Friday May 21, 2021 is Endangered Species Day!

Learn about threatened and endangered species and how you can help them.

Because of the pandemic, most events and activities, including a K through 12 art contest, will be held online. Learn more at:
www.endangered.org/campaigns/endangered-species-day/.

From Pantheist Vision we read:

Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson observes that Margaret Burbridge, born on this day in 1919, gave us "the greatest gift of astrophysics to civilization in the 20th century," proving that we are largely made of stardust.  In 1957, she was the lead author of a landmark scientific paper on the origin of chemical elements, showing that most elements are forged by thermonuclear reactions within stars, in a process now called stellar nucleosynthesis.  This includes elements such as carbon that make up plants and animals, oxygen in the atmosphere, and gold and silver mined from the ground.  She was considered one of the foremost astronomers in the world, and long regarded as a trailblazer for women in the field, well known for her work opposing discrimination against women in astronomy.

Williamina Fleming may be an unfamiliar name to many of us, but this astronomer (1857-1911) has a fascinating story, a woman in what was predominantly a "man's world" in terms of occupation.  Learn more from PBS by clicking here.
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We have two occasions to celebrate today.
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First, Happy Pi Day!  Yes, it's 3/14.  I guess a lot of people celebrate by eating actual pie, but in reality, Pi is everywhere!  Learn more  about the "cosmic piece of Pi" from this NASA site by clicking here. 
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Throughout the course of his life, physicist Albert Einstein, the publisher of the theory of relativity, affirmed his belief in pantheism, a theological doctrine based on the work of 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza.
When asked by the prominent American Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein if Einstein believed in God in a telegram dated April 25, 1929, he responded that he followed a different doctrine.
“I believe in Spinoza’s God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind,” Einstein replied.
Generally speaking, pantheism identifies God with the universe or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.

(photo from the Darwin Day Facebook page)

​From Pantheist Vision we read:  "This famous theorist of evolution was born in 1809.  "Darwin Day," also celebrated as "Evolution Sunday" on the nearest Sunday to the 12th, gives us the opportunity to honor the processes of natural selection which makes all life on Earth."
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(photo from Britannica.com)