January 7

I sometimes come across things that capture my fancy for no particular reason.  For instance, I found out that it was on this date in 1610 that Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day.  I have always had a mild fascination with Galileo.  I have this picture in my study

Galileo and Viviani by Tito Lessi

So, the mention of Galileo caught my eye.  It is remarkable what has happened in astronomy in the last several years.  This is what Galileo saw in 1610:

This is an image of the same bodies captured by Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby of Jupiter in late February 2007.

My takeaway, aside from the breathtaking nature of the images, is that our understanding is always changing.  It is supreme arrogance to assume that we know all there is to know about anything.  This applies to astronomy, or theology, or life.

I hope to keep my eyes open.