A galaxy cluster
“Have you grasped the celestial laws?"(Job 38:33,The New Jerusalem Bible)
"In asking Job that question, God was helping His troubled servant to understand just how little humans really know in comparison with the limitless wisdom of the Creator. What do you think of that comparison? " — THE WATCHTOWER ˙ JULY 1, 2011 24.
The Earth, Globe East“There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth, . . .”
"It is remarkable that the Bible calls the earth a circle, or sphere, as the Hebrew word may also be translated. Aristotle and other Greeks of ancient times theorized that the earth is spherical, but this question was still debated millenniums later." (ibid. p. 25)
M74 galaxy— M74 galaxy is about the same size as our own Milky Way galaxy and like our Milky Way, M74 is classified a spiral galaxy.“ . . .who is stretching out the heavens just as a fine gauze, who spreads them out like a tent in which to dwell."—Isaiah 40:22.
"It is not hard to imagine such a man as the prophet Isaiah looking at the starry sky draped elegantly overhead and finding that the image of a tent stretched out was remarkably apt. He might even have noted the similarity between the Milky Way and the appearance of “ fine gauze." " (ibid. p. 25)
M45 Star cluster—The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters
Isaiah 40:26: “Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name."
The stars are well likened to an army, which may comprise vast numbers of individual soldiers whose Commander knows each by name. (ibid. p. 28)
Messier 64 (M64) galaxy—Gravity holds heavenly bodies in place
Job said about Jehovah: “He is . . . hanging the earth upon nothing." (Job 26:7)
To Aristotle, the heavenly bodies were attached to invisible spheres. This idea long appealed to most men of science. Some 3,000 years after Job's day physicist Sir Isaac Newton said that gravity caused an attraction between the heavenly bodies. (ibid. p. 26)
Supernova 1993J exploding (artist's impression)
Psalm 102:25-27 reads: "The heavens are the work of your hands. They themselves will perish, . . . Just like clothing you will replace them."
This psalm suggests that the stars are as suject to decay as anything on the earth. European astronomers in the 16th century C.E. observed a supernova, the spectacular explosion of a star. Scientists have since observed that stars may die violently in such explosions or burn out slowly or even collapse on themselves. However, astronomers have also observed new star forming in 'stellar nurseries', clouds of gas enriched by the exposions of old stars. Hence, the Bible writer's image of clothing wearing out and being replaced is entirely appropriate.
In the 195h century, scientist William Thomson, also known as Lord Keilvin, discovered the second law of thermodynamics, which explains why, over time, natural systems tend to decay and break down. One factor that inspirred him to reach this conclusion was a careful study of Psalm 102:25-27. (ibid. p. 28)
Mystic Mountain, turbulent cosmic pinnacle within a stellar nursery, the Carina Nebula
"The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image", "captures the chaotic activity atop a pillar of gas and dust, three light-years tall, which is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. The pillar is also being assaulted from within, as infant stars buried inside it fire off jets of gas that can be seen streaming from towering peaks.
"This turbulent cosmic pinnacle lies within a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula, located 7500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina. The image celebrates the 20th anniversary of Hubble's launch and deployment into an orbit around the Earth.
"Scorching radiation and fast winds (streams of charged particles) from super-hot newborn stars in the nebula are shaping and compressing the pillar, causing new stars to form within it. Streamers of hot ionised gas can be seen flowing off the ridges of the structure, and wispy veils of gas and dust, illuminated by starlight, float around its towering peaks. The denser parts of the pillar are resisting being eroded by radiation." — www.spacetelescope.org
"Have new findings rendered God’s question to Job obsolete? Or does such progress actually furnish proof that Jehovah is the Author of the laws of the heavens?
"The Bible contains fascinating statements that help to answer such questions. Granted, the Bible does not claim to be a science book. However, when it comments on the starry heavens, what it says is amazingly accurate and often far ahead of its time." (w 7 /1, 2011 p. 24 art.cit.)
Photo Credits: NASA/ESA, M.J. Jee and H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University); NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScl); ESA and Justyn R. Maund (University of Cambridge);NASA, ESA, M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
