I was very fortunate to be exposed to Astronomy as a teenager. Our high school (Jefferson High School, Jefferson, Ga.) had a brilliant science teacher named John Bell. I studied both Physics and Astronomy under him. We had a very expensive 12 inch Newtonian telescope for our Astronomy class. The very first night we gathered together to study the universe through the telescope, I famously exposed my ignorance by asking “what is that white cloud streaking across the sky won’t it affect the telescope?” Mr Bell kindly explained that it was our galaxy, the Milky Way. Great way to start an Astronomy class Jody, you dummy, I mused. But as we began to study Messier Objects, planets, stars and galaxies, through the powerful telescope, I fell in love with Astronomy. As I have said before, I don’t know how anyone can look through a telescope and be an atheist. The beauty, grandeur, order, structure, color, and complexity I viewed through that eyepiece gave me a brand new level of awe when it comes to our Creator.
I recently sent an 8 tweet philosophical view of black holes, dark matter, light, and Einstein’s theories to 2 men I respect and admire. One is a world famous Astrophysicist named Neil deGrasse Tyson.
https://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/
The other is a unique force of nature who has spent many years creating businesses like Tesla Motors, Space-X, and PayPal. His name, of course, is Elon Musk. One of the many reasons I respect him is his devotion to do the right thing for our planet. He placed all of his patents for Tesla Motors in open source (public domain).
https://www.tesla.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you
https://www.biography.com/people/elon-musk-20837159
Here are the 8 tweets I sent. As you look at them, please remember that I am neither a scientist, nor mathematician. They are simply country boy common sense mixed with an awe of our Creator, and an effort to understand the links between science, philosophy, and theology. Hang on for a bumpy ride…
(1/8) @neiltyson @elonmusk Do you think there is any way possible we could be incorrect about dark holes and dark matter? I am neither a scientist, nor a mathematician, but have that curiousity Neil speaks of. I also have a philosophical thought on black holes and dark matter.
— J. C∞per (@redclayJ) October 10, 2018
(2/8) Since light travels at different speeds in different mediums, I will call it "gravity as a medium". We use gravity's force to slingshot our spacecraft and increase their speed, right? Could gravity also accelerate light? If so…
— J. C∞per (@redclayJ) October 10, 2018
(3/8)Einstein's 'Theory of General Relativiity' was proven by using a solar eclipse to show certain stars behind the sun were not in the positions they should be, right? Their light was "bent" going around the sun. https://t.co/sY3DLIV5iZ
— J. C∞per (@redclayJ) October 10, 2018
(4/8) If you were on that star, earth would be invisible, yet due to the sun's powerful gravity we can see the star. Just as on earth, you couldn't see its light until it passed the sun. Those stars are supposed to be "behind" the sun, no?
— J. C∞per (@redclayJ) October 10, 2018
(5/8) There are two reasons (I think) we cannot see light past the black hole/medium's event horizion. First, gravity bends light when it moves past the event horizion of the black hole to behind the "hole", thus putting the light out of our field of vision.
— J. C∞per (@redclayJ) October 10, 2018
(6/8) What if the hole is not a dark hole at all, but rather dark matter. Since Gravity really is a warp of spacetime created by the mass of objects, instead of an attraction between objects, I always wondered why/how black holes "ate" stars and all the light associated.
— J. C∞per (@redclayJ) October 10, 2018
(7/8) What if traveling around dark matter also increases the speed of mass (how we slingshot a spacecraft) and even light itself – past the universal speed of light? Therefore that light is now moving faster away from us than the light traveling toward us…
— J. C∞per (@redclayJ) October 10, 2018
(8/8) What if, then, black holes are not "holes" at all, but actually dark matter and its sphere of operation and influence? I have a VERY limited knowledge of science and know even less mathematics , but I can see it operating in my mind's eye.
— J. C∞per (@redclayJ) October 10, 2018
On his “D’lectrified” album, Clint Black remakes a Monty Python classic that I love. I have neither the skills to double check all the math involved, nor the ability to test and see if it is accurate. What I do have is the ability to be awed by just how magnificent our Creator must be. I think you will get the same idea from the song.
I will close this post with a classic song from Kansas. (I wonder where they are from?) The idea that we are made from stardust, and share the same DNA as the universe itself is amazing to me. True, we are “dust in the wind”. But we are also so much more than that. We are one with the Creator and His (or Hers?) Creation. Never forget that, no matter how hard life gets.