Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 9, 2015

THE WORLD AROUND US

14

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 9, 2015 


ASTRONOMERS SET NEW DISTANCE RECORD FOR GALAXIES


An international team of astronomers led by UC 
Santa Cruz and Yale University has pushed back 
the cosmic frontier of galaxy exploration to a 
time when the universe was only 5 percent of its 
present age. The team discovered an exceptionally 
luminous galaxy more than 13 billion light-years 
from Earth and determined its exact distance 
using the powerful MOSFIRE instrument on 
the Keck I 10-meter telescope at the W. M. Keck 
Observatory in Hawaii.

 These observations, published May 5 in 
Astrophysical Journal Letters, confirmed it to 
be the most distant galaxy currently measured, 
setting a new record. Known as EGS-zs8-1, the 
galaxy was originally identified based on its 
particular colors in images from NASA’s Hubble 
and Spitzer Space Telescopes. It is one of the 
brightest and most massive objects in the early 
universe.

 “One of the most dramatic discoveries 
from Hubble and Spitzer in recent years is the 
unexpected number of these very bright galaxies 
at early times close to when the first galaxies 
formed. We still don’t fully understand what they 
are and how they relate to the very numerous 
fainter galaxies,” said coauthor Garth Illingworth, 
professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC 
Santa Cruz.

 The new distance measurement also enabled 
the astronomers to determine that EGS-zs8-1 was 
still forming stars very rapidly, about 80 times 
faster than our galaxy does today.

 “It has already built more than 15 percent of the 
mass of our own Milky Way today. But it had only 
670 million years to do so. The universe was still 
very young then,” said lead author Pascal Oesch of 
Yale University, who began studying these bright 
young galaxies as a Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow at 
UC Santa Cruz.

 Only a handful of galaxies currently have 
accurate distances measured in this very early 
universe. “Every confirmation adds another 
piece to the puzzle of how the first generations 
of galaxies formed in the early universe,” said 
coauthor Pieter van Dokkum of Yale. “Only the 
largest telescopes are powerful enough to reach to 
these large distances.”

 The discovery was only possible thanks to 
the relatively new MOSFIRE instrument on the 
Keck I telescope, which allows astronomers to 
efficiently study several galaxies at the same time. 
Harland Epps, professor emeritus of astronomy 
and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, designed the 
optics for MOSFIRE.

 Measuring galaxies at these extreme distances 
and characterizing their properties is a main 
goal of astronomy over the next decade. The 
observations see EGS-zs8-1 at a time when the 
universe was undergoing very important changes: 
the hydrogen between galaxies was transitioning 
from a neutral to an ionized state. “It appears that 
the young stars in the early galaxies like EGS-
zs8-1 were the main drivers for this transition 
called reionization,” said coauthor Rychard 
Bouwens of the Leiden Observatory, who began 
studying the earliest galaxies with Illingworth as 
a postdoctoral fellow at UC Santa Cruz.

 These new Keck Observatory, Hubble, and 
Spitzer observations together also pose new 
questions. They confirm that massive galaxies 
already existed early in the history of the 
universe, but that their physical properties were 
very different from galaxies seen around us today.

 The new observations underline the very 
exciting discoveries that NASA’s James Webb 
Space Telescope (JWST) will enable when it is 
launched in 2018. In addition to pushing the 
cosmic frontier to even earlier cosmic times, 
JWST will be able to dissect the galaxy light of 
EGS-zs8-1 seen with the Spitzer Space Telescope 
and will provide astronomers with much more 
detailed insights into its gas properties.

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


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

A LOOK AT MOTHER’S DAY by Christopher Nyerges


[Nyerges is the author of “Til Death Do Us Part?”, “Squatter in Los Angeles,” “How to Survive 
Anywhere,” and others. He conducts field trips and seminars. For more information, contact www.
ChristopherNyerges.com or Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or on-line at www.SchoolofSelf-
Reliance.com. He also participates in the exploring the real meaning of holidays via WTI, at www.
wtinc.info.]

I’D GIVE HER A PIECE OF MY 
MIND IF I HAD ANY TO SPARE

One of the victims of our 
uniquely “American”-style 
capitalism and greed is the 
demise of real meaning within 
our many holy days and holidays. There is plenty of 
blame to go around for this, even beginning with the 
marketing of holiday “stuff” by the various stores, the 
media for going-along-with the pablum messages, 
and the general population for passively accepting 
this dumbing-down of our sacred traditions. 

 When we reduce what should be a time of great 
reflection and learning to a time of buying foods and 
“stuff,” we become the victims of our own ignorance. 
We deprive ourselves of these annual reminders 
that our lives should be something more, something 
greater than merely going through some pointless 
physical motions. 

 Mother’s Day is therefore not alone in the way it 
has been outright perverted. And this is really sad, 
since everything begins at home. A child learns all 
his or her values in the home. We have heard it said 
that charity begins at home, but much more begins at 
home. He who is undisciplined at home will practice 
that same undisciplined thinking in the workplace, at 
school, and in the community, even though such is 
easier to hide “out there” than it is at home. 

 He or she who practices hypocrisy and dishonesty 
at home will practice the same in the workplace, at 
school, and in the community. This is so, despite the 
defensive denials of so many public officials who want 
the gullible among us to believe that what they do at 
home is wholly separate from “their job.” No! That’s 
a big lie. The idea that we can think and act one way 
at home, and another in the community, is absurd! 
The home is the fundamental “training ground” 
where one’s ideas and ideals and principles can be 
practiced and tested “safely,” and where one can grow 
and evolve, hopefully amidst a loving and concerned 
family. 

 The mother is more often than not the heart of 
family, carrying on a 24-hour a day job. The ultimate 
essence of motherhood is self-discipline. First, self-
discipline to conduct one’s self in a manner that is a 
fitting example to one’s children. After all, children 
“learn” the most from watching what their parents do. 
Then there is the self-discipline of motherhood to see 
that all the physical and emotional and spiritual needs 
of the children are tended to. 

 In the traditional family where the father works 
at a regular job and the mother raises the children, 
the mother’s job is far more important and far harder 
than men ever give them credit for. The average man’s 
job is relatively simply. He get ups, eats breakfast, goes 
to a job, works, comes home, eat dinners, maybe goes 
to a meeting in the evening, goes to bed, and repeats it 
all the next day. 

 But the scope of responsibility of a mother at home 
is much vaster than the father’s. The mother who 
exemplifies the Principle of Motherhood is working 
at a level akin to a CEO of a company, focusing on 
the education, security, nutrition, and spirituality of 
the children. The mother, more often than not, is the 
psychologist and nurse, and provider of entertainment 
and stimulating mental activities. Of course, all this is 
taking place while the mother must put many of her 
personal desires on the back burner. 

 The point that is lost on so many of us today is that 
we have confused “the Principle of Motherhood” with 
a female body who has given birth to at least one child. 
This is a serious error in our thinking. The Principle of 
Motherhood is a Universal Principle, which means it’s 
there to be studied and learned by anyone, including 
men (actually, especially men). The principles of 
motherhood can and should be studied, and practiced 
by all. It begins with a way of thinking, a way of taking 
responsibility, a way of embracing, a way of loving. 
Men are the most deficient in motherhood principles 
because they have been duped (by their peers, by 
society, by themselves) into thinking that since they 
reside in male bodies, they needn’t be concerned 
about that female stuff. 

 Men attempting to learn the principles of 
Motherhood create balanced and stronger men. This 
is equally true for women attempting to learn and 
apply the principles of Fatherhood.

 Men perform spiritual violence upon our beloved 
mothers when we fall for the grossest Mother’s Day 
marketing campaigns -- such as buying chocolates, 
sexy underwear, perfume, or jewelry. (Did you already 
do that? Well, there’s always next year!) 

 We have attempted for years to explore the real 
underlying meanings of each holiday and Holy day, 
and this effort has opened our eyes to how ignorant 
we have all chosen to become. Becoming part of 
the solution to this problem may seem difficult and 
socially-unacceptable. Though picnics and heart-felt 
hand-written cards have their place, it is also good 
to take the time on Mother’s Day to recognize and 
honor our mothers, and to find ways that all of us can 
emulate those highest principles of Motherhood.

I do not know if grouchy comes with old age 
or if in old age you are too weak to subdue it. 
I guess it does not really matter because I am 
having a little bit of trouble along this line. My 
grouchy seems to be getting out of control.

 I remember the good old days, those 
carefree days, days when I did not let anything 
bother me. Oh, how I wish they would return. 
Lately, it seems everywhere I go I run into 
people that irritate me. It does not matter if I 
am driving in a car or walking down the street 
or sitting in a restaurant, irritating people seem 
to be everywhere. At least, they seem to be 
everywhere that I am. Every time I turn around 
there is somebody irritating me. I am at the point 
where I am tempted to stop “turning around.” 
Driving across town the other day I ran 
into, almost literally, some driver not watching 
where she was going. Barely missing her, I 
noticed she was talking on her cell phone. 
I am quite sure she did not even see me. I 
wanted to stop everything, get out of my 
car and give her a good piece of my mind. 
But I didn’t.

 It took me a few minutes to settle down and 
quiet my nerves and so I decided to go to a 
little café for a cup of coffee. Nothing seems to 
soothe my nerves quicker than a nice hot cup 
of Joe. Let them say what they will, coffee is my 
best friend.

 Fortunately, I was not in a hurry, but it still 
was a situation that irritated me and stirred up 
the grouchy within.

 I was standing in line waiting to order my 
coffee when the lady in front of me was trying 
to figure out what she wanted. I am not sure if 
this person had ever been in a café before, but 
she acted as if she did not know what she was 
doing or what she wanted.

 Then she did something that accented the 
positive in my grouchy.

 “Could I have a sample taste of that coffee?” 
she said to the person behind the counter.

 At first, I did not know what she was saying. 
But he agreed and went back and got a little cup 
and gave her a sample.

 “I’m not sure,” she said quite hesitatingly, 
“can I try another one?” And pointed to one of 
the coffees she was interested in.

 I am absolutely positive that people should 
have the ability to make their own choices. I 
have no problem with that. My choice at that 
moment was to give that woman a good piece 
of my mind.

 But I didn’t.

 Finally, after tasting about 10 different 
coffees, she picked one and finally I was able to 
order my coffee and find a seat and enjoy it.

 I say, “Enjoy it,” but it was rather difficult 
because my irritableness just would not go 
away. After all, there should be some respect for 
the person behind you when you are standing 
in line. Especially, if that person standing in 
line is me.

 As I was sipping my coffee alone in the 
corner, some thoughts began to rattle in 
my head. The main thought emerging was 
that grouchy may be an inherited condition. 
I began thinking of my father and his 
father and unfortunately, I did not know my 
great-grandfather, but the two that I did know 
had a wide streak of grouchy in them. If my 
memory serves me correct, the older they 
got, the more grouchy became predominant. 
So, if grouchy is inherited I am really 
not to blame. Just thinking about that 
made me chuckle a little bit. In fact, I began 
to chuckle so much that my grouchy ran 
away in fear of his life. And so he should. 
As I sat in that café enjoying my 2nd 
cup of coffee, I began evaluating my life. 
I think I have found out why grouchy 
is becoming more dominant in my life. 
Everybody is born with a certain amount 
of “mind.” We can do with that “mind” 
whatever we want to do with it. And so, if I 
begin giving people a “piece of my mind,” I 
am going to diminish my supply of “mind.” 
When the “mind” gets low it introduces 
the level of grouchy. The last phase is 
when a person comes to the point where 
he “loses his mind.” Now, once you lose 
your mind, you can never get it back. 
I am at the grouchy stage and so I need 
to take a little bit of inventory. I have only 
so much “mind” left and I better take care 
of because that is all I got. Whenever I am 
tempted to give somebody a piece of my mind, 
I am going to stop and think it over a little bit. 
Does that person really does serve 
a piece of my “mind?” If I give that 
person a piece of my mind, will I miss it? 
I like what Peter says, “Wherefore gird up the 
loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the 
end for the grace that is to be brought unto you 
at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). 
I am going to protect my mind 
and use it wisely because it is all I got. 
Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family 
of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, 
FL 34483. He lives with his wife, Martha, 
in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-
552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net 
or website www.jamessnyderministries.com.