NICK STROBEL: WE KNOW NATURE TO LOVE IT | ENTERTAINMENT

Early morning risers will be able to see a thin crescent moon rising in the east shortly before sunrise. It will be within the field of view of binoculars with bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo (Spica is at the upper right and the Moon is at the lower left). On Thanksgiving night, the moon will pass a new phase day, so you may spot a very thin waxing crescent low in the west after sunset, but it should be easier to see the next night.

The outer planets – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – are now visible after 6.40pm. The map shows the view at 8pm, but unfortunately we cannot show all three planets in one map. Mars is low in the east between the horns of Taurus. Nearby is the bright star Capella in the constellation Auriga. Due south is the king planet, Jupiter, shining brighter than any star.

The dim star of Pisces may be hard to see from Bakersfield, but you can almost see the square part of Pegasus at the zenith. Saturn is low in the southwest, at the tail end of Capricornus.

Last weekend, my wife and I went for a walk with a few friends. One of them is writing a non-technical book on a mathematical topic, suitable for interested laymen. My interest in mathematics came from its utilitarian application to astronomy, but his interest was in mathematics itself, in its formal purity and logic. His joy in mathematics and its beauty is the same that I feel in astronomy, and is the reason I write astronomy notes textbooks and write these astronomy columns.

About seven years ago, I wrote a review for the book “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of the Marketplace” for Levan Humanities Review. In that review article I included a cartoon by Zach Weinersmith describing the tension between the practical and aesthetic values ​​of doing scientific research. The interviewer asked a science advocate, “Why is it important to capture antimatter?” The advocate responded, “Oh! It has future applications in propulsion, energy generation, data transmission, you name it!” But when When an interviewer asked the same question to a research scientist, the scientist responded, “Because it’s #&!*@* awesome!”

Our curiosity about how nature works is one of the key reasons for Homo sapiens’ great biological success. It was this curiosity that pulled us out of the cave. It is this curiosity that drives us to the top of the mountain to look at the sea, and it is this curiosity that drives us to explore the other side of the sea. It is this curiosity that takes us beyond the boundaries of our planet. Whether you think this curiosity in humans is a gift from God, or a trait enhanced by millions of years of evolution, you can’t deny that curiosity is innate. On a deep psychological or spiritual level, we take great pleasure in trying to satisfy our curiosity.

Those of us who are market-oriented would say that understanding how nature works enables us to master it—the ability to manipulate and control nature for our own purposes (e.g., domesticating grasses to produce wheat and corn, damming and truncation of canals) management of water flow, etc.). The downside is the negative environmental impacts such as pollution of water, soil and air and climate change which will lead to mass migration of millions of people and all the political unrest.

For some, the market-driven approach comes from the command in Genesis 1, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth; subdue it; rule over every living creature that lives on it.”

A more accurate interpretation of this command is to be a responsible custodian of creation. We learn about nature so we can figure out how to better care for this gift of creation. The true value of studying the universe is that it is worth knowing.

Although I am a Methodist, I am looking forward to reading Pope Francis’ encyclical Blessings and Peace in 2015. I liked it at the time, and in 2022 I still recommend that you read it carefully.