MELBOURNE — The 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote: "Two things fill the heart with ever renewed and increasing awe and reverence, the more often and more steadily we meditate upon them: the starry firmament above and the moral law within."

This year, the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first use of a telescope, has been declared the International Year of Astronomy, so this seems a good time to ponder Kant's first source of "awe and reverence."

Indeed, the goal of the commemoration — to help the world's citizens "rediscover their place in the universe" — has the incidental benefit of distracting us from nasty things like swine flu and the global financial crisis. What does astronomy tell us about "the starry firmament above"?