Don’t just be in awe
Cosmic events such as this tell us that there is a grand purpose to our existence
LAST Tuesday, Malaysians and others elsewhere who were within the lunar path had a chance to see the full moon at its closest point to the Earth. The astronomers call this point the perigee. Supermoon was just a full moon nearest to Earth until one Richard Nolle named it such in 1979. Another Supermoon will come our way on March 21. This and other cosmic events tell us one thing: we are not the only creation in the universe. There are other life forms in the vast expanse of the cosmos. Some of them we have been witness to on Earth. Others remain unobservable. Science tell us that the universe is 13.8 billion years old, but such things are a good guess at best. There are lots more that remain beyond the ken of scientists. The good news is that they have not given up wanting to know them.
We laymen must not give up, either. Malaysian teachers must use this and other cosmic phenomena to enthuse our young minds into science and maths. Phenomena such as Supermoons, equinoxes, comets and other such extraterrestrial spectacles must not just be seen as mere events in the night sky. There is considerable science behind it. Take the case of Supermoon. Firstly, its name. Many astronomers cringe when people talk of Supermoon. Perigee full moon is more to the point. Because, there is nothing super about the moon. It remains the same at perigee or appogee, the furthest point from Earth. It just has the appearance of being bigger or smaller, says Dr Noordin Ahmad, former director-general of the National Space Agency.
There is also plenty of folklore in such extraterrestrial events that science rejects. One such is that a Supermoon causes volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Our students must be made aware of this myth. Blame Supermoon’s fables on its astrological pedigree made possible by Nolle and his ilk. What the Supermoon does, though, is cause higher-than-usual perigean tides because of its gravitational pull.
Laymen we may be, but we must not view such nightly spectacles as mere phenomena. If we do, we miss the point of it all. Surely, a more profound purpose lies behind the bright sky. Our teachers can help our students discover it by guiding their leap from the mundane to the elysian. Asking deep questions about the place of planets in the cosmic scheme of things is a good place to start. Starting from the Earth up, the teachers can aid our students make sense of planets, galaxies and stars. This is a stellar path to science and maths. Because, getting to know the universe helps answer the question: what is really going on up there?
There is a grand lesson here for humanity, too. We may be an insignificant dot compared to the mighty universe but our purpose here is larger than the spot we are described as. All the science above teaches us this: that there are other creations here and elsewhere. But first we must get to know humankind here.
Malaysian teachers must use this and other cosmic phenomena to enthuse our young minds into science and maths.