Art, Poetry, Music, and Nature for the New Year
Saturday, January 2 2021

Word

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8:9

Nature

https://kuc.org/wp-content/uploads/Jan-02-e1609586827307.jpg

Quadrantids Meteor Shower

Long ago, an asteroid broke apart and left a trail of bits and particles around our sun. Now at the beginning of every year our planet passes through that dust and debris, and little bits of that asteroid collide with our atmosphere creating fiery colorful streaks and explosions of light and color, that fireball into view. We call this annual festival of shooting stars the Quadrantids Meteor Shower and it happens in the early dawn of January 3 (tomorrow!). There won’t be a great view in the suburbs in 2021 because of the waxing moonbeam, but bring a sleeping bag out to a dark spot like these Michigan “Dark Sky” locations (or, astronomers suggest, anywhere out west) and watch the all-natural pre-dawn firework show. Last year NASA astronaut Christina Koch said the shooting stars could even be seen from space. As we contemplate the minutiae of our own lives, and our human-centric New Year’s resolutions, this astrological event reminds us of our place in the universe, a vast and ancient starscape where we sense the primordial durability of God’s presence hovering there.

Prayer
God of the stars at night, bless us and our place on this swiftly tilting planet. Amen.