Isn't this amazing? This as-yet-unnamed planet (known for the moment as 2003 UB313) is the largest thing discovered in our solar system in over a hundred years and takes approximately 560 Earth years to travel around the sun. Wow.
NASA Article
Here is a link to the website recommended by MacBeth in the comment (Thanks MacBeth!):
Michael Brown's Site
This article appeared in the New York Times on July 7, 2005:
Finding Design in Nature by Christoph Schonborn
I'm so delighted to have MacBeth Derham joining us. MacBeth is a Catholic homeschool mother of four, a naturalist and a long-time co-moderator of the Catholic Charlotte Mason e-mail list.
On teaching science and technology:
“Those teaching these subject areas must not ignore the religious dimension. They should help their students to understand that positive science, and the technology allied to it, is a part of the universe created by God. Understanding this can help encourage an interest in research: the whole of creation, from the distant celestial bodies and the immeasurable cosmic forces down to the infinitesimal particles and waves of matter and energy, all bear the imprint of the Creator's wisdom and power. The wonder that past ages felt when contemplating this universe, recorded by the Biblical authors, is still valid for the students of today; the only difference is that we have a knowledge that is much more vast and profound. There can be no conflict between faith and true scientific knowledge; both find their source in God.
The student who is able to discover the harmony between faith and science will, in future professional life, be better able to put science and technology to the service of men and women, and to the service of God. It is a way of giving back to God what he has first given to us.”
- Congregation for Catholic Education, Religious Dimension Of Education In A Catholic School, Part 3, no. 54.
The Space Shuttle Discovery is (finally) scheduled for launch tomorrow - Tuesday, July 26, at 10:39 am Eastern time. View complete coverage of the Shuttle launch here
"Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do so you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the results of thought."
-Alexander Graham Bell
Be sure to mark your calendar!
Read details about the Meteor Shower here.
Get alerts like these in your e-mail box by signing up for NASA's free Science News.
"In studying nature we have not to inquire how God the Creator may, as He freely wills, use His creatures to work miracles and thereby show forth His power: we have rather to inquire what Nature with its immanent causes can naturally bring to pass." (St. Albert the Great circa 1200 AD)
Faith and science: "Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth." "Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 159
I have a beautiful little book (copyright 1884) called Catholic Belief: A Short and Simple Exposition of Catholic Doctrine by the Very Rev. Joseph Faa Di Bruno, D.D. that has the following to say about meekness and animals...
"The virtue of meekness so strongly recommended to us by our Saviour should extend also to animals so as never to cause them unnecessary pain. The saints had not only a fervent love for the souls of men, and an anxious care for the poor and suffering, but had also a tender compassion for every living creature. 'The just regardeth the lives of his beasts: but the bowels of the wicked are cruel.' (Proverbs xii. 10.) A striking lesson of tenderness towards God's creatures is conveyed to us in the Divine command repeatedly given: 'Thou shall not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.' (Exodus xxiii. 19, Deut. xiv. 21.) The gentle poet, Coleridge, has well written: -
I'm very grateful to have Mary Daly of Ye Hedge School, (author of The Universe in My Hands, Creator and Creation, The First Whole Book of Diagrams and Elementary Diagramming Worktext) joining us on this blog.
"Only through intimate acquaintance may understanding of the animals in their relations to each other and to man be attained." Thornton W. Burgess
Welcome to *Unity of Truth* a new Science and Math blog for Catholic homeschoolers.
I'm so pleased to be joined by:
Suchi Myjak, a Catholic convert, homeschool mother of 3, author of Behold and See 3 from Catholic Heritage Curricula. She has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering and has worked extensively in chip design.
and
Kathy Bridge, a Catholic homeschool mother of 5 and a registered nurse with a deep love of the Catholic faith and of Science.
Our purposes are to encourage an understanding of the relationship of faith and reason, and thus the importance of solid Math and Science education. We hope to help each other (and our readers) develop a better understanding of what the Catholic Church has to say about Science and that learning about God through His Creation can strengthen our Faith.
I expect to add a few more new members over the next few weeks. Please be patient as I get all of the "blogistics" worked out. :)
Alicia Van Hecke
love2learn.net
"No amount of pious training or pious culture will protect the faithful, or preserve them from the contamination of the age, if they are left inferior to non-Catholics in secular learning and intellectual development. The faithful must be guarded and protected by being trained and disciplined to grapple with the false systems of the age…. They must be better armed than their opponents - surpass them in the strength and vigor of their minds, and in the extent and variety of their knowledge. They must, on all occasions and against all adversaries, be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them. "
Orestes Brownson (1803-1876)
from Catholic Polemics (as quoted in The Catholic Book of Quotations by Leo Knowles - Our Sunday Visitor)
Photo by NASA, from Apollo 17 flight, 1972
