Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 7, 2015

THE WORLD AROUND US

14

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 7, 2015 


THROUGH THE MILKY WAY

A new image taken with ESO’s VISTA survey 
telescope reveals the famous Trifid Nebula in a 
new and ghostly light. By observing in infrared 
light, astronomers can see right through the dust-
filled central parts of the Milky Way and spot 
many previously hidden objects. In just this tiny 
part of one of the VISTA surveys, astronomers 
have discovered two unknown and very distant 
Cepheid variable stars that lie almost directly 
behind the Trifid. They are the first such stars 
found that lie in the central plane of the Milky 
Way beyond its central bulge.

 As one of its major surveys of the southern 
sky,the VISTA telescope (http://www.eso.org/
public/teles-instr/surveytelescopes/vista) at 
ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile is mapping 
the central regions of the Milky Way in infrared 
light to search for new and hidden objects. This 
VVV survey (standing for VISTA Variables in the 
Via Lactea, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vista_
Variables_in_the_Via_Lactea) is also returning to 
the same parts of the sky again and again to spot 
objects that vary in brightness as time passes.

 A tiny fraction of this huge VVV dataset has 
been used to create this striking new picture of a 
famous object, the star formation region Messier 
20, usually called the Trifid Nebula (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifid_Nebula) because 
of the ghostly dark lanes that divide it into three 
parts when seen through a telescope.

 The familiar pictures of the Trifid show it in 
visible light, where it glows brightly in both the 
pink emission from ionized hydrogen and the 
blue haze of scattered light from hot young stars. 
Huge clouds of light-absorbing dust are also 
prominent. But the view in the VISTA infrared 
picture is very different. The nebula is just a ghost 
of its usual visible-light self. The dust clouds are 
far less prominent, and the bright glow from the 
hydrogen clouds is barely visible at all. The three-
part structure is almost invisible.

 In the new image, as if to compensate for the 
fading of the nebula, a spectacular new panorama 
comes into view. The thick dust clouds in the 
disc of our galaxy that absorb visible light allow 
through most of the infrared light that VISTA can 
see. Rather than the view being blocked, VISTA 
can see far beyond the Trifid and detect objects on 
the other side of the galaxy that have never been 
seen before.

 By chance this picture shows a perfect example 
of the surprises that can be revealed when 
imaging in the infrared. Apparently close to the 
Trifid in the sky, but in reality about seven times 
more distant, a newly discovered pair of variable 
stars has been found in the VISTA data. These are 
Cepheid variables (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Cepheid_variable), a type of bright star that is 
unstable and slowly brightens and then fades with 
time. This pair of stars, which the astronomers 
think are the brightest members of a cluster of 
stars, are the only Cepheid variables detected so 
far that are close to the central plane, but on the 
far side of the galaxy. They brighten and fade over 
a period of eleven days.

 The Trifid Nebula lies about 5,200 light-years 
from Earth, the center of the Milky Way is about 
27,000 light-years away, in almost the same 
direction, and the newly discovered Cepheids are 
at a distance of about 37,000 light-years.

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com.


THE LUPERCALIA ROOTS OF VALENTINE’S DAY

ARCADIA HONORING MUSICIAN & AHS ALUM 
JOE RAMSEY

The Arcadia community is 
coming together to honor well-
known musician and beloved 
AHS alum Joe Ramsey, who 
died recently at the age of 58, 
following a years-long battle with 
health problems.

On Saturday, Feb. 21, from 7 pm 
to midnight, the Arcadia High 
School Alumni Association is 
presenting a benefit memorial 
concert at Santa Anita Park 
in Mr. Ramsey’s honor. Santa 
Anita is also dedicating the day’s 
last thoroughbred horse race 
in his memory, and the City of 
Arcadia has proclaimed Feb. 21 
Joe Ramsey Day. Mayor Pro-Tem 
Gary Kovacic will present the 
proclamation in the Winner’s Circle immediately following The Joe Ramsey Memorial Race. 

As a founding member of the rock groups The Prime Movers and Dread Zeppelin, both of which 
featured fellow Arcadia musicians, Mr. Ramsey rose to prominence as a bass player, guitarist and 
vocalist during the heyday of Southern California’s rock scene in the late 70s and 80s. His musical 
roots were firmly planted in Arcadia, forming bands while at Dana Jr. High with his young buddies 
and continuing through high school with local rock acts such as HiFi, Chance, Foul Play, The Item 
and The Cyclones. He was graduated from AHS in 1974 and attended Pasadena City College. In the 
late 70s, Mr. Ramsey partnered with several friends to open The Marquee West, a popular rock and 
roll club in Arcadia.

More recently, he was co-owner of Resistor Records store in Monrovia, where he lived with his wife 
Allison and daughters, ages 6 and 4. 

Mr. Ramsey died Dec. 29 at Arcadia Methodist Hospital following a nearly decade-long struggle with 
cancer and heart problems, and a recent stroke.

The Joe Ramsey Rockapalooza Benefit Concert will feature a selection of friends, former band mates, 
local artists and loved ones taking the stage in his honor. Confirmed performers include Stan Ridgway 
and Pietra Wexstun; Keith Slettedahl and Adam Merrin from The 88; John Curry, Scott Lasken, 
Dennis Walsh and Nick Hanick from Four Eyed Four; The Third Man, featuring Gary Putman and 
Curt Lichter of The Prime Movers; and, special guest, Allison Ramsey. 

Suggested donations are $30 or more, and will go to cover the cost of staging the event. Any proceeds 
will be donated to the AHS Alumni Association’s Joe Ramsey Memorial Scholarship and to the Ramsey 
family to help defray medical expenses and sudden loss of income. 

Tickets are available at http://www.arcadiaapaches.com/aboutus/ahsreunions_info63.htm Questions 
about the event can be directed to alumni@arcadiaapaches.net 


By Christopher Nyerges 

In the pre-Christian era, there was a celebration 
in honor of Lupercus, a pastoral god, sometimes 
identified with Faunus or Pan. Faunus is depicted 
as having the body of a man but the horns, pointed 
ears, tail, and hind legs of a goat. That is, Faunus is 
more or less identical with the satyr, who was said 
to be lustful, and always ready to party. 

The pre-Christian observance of this day was 
called Lupercalia, which fell on February 15. On 
Lupercalia, cards were given (often with subtle 
or overt sexual offers and overtones), and men 
reportedly chased women through the streets. 
Wow! Sounds somewhat like Mardi Gras, or 
Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Carribbean.” 

OK, fast forward to 2015, and the stores of Sierra 
Madre are full of red and pink hearts, and lovers 
and sweethearts are looking for something to give 
that special person. Why? Because February 14 is 
the day set aside to commemorate a real historical 
person named Valentinus, the day we now call 
“Saint Valentine’s Day.” And who was Valentinus? 
With just a little bit of research, we learn that 
this Valentinus person was stoned, clubbed, and 
beheaded in about the year 270 A.D. He was 
violently killed by an unruly mob. But why? 
And how have we come to associate Valentinus 
with chocolates and hearts and lovers and all the 
festivities of Lupercalia? 

It turns out that there were at least two people 
called Valentinus – possibly more – who lived 
in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries. One – who the 
Catholic Church now called Saint Valentine – was 
beheaded in 270 A.D. 

Another Valentinus lived about a century earlier 
and founded one of the most important sects of 
Gnosticism. He was born in Egypt and educated 
in Alexandria. He settled in Rome during the 
reign of Pope Hyginus and taught there for more 
than 20 years. He attracted a large following 
to his beliefs, due in part to his intelligence, 
his eloquence of speech, and his impeccable 
arguments. 

But the teachings of this Valentinus differed 
in some ways from the Christian church of 
that time, and when the office for the Bishop of 
Rome opened up, he was not selected. Valentinus 
decided to split off from the Christian church, left 
Rome, and continued to develop his doctrines as 
he saw fit. 

Unfortunately, there are no original surviving 
documents from the teachings of Valentinus. So, 
if you want to discover what he actually believed 
and taught, you have to study fragmentary 
quotations found in the writings of his orthodox 
Christian opponents. 

Through research, we learn that Valentinus 
was influenced by Plato (the main source of the 
teachings of Socrates), Zoroastrianism, and 
Christianity. Valentinus also spoke of a spiritual 
realm which he called Pleroma, which consisted 
of “emanations” evolving from an original divine 
being. These have been described as the layers of 
an onion, with each layer being a wholly complete 
reality. It’s all very interesting, though it’s all a bit 
second-hand because whatever Valentinus wrote 
was apparently “lost” or destroyed by opponents. 

The term Gnosticism came from the word 
“gnosis,” defined as spiritual knowledge. Those 
who followed this line of study were called 
the Gnostics, and many were referred to as 
Christian Gnostics. But by the third century, 
the more orthodox Christian church (and the 
political power of the day), decided to oppose and 
persecute the Gnostics. By the end of the third 
century, Gnosticism as a distinct movement had 
largely disapppeared. 

Now, here’s the quiz: Where in all this did you 
hear anything about chocolates, hearts, greeting 
cards, bunnies, jewelry, roses, or lace underwear? 
Plus, there doesn’t appear to be any historical 
connection with any of the individuals named 
Valentinus with the date of February 14. 

It is difficult to ascertain why the commemoration 
of Valentinus was used to supplant, uplift, and 
supercede the already-existing commemoration 
of Lupercus, but that’s what happened. Yet, very 
little of the trappings of modern St. Valentine’s 
Day have anything to do with the historical 
Valentinus. 

And that’s really a shame, since Valentinus was 
as important as perhaps Socrates or Pythagoras, 
and yet most of us only associate him with the 
silly commercialism of Lupercalia’s remnants. 
Certainly it’s possible that the Church engineered 
this substitution so that men would quit chasing 
women through the streets on this day.

There’s really nothing wrong with telling your 
loved ones that you love them! In fact, we need 
to do that more often. But you might also benefit 
by taking a little time and study a bit about this 
great teacher Valentinus. This is also a good time 
to contemplate the meaning of “love,” and how 
we can improve our ability to be loving with 
everyone. One excellent book in this regard is Eric 
Fromm’s “Art of Loving.” Once you get into this 
book, you may discover – as I did -- that much 
of what Fromm wrote is very relevant today, and 
very relevant to Valentine’s Day. 

 NOTE: Every Sunday outdoors under a 
large banyan tree in Highland Park, there is a 
spiritual studies presentation on topics of current 
interest, such as the meanings of the holdays. The 
presentations are sponsored by WTI (see www.
wtinc.info for details and schedule of upcoming 
talks. 

[Nyerges is the author of several books. He can be 
reached via School of Self-reliance at Box 41834, 
Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or www.ChristopherNyerges.
com, wheBy re one can view his various blogs.]