There’s a star in the constellation Auriga named for my parents. We honored them nearly 40 years ago through the International Star Registry. We didn’t choose the location, but it couldn’t have worked out much better. Auriga, the Charioteer, is easily spotted and its main star, Capella, is one of the brightest in the sky. For all of December it’ll be overhead and a bit to the East around 9:00 p.m. I’d be hard pressed to confirm that I’ve ever actually seen my parents’ star, but gazing at Capella captures the emotional connection.
According to the professionals, Capella is considerably larger and brighter than the Sun. It also has a companion quite close by. The two orbit each other about every 100 days. Unfortunately, it takes an excessively powerful telescope to show their separation; to the average observer, there is but a single, luminous, quite beautiful, 600 million-year-old star dazzling us from a distance of over 40 light years away.
Capella doesn’t need any tagalongs. But, not far away are several other jewels of the night sky. If you’re observing at 9 p.m., to Capella’s southeast is the mighty Orion. Directly east is Gemini. To the west is the spectacular Perseus star cluster. There to the southwest is the incomparable Seven Sisters, the Pleiades. They’re all naked eye sights on a dark evening. They seem near one another, but it’s just an illusion.
Astronomers have various means to determine size, distance and age, to list just a few of the properties associated with stars. I marvel at the methodology though it always exceeds my grasp. The wonderful thing is that these approaches to identifying characteristics are accepted across the board. We can all agree that one should certainly question the findings of one individual, no matter how brilliant. Verification by way of repeated measurement by trusted sources is a core tenet in all of science. For astronomers, at this time, there really isn’t much doubt about the accuracy behind the statistics. The math works.
Edgar Rice Burroughs of Tarzan fame wrote in one of his earliest books: “I shall have to believe even though I don’t understand.” My thoughts exactly. Though the physics and the engineering are often too advanced for me, the sheer number of experts who vouch for them is enough for me to believe the statistics without hesitation.
A coworker once asked why I was so keen to focus on such things as light years, multiple star systems and the age of the universe. The insinuation, I felt, was that I did it as a bit of showmanship. Not even close. To me, these facts establish not just my belief in the rigor of the research but, more importantly, that it is liberating to accept well-established science. To do otherwise seems to serve nothing but chaos.
Science has been under attack for a number of years. People question the existence, as well as the root causes, of climate change. We question the doctors and chemists who have provided us with life-saving medicines. Some even challenge whether we actually have sent spacecraft to the Moon and to Mars. There are conspiracy theories and naysayers for just about everything.
That’s why I’ll never forget taking my parents outside all those years ago and pointing to Auriga. “You’re right up there somewhere,” I said. “Which one?” they asked. “I don’t know,” I responded. But, there was never a doubt. I had the coordinates. If I really wanted to push it I could go to an observatory and get someone to zero in on “Lillian and Jack Meckler.” As sure as they were standing in front of me, there was a star in Auriga designated with their names. They’re up there by Capella. I have today, just as I did back then, more than faith in science. I believe it.