Archive for the 'Space' Category

What Was the Star of Bethlehem?

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Star of Bethlehem

What was the Star of Bethlehem? There have been many attempts over the years to identify this star. Here are the four most common explanations:

  1. A comet: The early church father Origen was the first to suggest that the star may really have been a comet. Halley’s Comet made an appearance in 12 B.C., but that is much too early for Christ’s birth. Another comet appeared for about seventy days in March and April of 5 B.C. That is closer to the time frame of Christ’s birth, but it does not explain the miraculous movement of the star toward Bethlehem. Also, comets were generally considered bad omens rather than bearers of good news.
  2. A conjunction of planets: Others suggest that the star was a conjunction of planets. Johannes Kepler, one of the fathers of modern astronomy, pointed to the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C. (later joined by Mars in February of 6 B.C.). However, the timing is still not right, nor does it explain the movement of the star. Also, planetary conjunctions are relatively brief events, lasting at the most for several nights and in their most compact configurations for only a few hours.
  3. Planetary Conjunction | Star of Bethlehem | Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn as they would have appeared over the western horizon in the constellation Pisces during Feburary of 6 B.C.
    (Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn as they would have appeared over the western horizon in the constellation Pisces during Feburary of 6 B.C.)

  4. A supernova: Kepler preferred a different explanation – that the Magi saw a star that had gone supernova. A supernova is basically an exploding star. It is a spectacular event as the star suddenly flares up in brilliance and maintains that brilliance over a period of time due to a series of internal explosions. The last supernova that occurred in our own Milky Way galaxy took place in 1604. The star was so bright you could see it in the daytime. The ancients sometimes got comets and novas confused. They often called novas “comets without a tail.” There are reports of a tailless comet in the year 4 B.C. which may actually have been a nova. The timing is close, but once again it does not account for the movement of the star.
  5. A manifestation of God’s glory: Some suggest that the star was a manifestation of God’s glory, similar to the shining cloud that led the Israelites through the wilderness, except higher in the sky. The advantage of this suggestion is that the cloud in the desert is an actual example from the Bible of a shining object that moved and stopped and guided those who followed. This is a good possibility, but then you have to wonder why the Magi called it a star. Perhaps that was the only word they had available to describe what they were seeing.

We cannot really explain the Star of Bethlehem, but when all is said and done, we have something better than an explanation. We have a mystery. We have a miracle. And the miracle of the Star of Bethlehem is one of the many wonders of the Christmas story that draws our hearts to worship the Lord each Christmas season. What do you think about the Star of Bethlehem?

This post was adapted from part of a sermon on the Star of Bethlehem.
Related post: God’s Purpose for the Star of Bethlehem
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Smiley Face in the Sky

Jupiter, Venus and the Crescent Moon | Photo: Martin Cooper

Did you see it last night? I saw it here in Massachusetts, and it was stunningly beautiful — right after sunset, Jupiter and Venus hanging low over the horizon in the southwestern sky with the crescent moon hovering just above. Jupiter and Venus are in conjunction right now, just two degrees apart, and the moon is a waxing crescent. In Australia and other southern latitudes the three celestial objects formed a great big happy face in the heavens, but here in North America it was more of an upside-down frown. Either way, it was a pretty neat display in the sky.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15)

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Star Wars Pumpkins

Check out these neat Star Wars pumpkins. Now that’s some fancy carving. I like the Death Star one the best. (Click on the image for a larger picture.)

Stormtrooper Pumpkin   Yoda Pumpkin   Darth Vader Pumpkin   Death Star Pumpkin

Do you need a lightsaber to carve a pumpkin like that? Visit Wired.com to see more Star Wars pumpkins, including R2-D2, C-3PO, General Grievous and Chewbacca! (HT: Verum Serum)

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Sun Animation

Here is a neat animation of the sun from The Big Picture. Depending on your connection speed, it might take a minute to load and start spinning for you.

Animation of the Sun | The Big Picture

“An animation of the sun, seen by NASA’s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) over the course of 6 days, starting June 27, 2005.” (Courtesy of SOHO/EIT consortium)

“In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.” (Psalm 19:4-6)

Visit The Big Picture for more amazing pictures of the Sun.

Related post: The Size of the Earth Compared to Other Objects in Space

Jupiter Over Ephesus

Here is a beautiful picture of Jupiter over the city of Ephesus.

Jupiter over Ephesus | Hadrianus Center

Astronomy Picture of the Day - July 18, 2008

Explanation:  Recorded late last month, this moving skyscape features Jupiter above the southeastern horizon and the marbled streets of the ancient port city of Ephesus, located in modern day Turkey. At the left is a temple dedicated to the Roman emperor Hadrian. The beautiful night sky also includes the arc of the northern summer Milky Way. Lights on the horizon are from the nearby town of Selçuk.

Endeavour Space Walk Pictures

Here are some great space walk pictures from the space shuttle Endeavour’s TST-118 mission in August 2007. (Click on the picture for a larger image.)

Space Shuttle Endeavour (Endeavor) | Mission TST-118 | August 2007

Space Shuttle Endeavour (Endeavor) | Mission TST-118 | August 2007

Can you imagine looking down on our planet from such a height? Just beautiful.

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Solstice Moon Illusion

Do you want to see a giant moon? Step outside after sunset Wednesday night and look to the horizon on the east. You will see a huge moon rising into the sky.

Solstice Moon | Manchester, MD

The full Moon of June 18th is a “solstice moon”, coming only two days before the beginning of northern summer. This is significant because the sun and full Moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week’s high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging Moon and a strong Moon Illusion.

Sky watchers have known for thousands of years that low-hanging moons look unnaturally big. At first, astronomers thought the atmosphere must be magnifying the Moon near the horizon, but cameras showed that is not the case. Moons on film are the same size regardless of elevation … Apparently, only human beings see giant moons.

Are we crazy?

After all these years, scientists still aren’t sure. When you look at the Moon, rays of moonlight converge and form an image about 0.15 mm wide on the retina in the back of your eye. High moons and low moons make the same sized spot, yet the brain insists one is bigger than the other.

To learn more about the Solstice Moon Illusion, visit the Science & Nasa page.

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Cassini Photos of Saturn

Here is a picture of Saturn backlit by the sun taken by the Cassini Spacecraft. Cassini is scheduled to complete its four-year prime mission on June 30th and will then enter its extended mission.

Saturn Backlit by the Sun | Cassini
                        (Click on the picture for larger version.)

Visit The Big Picture for eleven more stunning photographs of Saturn taken by the Cassini Spacecraft.

Powers of 10 Video

Here is a great video showing the relative sizes of things in the universe, first zooming out by powers of ten beyond the borders of our galaxy, and then zooming in by powers of ten right down to the quantum level. This short film was produced in the 1970’s by Charles and Ray Eames for IBM.

Video length: (9:02)

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Anatomy of a Black Hole

Anatomy of a Black Hole

Check out this very neat and educational flash animation explaining the anatomy of a black hole. You can click through the presentation at your own pace. (HT: Presurfer)

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The WorldWide Telescope

WorldWide Telescope Screen Shot

Look out Google Sky. Here comes The WorldWide Telescope. Here is the description from the WorldWide Telescope home page:

The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a rich visualization environment that functions as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space telescopes in the world for a seamless, guided exploration of the universe.

WorldWide Telescope, created with Microsoft’s high-performance Visual Experience Engine™, enables seamless panning and zooming across the night sky blending terabytes of images, data, and stories from multiple sources over the Internet into a media-rich, immersive experience.

And here is the reaction from Dr. Roy Gould of the Harvard Center for Astrophysics:

“The WorldWide Telescope takes the best images from the greatest telescopes on Earth … and in space … and assembles them into a seamless, holistic view of the universe. This new resource will change the way we do astronomy … the way we teach astronomy … and, most importantly, I think it’s going to change the way we see ourselves in the universe.”

The WorldWide Telescope will be available free of charge to anyone with a computer in spring of 2008. Coming soon to a computer screen near you!

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Lunar Eclipse over the Dome of the Rock

Lunar Eclipse over the Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem - February 21, 2008

“The Moon glows orange as it is seen above the Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, during a total eclipse early Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 occurred Wednesday night, with cameo appearances by Saturn and the bright star Regulus on either side of the veiled full moon.” (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

Click here for more photos of the lunar eclipse over at Yahoo Photos.

HT: BiblePlaces Blog

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