Subj:  Introduction                          94-04-18 12:20:21 EDT
From:  Joe Uhrig

Throughout history astronomical events have had profound effects on the human psyche and have often assumed powerful mythological and religious forms.  Eclipses , comets, novas have all been portents of change, doom, and mystery.    Most well know is the Star of Bethelhem which while not found by modern astronomy is a very powerful religious symbol.  Even modern science fiction has had an influence on our collective perception of astronomical events.

With the upcoming collision of the comet Shoemaker/Levy with the planet Jupiter, I'd like to start a discussion here on your perspective, as astronomers, on what this means to you and how you think this event will be more widely interpreted.  For example the movies  2001 and 2010 from my perspective seem to have been so widely embraced because they tapped into energy residing deep within an inner symbol system.  The comparisons between this upcoming event and those movies are already apparent in the technical discussions here in this forum.  

By way of introduction, I'm an occasional visitor to this forum, having been interested in astronomy since age 12 when I got my first 60mm refractor... with 450x... hah  :-)  I'm an engineer by training and a programmer by profession.   I have a interest in finding connections between metaphysical themes and hard science.  Sometimes successful, sometimes not.  

I'd like to hear your perspectives.

So let me start with the one that I suspect is in the back of everyone's mind. The physics of the Shoemaker/Levy encounter seems fairly clear.  I'm certaintly not expecting any changes to the planet Earth or the formation of a second sun as suggested in 2010.  

Still from a purely metaphysical viewpoint it's difficult to resist the notion,  that maybe, just maybe, someone's waking the baby.    

 



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