Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 6, 2016

14

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 6, 2016 


CERES: CELEBRATING 215 YEARS OF PLANETARY DISCOVERY

New Year’s Day, 1801, the dawn of the 19th 
century, was a historic moment for astronomy, 
and for a space mission called Dawn more than 200 
years later. That night, Giuseppe Piazzi pointed his 
telescope at the sky and observed a distant object 
that we now know as dwarf planet Ceres.

 Today, NASA’s Dawn mission allows us to see 
Ceres in exquisite detail. From the images Dawn 
has taken over the past year, we know Ceres is a 
heavily cratered body with diverse features on its 
surface that include a tall, cone-shaped mountain 
and more than 130 reflective patches of material 
that is likely salt. But on that fateful evening 
in 1801, Piazzi wasn’t sure what he was seeing 
when he noticed a small, faint light through his 
telescope.

 “When Piazzi discovered Ceres, exploring it 
was beyond imagination. More than two centuries 
later, NASA dispatched a machine on a cosmic 
journey of more than 3 billion miles to reach the 
distant, mysterious world he glimpsed,” said Marc 
Rayman, mission director and chief engineer 
for Dawn at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 
Pasadena, California.

 Piazzi was the director of the Palermo 
Observatory in Sicily, Italy, which has collected 
documents and instruments from the astronomer’s 
time, and published a booklet on the discovery of 
Ceres. According to the observatory, Piazzi had 
been working on a catalog of star positions on 
January 1, 1801, when he noticed something whose 
“light was a little faint and colored as Jupiter.” He 
looked for it again on subsequent nights and saw 
that its position changed slightly.

 What was this object? Piazzi wrote to fellow 
astronomers Johann Elert Bode and Barnaba 
Oriani to tell them he had discovered a comet.

 “I have presented this star as a comet, but owing 
to its lack of nebulosity, and to its motion being so 
slow and rather uniform, I feel in the heart that it 
could be something better than a comet, perhaps. 
However, I should be very careful in passing this 
conjecture to the public,” Piazzi wrote to Oriani.

 By July 1801, Piazzi had calculating the 
object’s orbit and made public his observations, 
announcing it as a planet, and naming it “Ceres”—
after the Roman goddess of agriculture, was also 
the patron deity of Sicily, where Piazzi then lived 
and worked.

 The news was especially interesting to Bode 
because he had championed the Titius-Bode 
hypothesis: that the positions of planets in our 
solar system follow a specific pattern, which 
predicts each planet’s distance from the Sun. 
The pattern demanded that there be a planet, yet 
undiscovered, between Mars and Jupiter—and 
this is exactly where Ceres orbited.

 In March 1802, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias 
Olbers discovered a second, similar object: Pallas. 
William Herschel, discoverer of Uranus, then 
wrote an essay proposing that both Ceres and 
Pallas represented an entirely new class of objects, 
which he named “asteroids.”

 The door had opened for many more asteroids 
to be observed. The discoveries of Juno in 1804 and 
Vesta in 1807 reinforced Herschel’s notion that 
asteroids are a class of their own. Today, we know 
there are hundreds of thousands of asteroids in the 
main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

 Now, as we commemorate the 215th anniversary 
of Ceres’ discovery this month, Dawn is observing 
the dwarf planet from its lowest orbit ever: 240 
miles from the surface. The many craters and 
other features that Piazzi could not see with his 
telescope are being named after agricultural deities 
or festivals, extending the theme that Piazzi began 
with the name “Ceres.”

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


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

REVIEWING ONE’S LIFE

LOOKING FOR MONEY IN ALL 

THE WRONG POCKETS


[Nyerges is the author of 
several books, including 
“Extreme Simplicity,” 
“How to Survive 
Anywhere,” and others. 
He can be reached at Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 
90041, or www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com, where 
you can also view his blogs.] 

Since 1977, I have done something called a Birthday 
Run, taught to me by my mentor as a better and 
more uplifting way to commemorate one’s birthday. 
Originally, I would go to a local track and run one 
lap per year as I recalled the highlights of that year. 
Some years I have run alone, and some years I have 
run with friends who chose to come and support 
the run. I have run in the dark, in the rain, in the 
fog, and on sunny days. One or two years I did 
not run at all because I was sick, and it wasn’t the 
same when I ran a week later. And over the years, 
my “laps” have grown shorter, otherwise I would 
be running those slow laps for several hours and 
would have trouble walking for days after. 

 This year I ran alone – other than an occasional 
hawk and one coyote -- and I found my lap in the 
bottomlands of the Arroyo Seco. It was quiet and 
eerily peaceful as I continued the cycles through my 
life, replaying the mental movie of each year after 
each year, going to school, moving around, and my 
interactions with various people. 

 My mind began to look at the financial side of 
my life, and perhaps, more specifically, the non-
financial side to my life. Perhaps this was because 
of the recent PowerBall game where so many were 
talking about nothing else but what they’d do if 
they suddenly had all that money. I realized that I 
too could do so much more, so much more quickly, 
if I had a few spare million in the bank, maybe. 

 As I ran through my years, I realized that I 
operated mostly in financial ignorance, and in a 
financial fairy-land. Yes, money was always an 
element, and yes, money was often the limiting 
factor in so many endeavors. Money was like 
oxygen – you just had to have it. But I think, like 
most people, my school and family discussions 
were wholly insufficient as any sort of real financial 
training for dealing with the real world. I moved 
from activity to activity based on my areas of 
interest, and when money was needed, I got it – 
somehow – or I curtailed the activity. 

 But because of my financial ignorance, I found 
other ways to pursue my goals, ways that seemed 
more difficult at the time, but which were actually 
more wholistic ways to pursue my life’s interests. 
Without a car, I often bicycled, and formed 
friendships so that several of us could travel 
together. If I wanted to attend workshops or field 
trips, I learned that I could convince my friends 
that they’d want to attend also, and invariably, 
someone had a car. 

 And I discovered and lived my life utilizing so 
many of the low-cost and free benefits of our modern 
society: buses, public libraries, public recreation 
centers, free hiking in the local mountains, free 
lectures, clubs and organizations where people just 
got together and did things. Eventually, somewhat 
fortuitously and almost by accident, I was a squatter 
for a year and a half on an acre property on the 
edge of Los Angeles. It was quite an adventure. I 
learned how to live well cheaply, and I learned how 
to solicit individual investors in my book and other 
projects. 

I am sure I would have done a lot of this very 
differently had I been born into wealth, but as I 
looked back, I realized that I learned some very 
important lessons by simply finding solutions to 
life’s problems without being able to just “throw 
money at it.” 

 That was one theme that went through my mind 
this year. Another was relationships. 

 By my age, one has had many relationships, 
and many types of relationships. In my mind, a 
mental movie played of the various people in my 
life and how I treated them: mother, father, friends, 
teachers, girl friends, wives, business associates. 
When I do this annual run, I am looking for what 
I did right, but mostly what I did wrong so that I 
can do it better next time around. I felt great pain 
at the many things I did wrong as an arrogant 
child talking back to my parents and not obeying. 
It doesn’t matter that others were worse – I was 
evaluating myself only. And no, my parents were 
not perfect either. But I felt great joy that I was 
able to take precious time in my mother’s, and my 
father’s, final days and become their friend and 
speak to them as equals. It was very challenging, 
but very fulfilling. 

 I also spent a lot of time reviewing my 22 married 
years with Dolores – the trips, our animals, our 
self-sufficient home, our accomplishments, our 
fights, our disagreements, our agreements. We had 
our ups and downs, and though I was not perfect, I 
realized I could not have been perfect. I was living 
life, trying to make ends meet, and trying to be a 
good husband with all the challenges of life that 
conspire against us. In the end, when Dolores was 
dying, I was able to experience a rare time of caring 
for her when she could do so little. We became 
inseparable, and best friends, and it was as if all 
our conflicts dissolved. And then she died and I felt 
plunged into darkness. And then there were other 
challenges, and tasks, and relationships. 

 I thought about a few very special people who 
I never see anymore, and still felt so blessed that 
we had the time together that we did, and I wished 
each one the greatest happiness. 

 Remember, I tried to recall what was going on 
in my life, year by year as I ran a large lap in the 
sand in the dimming light of the late afternoon. I 
am sure I mixed up some years, but in the end, it is 
the learning that matters. 

 My two lessons were that while money is 
important, and you must earn it, it is a good goal 
to pursue whatever one feels compelled to pursue 
in life without focusing upon money. Yes, it seems 
unrealistic, but it actually can change the quality 
and character of what we do. 

 And secondly, I realized that relationships are 
the most important aspect of life, and you have a 
good life when you maintain good relationships, 
however you do that. This does not mean you are 
always laughing and happy. It means that you deal 
with others honestly and with the integrity that the 
close ones in your life deserve. 

 I know I have not been perfect, and I feel blessed 
to have been guided to begin this birthday tradition 
nearly 40 years ago. In just a few hours, I review my 
life and tried to figure out if what I have done was 
worth doing. By honestly assessing my self in that 
way, it helps me to determine what is worth doing 
– and not doing – this year, and into the future.

An incident happened this past week in which I am 
still scratching my head. Have you ever known you 
had something, but for the life of you, you could not 
find it? I will accede to the fact that occasionally, I 
do have a streak of absent-mindedness running 
through me. At times, I wish it would just walk.

 I was fairly certain I had an extra $20 in one of 
my pant’s pockets. It was what I affectionately refer 
to as my “mad Money.” My wife would be mad if 
she knew I had it. I do not remember where it came 
from but my real problem was, I could not find 
those pants.

 Usually, if I find money in my pant’s pocket there 
is only one explanation. I’m wearing somebody’s 
pants, but not mine. The truth is, my pants rarely see 
any extra money. If there is an occasion when I do 
have money in my pocket, my pants get all excited 
and wrinkly.

 Only this was different. I distinctly remember 
putting a $20 bill in one of my pant’s pockets and 
thinking what I could do with it. But now, I cannot 
find it. I knew I had an extra $20. I distinctly remember 
putting it somewhere. I looked everywhere... maybe 
I should have looked somewhere.

 With an aimless look on my face, more aimless 
than normal, I wandered the house in search of 
the missing $20. I tried to act inconspicuous so 
the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage would not 
discover what I was doing.

 Obviously, no Emmy award will come my way 
because my acting inconspicuous was a complete 
failure.

 “What are you looking for?” My wife queried. 
“Nothing,” I stammered.

 “When you find it, let me know. I really don’t 
know what nothing looks like.”

 Ha. Ha. Ha. Sometimes she thinks she is a 
comedian. I was not laughing. If I find that money, 
the joke will be on her. Then we will see who is 
laughing.

 I had two fears facing me at this point. First, she 
could have found the money and was waiting for 
me to admit that I actually had some extra money. 
This would invite a great deal of grief on top of my 
balding head.

 Second, if I told her I was looking for money she 
would want to know where I got extra money. If I 
cannot remember where the money is, how in the 
world am I going to remember where it came from?

 Then, she would want to know how much more 
money I had misplaced somewhere in the house. 
Actually, I want to know that myself.

 Such interrogation from her borders on water 
boarding. If the FBI wants to learn a thing or two 
about torturing people, they could learn an awful 
lot from her. She can torture a person and not lay 
a glove on them. Of course it is not her glove I am 
worried about, it is her evil eye that goes through a 
person, me in particular, like a laser beam.

 My wife always knows when I am lying. My lips 
are moving.

 Getting back to the missing $20. I could offer to 
split it with her if she would help me find it, which 
would leave me with $10. $10 in the hand is worth 
more than $20 that I do not know where it is.

 Then, I would have to explain what I needed $10 
for at the time. Christmas is over and her birthday 
and our anniversary are a long way off, so I cannot 
tell her I want to buy her a present.

 I did have plans for that $20. But now, I cannot 
even remember what those plans were. Maybe, if 
I knew what I planned to do with the $20 I might 
remember what I did with it.

 While I was musing on this situation, I discovered 
a correlation between money and love. Without 
love, you end up with a broken heart. Without 
money, you just end up broken.

 Then out of nowhere, and I mean nowhere, an 
idea entered my head. I remembered wearing my 
brown suit when I got $20. I went to my closet, but 
the suit was not there.

 “Have you seen my brown suit?” I asked my wife. 
“Yes,” she said rather absent-mindedly, “I sent it 
to the dry cleaner. Why do you ask?”

 Then, with a little smirk dancing on her face, she 
asked, “You weren’t looking for $20, were you?”

 The only thing I hope is that I do not remember 
where the $20 came from or what I planned to do 
with it. I guess a freshly dry-cleaned suit is worth 
$20.

 Seeking that money reminded me of a verse of 
Scripture. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, 
and his righteousness; and all these things shall be 
added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the 
morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the 
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil 
thereof.” (Matthew 6:33-34 KJV).

 Then another verse. “Seek ye the LORD while he 
may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” 
(Isaiah 55:6 KJV).

 No matter how hard you search for something, if 
it is not there, you will never find it. With God, it is a 
different story. When we truly seek Him, we always 
find Him.

 The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of 
God Fellowship, Ocala, FL. Call him at 352-687-4240 
or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site 
is www.whatafellowship.com.


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