| 2009 International Year of Astronomy |
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| Larry Behers P.M. Astronomer |
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In 1609, Galileo’s simple telescope with two lenses was hard to use and gave a dim, extremely narrow field-of-view of celestial objects. Yet, with this simple telescope, he was able to record observations that established our Earthly place not at the center of a small orderly universe, but as part of a much larger and more magnificent system.
This early view of the cosmos was guided by philosophy and religious views more than mathematics and geometry. It was by these mystical views, and not logic, that man pondered the structure of the universe, but it was Johannes Kepler, the 17th Century astronomer who said of the telescope, “O telescope instrument of much knowledge, more precious than any scepter! Is not he who holds thee in his hand made king and lord of the works of God?”
Galileo eventually understood that in his hands he held the key to understanding the cosmos. The telescope would present the universe before us and alter our political, philosophical and religious perceptions about the cosmos forever.
Larry Behers, Past Master
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| Click to go to Astronomy 2009 Web Site |
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Mystery of the Universe - April 2009
“...And He brought him outside, and said: Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.
And He said unto Abraham: So shall your descendants be. “
Gen. 15:5
The mystery of the Universe has overwhelmed humankind since the dawn of civilization. Its origin is lost in the mists of antiquity. The passage from the Book of Genesis told the story of God's promise to patriarch Abraham by asking a rather difficult question: can you count the number of stars? Unaided, our eyes may perhaps see around a thousand stars in a clear dark sky. With a small telescope, the number quickly advances up to hundreds of thousands. Even until very recently we still do not know the exact size of the universe, let alone the number of stars and countless other celestial bodies contained in it. We could only arbitrarily say there are billions of billions of stars. Astronomy is that science which instructs us in the laws that govern the heavenly bodies, and the Lodge itself is not only a representation of the terrestrial, but the celestial. It is adorned with images of the sun and moon, whose regularity and precision furnish us with a lesson of the wisdom and truth by which God created the universe.
Larry Behers P.M.
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