Our priceless treasures
Just one day after the Earth passed its closest point to the Sun in its orbit , its
Skyward perihelion , the American Astronomical Society was having its annual meeting online , the United States Congress was validating the results of the 2020 national election , and Wendee and I were settling in for a civics lesson about the way the United States Government works . The day did not turn out that way . by David
Shortly before noon , on our
Levy television set a news ticker appeared . It announced that two buildings in Library of Congress ( LC ), the James Madison , and quickly afterwards the Adams and Jefferson buildings , were being evacuated . That news sent a chill through me . The LC is one of the finest libraries in the entire world . It contains more than 170 million books , of which more than thirty are books I wrote entirely or at least a foreword . It also includes all of the more than two hundred “ Star Trails ” columns I wrote for Sky and Telescope magazine between 1988 and 2008 , and dozens more I wrote for other magazines and journals . Only the British library , with over 200 million books , is larger than the Library of Congress . This event was personal for me . A few minutes later , when the entire Capitol complex was stormed , it was personal for all of us . All of us had reactions to this , but in addition to the feelings I shared with most of you , I had an additional feeling — specifically about the library . How many books does it take to make a library ? When I was a child in 1963 , a teacher gave the best answer I ’ ve ever heard : “ two books .” For me , a library — any library — is every bit as priceless as a dark sky . The wisdom of the ages is contained in each library- from the LC to a child ’ s collection . I have never gone into a library without feeling better when I exited . The idea that this magnificent collection was threatened that day was terrifying .
COURTESY OF David Levy
A look at the main entrance and House side of the U . S . Capitol taken from under the steps on the Senate side .
I have read many books over my lifetime , from The Cat in the Hat to my boxed set of Lord of the the Rings . One small treasure , Jene Lyon ’ s Golden book Our Sun and the Worlds Around It , began a lifetime of stargazing . That gem , by the way , also lives in the LC . What is more , I have never encountered a really bad book . When an author places her or his thoughts on paper in a book , that book immortalizes those thoughts . I hope that Capitol Hill and the Library of Congress are never threatened again . They belong to we the people , and stand beautifully in Washington , D . C . to govern us , teach us , and encourage us to follow our dreams and reach for the stars .
n n n David H Levy is arguably one of the most enthusiastic and famous amateur astronomers of our time . Although he has never taken a class in astronomy , he has written over three dozen books , has written for three astronomy magazines and has appeared on television programs featured on the Discovery and the Science Channels . Among David ’ s accomplishments are 23 comet discoveries , the most famous being Shoemaker-Levy 9 that collided with Jupiter in 1994 , a few hundred shared asteroid discoveries , an Emmy for the documentary Three Minutes to Impact , five honorary doctorates in Science and a PhD which combines astronomy and English Literature . Currently , he is the editor of the web magazine Sky ’ s Up !, has a monthly column , Skyward , in our local Vail Voice paper . David continues to hunt for comets and asteroids , and lectures worldwide .
6