A message from the cosmos

Monday's eclipse was a time for joy, reflection about the beauty and vastness of creation

Before the total eclipse in the U.S. heartland is itself overshadowed by tomorrow’s news of the day, here are some quick thoughts about the celestial pageant that wowed millions of Americans today.

First,  a shout out for the astronomers and other scientists who could forecast with such pinpoint accuracy the times and locations of totality. With all the variables involved, it’s miraculous to a math-challenged person that they can predict events like this years, decades or even centuries in advance. 

This is a teachable moment about the value of science, especially for those who for political or religious biases dismiss what science tells us about climate change, infectious diseases, species extinction, pollution or the age and evolution of our planet and life here. 

For at least a little while, millions of people put aside their political, social and other disputes to be dazzled by the dance of the sun and the moon.

There are of course limits to what science can tell us. But it makes no sense to respect one branch of science and reject another just because you don’t like its conclusions. 

Second, it was a reminder that there is — as ancient astronomers used to say — a form of celestial harmony, a “music of the spheres” that brings order and predictability to the cosmos. It’s so reassuring in these times of conflict that nature herself is governed by laws and forces that work on a planetary and cosmic scale.

The universe is for sure a violent place. Supernovas, stellar and planetary collisions, gamma ray bursts, star-gobbling black holes and the occasional asteroid impact are just some of the nemesis out there. 

But the heavens also have undeniable, majestic beauty, like those “diamond rings” that popped up around the solar corona during totality. And what about the mystery we feel when we look at the billions of celestial bodies beyond our own and wonder whom we share this creation with?

As William Shatner — a.k.a. Star Trek’s Captain Kirk — told CBS News, the eclipse was a reminder of how little we know about the cosmos.  But that’s one of the beauties of it. It’s too vast for us to ever fully understand or even comprehend. It will always pose new questions to satisfy our unquenchable human curiosity. What a playground and school it is for all of us. Did you see how many thousands of school children packed into the Cotton Bowl in Texas to witness the event. They’ll never forget it.

Third, the eclipse reminded me of just how vast creation really is. The sunlight that glowed around the edges of the moon took a little more than 8 minutes to reach there — even though it travels at about 186,000 miles per second. This is just a hint of the immensity of our cosmos.

Our closest star, Alpha Centauri, is more than 4 light years away.  That’s the distance light travels in 4 years. If we could travel at 500,000 mph — we’re not even close to doing that — it would take more than 6,000 years for us to get there.  That’s as long as human civilization itself has existed on earth.

Perhaps our distant descendants will figure out how to overcome the many technical and social challenges of interstellar travel. But for now we’re stuck on this planet. We abuse it at our peril. We’d better care for it or we ourselves will be eclipsed.

Finally — and perhaps this is the most heartening takeaway — the eclipse proves how much everyone likes a good show. It united throngs of humanity. For at least a little while, millions of people put aside their political, social and other disputes to be dazzled by the dance of the sun and the moon.

This leaves us with a question: Are our differences so profound, and so deep as to defy reconciliation?  I don’t think so. The cosmos gave birth to us, and billions of years of evolution made us far more alike than different.  That, more than anything else, I hope will be enduring message of the cosmic show that captured our imagination Monday.