Astronomy 101

I just finished my two college classes for the semester. I took Astronomy because I was afraid of the hard core sciences. I have math and science phobia, so it took a fair amount of courage to take this class. I read many facts and figures about our solar system during the semester. What the diameter of each planet is, what the atmospheres are made of etc... I have already forgotten most of what I 'learned'. I figure there are three things that I will take with me as I go forward in my life from this class.

1. The more I learned about the universe and the solar system, the more I became convinced that there was a higher power at work. There are so many amazing things about the universe. The fact that one can calculate the diameter of the earth using trigonometry and the sun's shadow is just one. All of these rules of physics are just amazing to me! There are millions of stars and planets out there, and the fact that everything had to go just perfectly in our atmosphere, we had to be placed just the perfect distance from the sun, there had to be the specific amount of water and oxygen and hydrogen in order for life to form. I don't understand why there is such a controversy between the big bang theory and the creation theory. I believe that they are the same. That God provided everything for us to be created, and once you understand the amazing order of our universe, how can you think it all happened by chance?

2. That God has give some people the gift of being able to comprehend and explain His magnificent plan to people like me. People like Galileo and Albert Einstein. How genius they were, being able to make sense of our world. Most of the theories in Astronomy that were thought of and written about literally centuries ago are being proven correct today with our advancing technology. These scientists predicted with amazing accuracy how the laws of physics can be used to determine how far away a planet is, how big it is, and what the atmosphere is made of. These people had the most advanced, amazing minds! I stand in awe of human-kind and human intelligence and am humbled by their genius!

3. The last thing I learned was from the delivery of the class, and not so much the content. My class was totally an online class, so I was not able to meet my professor in person. I could still feel his enthusiasm for teaching and I benefited from his conscientious hard work. His lessons were challenging, but well thought out and had simple step by step instructions. He was always available for questions and responded immediately anytime someone posted a question. But, as the class went on, I became aware that he was not getting the correct feedback for all his hard work. I think he felt that because this is a community college, that most of the students are young adults, just trying to get through the class with a passing grade. I am sure that there are always some students that try their professor's patience, trying to get away with as little as possible. But, I think that the challenge for the next generation is to become experts at communicating fully through this new medium of the Internet. It is far too easy to misinterpret what someone has written in a short email. It is far too easy to not say thank you to the people that impact us if we have never met them. So, I would like to say to my Astronomy professor, Larry Sessions that I think you did an awesome job teaching me about the solar system, that you made an impact in my learning. and THANKS!

Astronomy 101 - that's what I will take with me...