Science and Faith in Harmony: “The Heavens Declare the Glory of
God”
Anton M. Koekemoer, PhD, BSc
Hubble Astronomer, Space Telescope Science Institute
An MSMC Library Week Event
This event is co-sponsored by CDI, the Kaplan Family
Library, and the Division of Natural Sciences. This is a College
Connection FYE event.
Modern astronomical discoveries reveal ever more amazing views
of our universe, unveiling beautiful nebulae, immense star
clusters, colliding galaxies, and countless other wonders. As we
advance our knowledge about the universe, its immense distances and
timescales reach the limits of what we can grasp, and can lead us
to wonder about the ultimate significance of humanity. While
science is focused on explaining the physical processes observed in
the universe, deeper questions such as the meaning of our existence
may be considered from the perspective of religion; and we each
arrive at our own individual understanding of these questions.
Considering the wonders of the universe, we can appreciate how the
Psalmist was inspired to write: "the heavens declare the glory of
God, and the skies proclaim His handiwork" (Ps. 19:1); the
scriptures also exclaim: "what is humankind, that Thou art mindful
of us?" (Ps. 8:4). Yet the scriptures also reveal how precious we
all are to God, as well as His eternal love and salvation for each
of us individually. In this talk, research astrophysicist Dr. Anton
M. Koekemoer highlights some of the exciting astronomical
discoveries about our universe, including distant galaxies, black
holes, giant clouds of star formation, and other discoveries
revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories. He
also presents the Hubble images that were used in the beautiful
illustrations in the Saint John’s Bible, and shares some personal
reflections, from his own perspective as a Christian, on how our
current scientific understanding of this wonderful universe can be
reconciled in harmony with religion, for those who are of faith, to
enrich our spiritual lives and our relationship with God, and
deepen our appreciation of the universe in which we live.
About the speaker
Dr. Anton M. Koekemoer is a research
astrophysicist with the Hubble Space Telescope at the Space
Telescope Science Institute, and has been on its scientific staff
for almost 20 years. He has also held research positions at Leiden
University, at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, and at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center, and was in charge of one of the
imaging cameras on the Hubble Space Telescope for several years.
His main research interests include the formation and growth of
galaxies and black holes in the early universe and across cosmic
time. He has authored/coauthored over 450 astrophysics research
papers in refereed scientific journals, in addition to other papers
and conference proceedings, has edited several astrophysics
conferences and books, and he was recently ranked by
Thomson-Reuters among the world’s highest impact scientists of the
past decade in astronomy and astrophysics. He has led the Hubble
imaging work for large cosmological projects such as the Hubble
Ultra Deep Field, and is continuing active research on several more
recent and ongoing large projects with Hubble. He is also a
committed Christian whose faith plays a central role in his life,
and he considers the universe to be one of the ways in which God
has chosen to reveal His glory to humankind, so that it is possible
for our Christian faith to be reconciled in harmony with our
scientific understanding of the universe.
View the complete schedule of MSMC Library Week programs and
events.
ENTER
LIBRARY WEEK CONTESTS & WIN GREAT PRIZES!
