Jehovah and Astronomy

[Hava Saber]

Can you suggest amazing things about astronomy and what we can learn about Jehovah? I am running out of ideas, and there's a child in our congregation who listens eagerly to astronomy. I would like to incorporate Jehovah into this so that he can benefit more.

 

Your input is greatly appreciated.

[Mike047]

We can be truly amazed by the greatness of creation in so many ways.

 

• Currently the largest star known is UY Scuti. It is a hypergiant star, UY Scuti's immense size, with a radius about 1,700 times larger than that of our Sun.

  This means if UY Scuti were placed at the center of our solar system, it would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and possibly even Jupiter.

• I imagine that this youngster has a lot of the facts, already, but size, distance and speed are all mind blowing facts: 

  • the earth rotates at c. 1,000 mph

  • orbits around the sun at c. 67,000 mph

  • Milky Way galaxy moves through space at c. 1.3 million mph

Not sure of the age of this child, but there are many other amazing facts - some more scientific in their explanation.

 

Always happy to provide further help.

[Dages]

A nice topic about space

 

[Witness1970]

How big is the universe? It's one of the fundamental questions of astronomy. By looking for the farthest observable point from Earth (and by extension, the oldest given the speed of light) we can estimate a diameter.
Scientists know that the universe is expanding. Thus, while scientists might see a spot that lay 13.8 billion light-years from Earth at the time of the Big Bang, the universe has continued to expand over its lifetime. If inflation occurred at a constant rate through the life of the universe, that same spot is 46 billion light-years away today, making the diameter of the observable universe a sphere around 92 billion light-years.

 

[Witness1970]

Interesting fact.  When I started elementary school. Jupiter had 12 known moons; Saturn had 9 known moons.  Today, Jupiter has 95 known moons and Saturn has 146 known moons.

 

Edit: I started elementary school in 1955.

Edited October 7 by Witness1970

[Witness1970]

The Moon , Earth and the milkyway in one incredible photo.

 

[Witness1970]

Astronomers have detected a mysterious radio signal from space, which took 8 billion years to reach the Earth. 
This flash, known as the fast radio burst (or FRB), lasted less than a millisecond and emitted an immense amount of energy, equivalent to the sun's output over three decades. 
Unlike its predecessors, this FRB is estimated to be  3 billion years older than previously-detected bursts, making it the farthest FRB observed to date. 
FRBs are brief pulses of radio waves that outshine other radio sources in the universe. Scientists believe that these bursts come from a hyper-magnetized neutron stars called magnetars, which possess extraordinary energy capabilities. What makes FRBs so unique is that they only produce radio waves and nothing else like light or X-rays. 
While it is believed that over 100,000 FRBs occur daily in the universe, only a fraction has been detected so far, and around 50, including this one, have been traced back to their respective galaxies of origin.
 The new research shows that the source of this FRB could be multiple merging galaxies rather than a single entity. By examining these bursts, scientists can further study the intergalactic plasma filling the space between galaxies, shedding light on the presence of "missing" matter in the universe.

 

[Hava Saber]

I will just collect, thanks everyone.

[Dustparticle]

4 hours ago, Mike047 said:

We can be truly amazed by the greatness of creation in so many ways.

 

• Currently the largest star known is UY Scuti. It is a hypergiant star, UY Scuti's immense size, with a radius about 1,700 times larger than that of our Sun.

  This means if UY Scuti were placed at the center of our solar system, it would engulf the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and possibly even Jupiter.

• I imagine that this youngster has a lot of the facts, already, but size, distance and speed are all mind blowing facts: 

  • the earth rotates at c. 1,000 mph

  • orbits around the sun at c. 67,000 mph

  • Milky Way galaxy moves through space at c. 1.3 million mph

Not sure of the age of this child, but there are many other amazing facts - some more scientific in their explanation.

 

Always happy to provide further help.

 

 Plus, our solar system moves around our galaxy just under 500,000 mph too. Thank God for gravity.

Edited October 7 by Dustparticle

[Tortuga]

9 minutes ago, Dustparticle said:

Thank God for gravity.

Good idea...

[Mike047]

28 minutes ago, Dustparticle said:

Plus, our solar system moves around our galaxy just under 500,000 mph too. Thank God for gravity.

And there are no traffic lights in space

[Dustparticle]

3 minutes ago, Mike047 said:

And there are no traffic lights in space

 

 And no police to clock its speed too.

[New World Explorer]

6 hours ago, Dustparticle said:

 

 And no police to clock its speed too.

Forgot about Doctor WHO? LOL 😂 

[Pjdriver]

There’s a planet out there that might actually be a giant diamond?    It’s called 55 Cancri e, and it’s about 40 light-years away in the constellation Cancer. This planet is what scientists call a "super-Earth," meaning it’s bigger than Earth—around twice the size and about eight times the mass.

 

But the cool part is way this planet's made suggests that instead of being mostly rock and water like our Earth, it might have a core packed with diamonds and graphite! Imagine a whole planet with diamond-like interiors sparkling under the intense pressure. It's like finding the ultimate treasure chest out in the universe!  Too bad it’s way out of reach. 

 

I don’t know how young your young friend is but here’s another he might find interesting.  

 

Think of hypervelocity stars like soccer balls getting kicked really hard!

Imagine two soccer balls (representing two stars) tied together with a piece of string (like how stars in a binary system are connected by gravity). Now, let’s say a giant player kicks one of the balls (like a supernova explosion or a supermassive black hole's gravity). That kick is so powerful, it breaks the string and sends the other soccer ball flying far, far away at super speed!

 

Here's how it works in space

Supermassive Black Hole Sling-Shot: 

If those two stars get too close to a supermassive black hole (like the one in the middle of our galaxy), the black hole's super-strong gravity grabs one star and yanks it close. The other star gets kicked away super fast—like it’s been shot out of a slingshot—traveling at almost  2 million miles an hour! Other stars and planets move around half million MPH.

 

Supernova Explosion: This is like a giant cosmic firework. If one of the stars in a pair suddenly explodes (a supernova), the explosion is so strong that it pushes the other star away at crazy speeds, breaking them apart and sending that star zooming through space.

Basically, these stars get their super speed because of a huge burst of energy or powerful gravity giving them a gigantic kick, launching them across the galaxy at tremendous speeds. 

Edited October 11 by Pjdriver

[Dages]

6 hours ago, Pjdriver said:

Too bad it’s way out of reach.

For now  

[Mike047]

It's fascinating that when we come to talking about the universe, we start talking of distance in terms of time. We use words like light-years, parsecs, kiloparsecs, gigaparsecs, yottaparsecs, ronnaparsecs and finally quettaparsecs. A parsec is c. 3.26 light-years. A quettaparsec is 10^{30 parsecs}

[Witness1970]

9 minutes ago, Mike047 said:

It's fascinating that when we come to talking about the universe, we start talking of distance in terms of time. We use words like light-years, parsecs, kiloparsecs, gigaparsecs, yottaparsecs, ronnaparsecs and finally quettaparsecs. A parsec is c. 3.26 light-years. A quettaparsec is 10^{30 parsecs}

Our language is inadequate for these distances.  Using the distance light travels in one year as a measure of large distances is convenient.  

[Mike047]

To infinity..............and beyond!

[Pjdriver]

4 hours ago, Mike047 said:

It's fascinating that when we come to talking about the universe, we start talking of distance in terms of time. We use words like light-years, parsecs, kiloparsecs, gigaparsecs, yottaparsecs, ronnaparsecs and finally quettaparsecs. A parsec is c. 3.26 light-years. A quettaparsec is 10^{30 parsecs}

 

Yes....a quettaparsec (10^{30 parsecs)} is a mind-blowing a scale that's almost beyond human imagination.

 

What  I find  really interesting about using these terms is that they actually show how space and time are deeply connected. In the universe, these two things...space and time....aren’t separate ideas but are part of the same thing called 'spacetime.' For example, when we talk about a light-year, we’re literally talking about how far light travels in one year. So, a light-year isn't just a distance—it’s also a measure of time.

 

It crazy to imagine that  the farther out into space we look, the further back in time (not just distance) we’re seeing. If you see a galaxy that’s a million light-years away, the light from that galaxy has been traveling for a million years to reach us. We’re actually seeing what that galaxy looked like a million years ago!

 

This connection between time and space isn’t just a   trick of light—it’s a fundamental part of how the universe works. Einstein’s theory of General Relativity tells us that massive objects, like stars and galaxies, actually bend and stretch spacetime around them. This warping changes the paths that light takes as it travels through the universe. So, when we measure distances in space with units like light-years or parsecs, we’re not just measuring how far away something is. We’re also taking into account how space itself is shaped by gravity, how time is affected, and even how the universe has been expanding since the it’s beginning.

 

In other words, distances like parsecs and light-years are more than just numbers on a cosmic ruler......they’re windows into the past, clues about gravity, and keys to understanding the universe. 

[Pjdriver]

On 10/7/2024 at 7:06 AM, Witness1970 said:

If inflation occurred at a constant rate through the life of the universe, that same spot is 46 billion light-years away today, making the diameter of the observable universe a sphere around 92 billion light-years.

 

 

In other words, 98 billion light years is as far as we can see (observable as you say) ....but it not the actual size of or end of the universe.  

[Vasilis]

The laws of physics are perfectly balanced so complex structures are possible...

 

1. Stars exists because the ratio of the strength between gravity and strong nuclear force is ideal so stars neither burn out immediately or never have the chance to form and start nuclear fusion...

 

2. Also galaxies and galaxy clusters exist because the ratio between gravity and dark energy is ideal so all matter doesn't collapse into a single point or push away all stars far away from each other...

 

3. The relationship between strong force and electromagnetism is ideal so complex atomic nucleus' can exist with complex atoms and molecules.... One of them is carbon and carbon is ideal for life...

[Dustparticle]

If I’m right, when galaxies collide, not one star hit another star. Talking about serious mathematics here.

[Pabo]

On 10/11/2024 at 9:10 PM, Mike047 said:

It's fascinating that when we come to talking about the universe, we start talking of distance in terms of time. We use words like light-years, parsecs, kiloparsecs, gigaparsecs, yottaparsecs, ronnaparsecs and finally quettaparsecs. A parsec is c. 3.26 light-years. A quettaparsec is 10^{30 parsecs}

 

I know a guy who had a space ship that was so fast.

 

Edited November 12 by Pabo

[Mathi]

On 10/7/2024 at 3:43 AM, Hava Saber said:

Can you suggest amazing things about astronomy and what we can learn about Jehovah? I am running out of ideas, and there's a child in our congregation who listens eagerly to astronomy. I would like to incorporate Jehovah into this so that he can benefit more.

 

Your input is greatly appreciated.

I astornomy there's this term called "cosmic voids" which as the name suggest means an empty space with little to no galaxies whatsoever. When you consider how many hundreds of billions to trillions of galaxies there are in the universe, and the fact that they say everything "seeks" equilibrium, or is usually evenly distributed, it really speaks about a Creator to leave random empty voids in space. At least that's how I feel about that. It just doesn't make sense that there would be so little to nothing in these gigantic areas.  Jehovah clearly designed it with those voids on purpose. I'm not a science guy, in fact maybe I'm misinterpreting something, but as far as I understand that is what that is, and it speaks of intentional design to me, not a random explosion that somehow filled the whole universe but omitted some huge random spots in particular. 

[New World Explorer]

On 10/11/2024 at 11:32 AM, Pjdriver said:

There’s a planet out there that might actually be a giant diamond?    It’s called 55 Cancri e, and it’s about 40 light-years away in the constellation Cancer. This planet is what scientists call a "super-Earth," meaning it’s bigger than Earth—around twice the size and about eight times the mass.

 

I claim ownership of it ... I can sell it for you for $10 bucks! If you ask me that's a cosmic deal of eternity ... LOL