Starry Starry night
Genesis 1:14-18
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.
Genesis 15:5
“Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
I was reading up an online article on Wyoming, the least populated state in America when I chanced upon a night scene. There were multiple stars in the night sky that light up the heavens. I realized I have missed out on this beautiful sight in Singapore because the urban lights are so strong that it is reflected off the night sky, hiding the weak star lights except for a few and the moon.
The first 2 picture shows the effect on urban lights on the night sky and the next 2 photos are the starless night sky from my home
Genesis 1:14-18
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.
Genesis 15:5
“Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
I was reading up an online article on Wyoming, the least populated state in America when I chanced upon a night scene. There were multiple stars in the night sky that light up the heavens. I realized I have missed out on this beautiful sight in Singapore because the urban lights are so strong that it is reflected off the night sky, hiding the weak star lights except for a few and the moon.
The first 2 picture shows the effect on urban lights on the night sky and the next 2 photos are the starless night sky from my home
From http://designtaxi.com/news/354926/What-Urban-Night-Skies-Would-Look-Like-If-Cities-Turn-Off-The-Light/
To illustrate the effect of atmospheric and light pollution, photographer Thierry Cohen has created a stunning collection of pictures that shows what the night skies above major cities would look like if the light is turned off. To construct these breath-taking images, Cohen ventured to wild, deserted places—such as Atacama, the Mojave and the western Sahara—that are situated precisely on the same latitudes as his cities and are free from light pollution. He would then superimpose the night skies captured at these locations—which are the exact same ones that would be appearing in the cities—upon images of darkened city skylines that he had actually shot in daylight. Not only do these photographs show us the beautiful spectacles that city-dwellers miss out on every night, it also reflects on how the “city that never sleeps” disconnects us with the natural world.
To illustrate the effect of atmospheric and light pollution, photographer Thierry Cohen has created a stunning collection of pictures that shows what the night skies above major cities would look like if the light is turned off. To construct these breath-taking images, Cohen ventured to wild, deserted places—such as Atacama, the Mojave and the western Sahara—that are situated precisely on the same latitudes as his cities and are free from light pollution. He would then superimpose the night skies captured at these locations—which are the exact same ones that would be appearing in the cities—upon images of darkened city skylines that he had actually shot in daylight. Not only do these photographs show us the beautiful spectacles that city-dwellers miss out on every night, it also reflects on how the “city that never sleeps” disconnects us with the natural world.
I think living in a city makes one think less about God and creation. City dwellers are surrounded by a man made environment, buildings lights, roads and technology.
We put great value in artificial beauty because we cannot see natural beauty, putting value in being busy and not in peace. So city dwellers have difficulty seeing God in their daily lives Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
So I find it difficult to appreciate these verses
Psalms 8:3-5
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
Matthew 6:28-29
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
Stars in the bible
Genesis 1 tells us why God created the stars in the universe. Stars are to be a cosmic calendar for man, so we may appreciate the flow of time and mark our days. It can difficult to appreciate that God created the vastness of the universe for this sole purpose. But is only shows what He can and will do for man. Thus John 3:16 is more incredible.
God told Abraham in Genesis 15:5 “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And in Genesis 22:17 " I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore."
I realized these were prophetic statements that are still true today. If Abraham was diligent, he could count the stars in the night. There are about 6000 stars visible to the naked eye, 3000 in either the northern or southern celestial hemispheres. That means on a clear night, 3000 stars can be seen. So in the days of the Old Testament, astronomers believed the universe had only 3000 stars. With the invention of telescope, Galileo (1564-1642) could see up to 30000 stars in the night sky. So God compared stars with the sand on the seashore, which then became humanely impossible for Abraham to count.
How about today? Do we with our latest technology know how many stars are there in the universe or how big is our universe?
It turns out that measuring the distance to a star is an interesting problem!
The cosmic distance ladder (also known as the extra galactic distance scale) is a succession of methods by which astronomers determine the distances to celestial objects. The most important fundamental distance measurements comes from trigonometric parallax .
We put great value in artificial beauty because we cannot see natural beauty, putting value in being busy and not in peace. So city dwellers have difficulty seeing God in their daily lives Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
So I find it difficult to appreciate these verses
Psalms 8:3-5
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
Matthew 6:28-29
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
Stars in the bible
Genesis 1 tells us why God created the stars in the universe. Stars are to be a cosmic calendar for man, so we may appreciate the flow of time and mark our days. It can difficult to appreciate that God created the vastness of the universe for this sole purpose. But is only shows what He can and will do for man. Thus John 3:16 is more incredible.
God told Abraham in Genesis 15:5 “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And in Genesis 22:17 " I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore."
I realized these were prophetic statements that are still true today. If Abraham was diligent, he could count the stars in the night. There are about 6000 stars visible to the naked eye, 3000 in either the northern or southern celestial hemispheres. That means on a clear night, 3000 stars can be seen. So in the days of the Old Testament, astronomers believed the universe had only 3000 stars. With the invention of telescope, Galileo (1564-1642) could see up to 30000 stars in the night sky. So God compared stars with the sand on the seashore, which then became humanely impossible for Abraham to count.
How about today? Do we with our latest technology know how many stars are there in the universe or how big is our universe?
It turns out that measuring the distance to a star is an interesting problem!
The cosmic distance ladder (also known as the extra galactic distance scale) is a succession of methods by which astronomers determine the distances to celestial objects. The most important fundamental distance measurements comes from trigonometric parallax .
The Earth's orbit around the sun has a diameter of about 300 million kilometers / 186 million miles. By looking at a star one day and then looking at it again 6 months later, an astronomer can see a difference in the viewing angle for the star. With a little trigonometry, the different angles yield a distance. This technique works for stars within about 400 light years of earth.
In 1989, the satellite Hipparcos was launched primarily for obtaining parallaxes and proper motions of nearby stars. Even so, Hipparcos is only able to measure parallax angles for stars up to about 1,600 light years away and about 100,000 stars. The European Space Agency's Gaia mission, launched in December 2013 can measure a distance of tens of thousands of light-years from earth, seeing up to one billion stars in the Milky way Galaxy. This amounts to about < 1 per cent of stars in our galaxy.
Our milk way galaxy is about 100,000 light years in diameter and 10,00 light years thick with up to 200 billion stars. And there are billions of other galaxies in the observable universe.
So we don’t really know how many stars are there in the universe or how big our universe is. But God knows.
Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
Psalms 147:4
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
So here is a mind twister. Should we interpret God’s promise to Abraham in a mathematically literal way?
Stars in the universe = sand on the seashore = descendants of Abraham?
Reference
1. How are astonomers able to measure how far away a star is? http://science.howstuffworks.com/question224.htm
2. Wiki Parallax http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax
3. Wiki Cosmic Distance ladder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder
4. European Space Agency Gaia http://sci.esa.int/gaia/
In 1989, the satellite Hipparcos was launched primarily for obtaining parallaxes and proper motions of nearby stars. Even so, Hipparcos is only able to measure parallax angles for stars up to about 1,600 light years away and about 100,000 stars. The European Space Agency's Gaia mission, launched in December 2013 can measure a distance of tens of thousands of light-years from earth, seeing up to one billion stars in the Milky way Galaxy. This amounts to about < 1 per cent of stars in our galaxy.
Our milk way galaxy is about 100,000 light years in diameter and 10,00 light years thick with up to 200 billion stars. And there are billions of other galaxies in the observable universe.
So we don’t really know how many stars are there in the universe or how big our universe is. But God knows.
Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
Psalms 147:4
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
So here is a mind twister. Should we interpret God’s promise to Abraham in a mathematically literal way?
Stars in the universe = sand on the seashore = descendants of Abraham?
Reference
1. How are astonomers able to measure how far away a star is? http://science.howstuffworks.com/question224.htm
2. Wiki Parallax http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax
3. Wiki Cosmic Distance ladder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder
4. European Space Agency Gaia http://sci.esa.int/gaia/
Article 1st published on 8 Jun 2014
by Benjamin Cheah
by Benjamin Cheah