Space Weather News for Dec. 12, 2009
http://spaceweather.com
GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: This weekend, Earth will pass through a stream of debris from extinct comet 3200 Phaethon, source of the annual Geminid meteor shower. Forecasters expect more than 100 meteors per hour to fly out of the constellation Gemini when the shower peaks on Dec. 13th and 14th. For most observers, the best time to look will be from 10 pm local time on Sunday night to dawn on Monday morning. Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos, a sky map, and live audio from a meteor radar.
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Father Z,
I find many of your postings focused on secular things, and even those that are related–however obliquely–to spiritual matters have a certain bent to them that drifts, in my view, away from rather than toward what I understand as the Catholic spirit. Some of the rhetoric is troubling to me. Maybe I’m looking for a priest who sees his role as one of gentleness–gentleness when he consoles and gentleness when he corrects error. Maybe your idea of the Catholc spirit is different from mine. Maybe I’m in the wrong blog. [Who am I to disagree? But don’t despair. I am sure there is a blog out there which is a much better match for you. BTW… how is your Advent going? Doing some penance in the spirit of the season? I didn’t notice a comment from your under the entry where I asked people that.]
Yes, maybe you are.
quietbeginning —
“The heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands. Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge. There are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not heard. Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world.
“He hath set his tabernacle in the sun: and he, as a bridegroom coming out of his bride chamber, Hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way: His going out is from the end of heaven, And his circuit even to the end thereof: and there is no one that can hide himself from his heat. The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones. The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts: the commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes.”
“You cannot evade the issue of God; whether you talk about pigs or the binomial theory, you are still talking about Him…. Things can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is false, but nothing can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is true. Zulus, gardening, butcher’s shops, lunatic asylums, housemaids and the French Revolution — all these things not only may have something to do with the Christian God, but must have something to do with Him if He really lives and reigns.”
G.K. Chesterton
Daily News December 12, 1903
Every time, every time we here in Pomeroy on the Palouse pass through space debris or otherwise have have a chance to see something cool (and THANK YOU FR. Z FOR INFORMING US!), the weather does its best NOT to cooperate. Tonight we’re expecting more snow. It’s been snowing since noon and at 6:30 p.m. we already have a whopping 3″ (Well that’s a large amount for us here).
John
Heavens! (no pun intended), I love it when Fr. Z puts up these type of articles. I agree with Suburbanbanshee, how beautiful.
We are all overcast so I see nothing of this, so you who have been blessed with clear skies–enjoy the view for me too!
I am so glad that you remind us of the meteor showers. We love to look at the night sky and praise God for His Creation. There is no distinction between the “secular” and the “religious: for a Catholic, who sees all things in God. In one of my favorite psalms, Psalm 8, we read: “For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars which thou hast founded.” And, of course we love, love, love the bird photos…..
sorry about the : not “–I am all thumbs this evening….
I saw about seven last night as I was crossing Puget Sound on the ferry! Thanks for the tip.
Has anyone else seen this? If you scroll down lower there is a video.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1234430/Mystery-spiral-blue-light-display-hovers-Norway.html
For quietbeginning,
Glory be to God for dappled things —
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles in all stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced — fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.
Pied Beauty by
Gerard Manley Hopkins