National Philosophy of Education

Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving a high level of personal well being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, society and the nation at large.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Adorned Nearest Skies

 And, indeed, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights.. (67:5)

Tomorrow, as NASA advertises, we could see wonderful view of Venus and Jupiter at the western night sky with unaided eyes.Three clear celestial objects (including the moon) are visible if the sky is clear. I'm really waiting for this.

Screen capture of Stellarium software: This is how tomorrow's western night sky at my place will look like. At 20:04:48, on Sunday, March 25.
Weirdo I am?:
I love to observe the sky since I was in primary school. Teachers told me that ancient people used the stars to guide their routes. It was amazing for me to know that those twinkling in the sky can really help us to find the point that we want to go. 

I don't know why some people find that observing the night sky (or stargazing) is kind of weird thing to do. Some friends of mine think that I have been very much influenced by science fiction movies such as Star Wars (I admit that I love the movie but it is not the main reason).

As sama' Ad Dunya:
The reason is the excerpt from the Quran above. The description on how God adorned the nearest earth sky with billions of stars amazes me. As long as we can see the stars, it is the nearest to us and beyond that perimeter should be another level of the heaven. This indicates that we are too far from reaching the first heaven. As far as I know, with the available modern technology, at the present time we have never reached the nearest star.