universe Maker
Here's a song in your praise
Wings of the storm cloud
Beginning and end
You make my heart leap
Like a banner in the wind
O love that fires the sun
Keep me burning
Lord of the starfields
Sower of life
Heaven and earth are
Full of your light
Voice of the nova
Smile of the dew
All of our yearning
Only comes home to you
O love that fires the sun
Keep me burning
In the Falling Dark - Bruce Cockburn 1976
Greenwich, England is famous for the Prime Meridian which became the global reference meridian by the mid-eighteenth century. It is a World Heritage Site situated close to the Royal Observatory established by Charles I in 1675 and the site was chosen by Sir Christopher Wren of St. Paul's Cathedral fame.
Sadly, the astronomical observatory was relocated in the first half of the 20th century because light and air pollution rendered the telescope ineffective. Now, after more than 60 years it has reopened thanks to changed conditions and advanced technology. Four telescopes with digital filters will allow this historical treasure to be more than a museum.
I sent the link to an article to son Isaac, also a United Church minister. He recently took part in an online course offered by the chief astronomer a Jesuit named Guy J. Consolmagno. The church, particularly Roman Catholicism, has an unsettled past when it comes to astronomy -- think Galileo -- yet the bible has many references to the "heavens." along with heaven. Galileo got it right about heliocentrism and the church was woefully wrong, but it did apologize, although it took 350 years.
Isaac has been rambling about as an aspect of the course. He went up to the Dark Sky Observatory north of Napanee one night and then used an app to find a dark sky spot in Prince Edward County another time.
Years ago I spent time at a convent in Colorado and one of the other retreatants was a pleasant guy who worked at the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), in Arizona. This is the irony. While the RC's have the crummy reputation of persecuting Galileo and other astronomers the the Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world.
Consolmagno says that there is no conflict between science and religion, and that both fields can complement each other:
“Eventually you learn that the kinds of questions you ask as a scientist and the kinds of answers you get as a scientist are only the kinds of questions that lead to more questions. They’re all very contingent. Now I understand how this works, but that opens up a new mystery that I hadn’t seen before and now I can explore that mystery.The bigger questions, the religious questions, they’re handled by science. The religious questions give you the framework that gives you the motivation to ask the science questions...
I'm looking forward to stumbling around in the dark with my kid sometime in the near future. I'd claim it would be the blonde leading the blind but he's more of a redhead now.
Thoughts?
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