Cosmically speaking...

It has been a little cooler outside for running.  Today was absolutely perfect!  The right temperature, humidity and breeze.  The great news is that deer fly season seems to be almost over!  I don't want to say that too loudly, lest those little winged devils hear me, of course.  As always, the good and the bad seem to go together. It also seems that the fireflies are waning as well. Last night the monthly 24" McMath telescope was in fine viewing form at Peach Mountain.  This is a monthly event, dependent on a new moon so that there is a dark sky, and no clouds.  Last month there were too many clouds, but fireflies made up for it by putting on a spectacular show.  This month there weren't many fireflies, but happy astronomy buffs, including me, were able to see star clusters, nebula, galaxies, and even a comet through numerous scopes, as well as 22 satellites and 7 shooting stars.


I've read a lot about the "runner's high", thought to be caused in large part by endorphins, among other factors.  I know that when I'm on a long run I experience what has been phrased nicely by Sarah Willett, "On almost every run, and certainly the long ones, there are periods of contentment or reflection when one is on automatic pilot and the terrain goes past unnoticed."  I also experience this same contentment and reflection when staring off into space, literally, at objects hundreds of light years away.  I wonder, What happened when the light reaching my eyes left its source?  How did we come to be in this place, and time, and is the recent scuttlebutt about Einstein's theory needing some more thought going to pan out?  Generally speaking, my endorphin epiphanies are a little more terrestrial, but it is a good idea for all of us to periodically take some moments to think of life on a bigger plane.

Einstein's Theory of Relativity

Até amanhã... 
7/31/11 - 2.0 miles | 22 mins | 5.0 mph | 213 kcal