The dude('dude' is gender neutral for me and could be a female or male) who administers the NASA Astronomy Pictures Of The Day Website must be reading my blog and knows I am on my way to the Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming soon. He or she posted this marvellous picture on the NASA website today showing Old Faithful steaming away against the backdrop of a scintillating night sky: the lateral plane of our Milky Way galaxy, containing 400 billion stars including our Sun and all its orbiting planets, is visible on the left(visualise a spiral galaxy but looked at from the side instead of from on top); Jupiter at its most shining self just above the top of the geyser's steam plume is also visible:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070807.html
I should be so lucky to have such a clear night sky when I eventually get to Yellowstone National Park. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
"Scientific pursuits, philosophic inquiry and artistic endeavour are all seen as the response of the faithful to the recurring call of the Qur'an to ponder the creation as a way to understand Allah's benevolent majesty. As Sura al-Baqara proclaims: 'Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah'."(Aga Khan IV, 19th October 2003, London, U.K.)
easynash
Somewhere on the road in Northern California, U.S.A.
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation:Aga Khan 4(2006)
The God of the Quran is the One whose Ayats(Signs) are the Universe in which we live, move and have our being:Aga Khan 3(1952)
Our interpretation of Islam places enormous value on knowledge. Knowledge is the reflection of faith if it is used properly. Seek out that knowledge and use it properly:Aga Khan 4(2005)
All human beings, by their nature, desire to know(Aristotle, The Metaphysics, a few hundred years BC)
