I have always been fascinated by space. I love the winter sky and looking up to see the various constellations. I have told Janet for years that it’s like seeing an old friend each winter – dependable sky scape that I have seen since I was a young boy. At one point, I really took all this pretty seriously. Orion and the three stars in his belt, Sirius (the Dog Star), The twins, Castor and Pollux, and so many more familiar arrangements of stars in the heavens. Then there are the Pleiades, a cluster of about seven visible stars that usually appear almost directly overhead in the middle of winter.
I never got as excited about the summer sky… I think that is because I learned early on that the cold weather in winter helps to see the heavens with more clarity and crispness. The summer sky is more difficult because the heat coming off the earth creates ripples in the air and this causes the stars to “twinkle” – it’s not nearly as easy to see constellations and formations in the summer. It’s like when you travel on a hot highway and think you see ripples in the pavement.
As I got older, I struggled with how involved I wanted to get in viewing the cosmos. I actually bought a telescope with Janet one year while we were in Ft. Lauderdale. I even got a small motor to drive the telescope so I could be more diligent about viewing the night sky. It’s amazing how so much math is involved in gauging the way the earth and sky move throughout the seasons.
I never really got into astro photography and I reached a point where I realized that to really appreciate the night sky, it would require me to stay up and view in the middle of the night – alone. That really didn’t appeal to me as I worked many hours and then to stay up all night was just something that I could never fully embrace. So, I enjoy the sky as long as I can without it taking a huge chunk out of my evenings.
Aside from the stars and constellations, I also loved the astronauts and the flights they went on. Dad and I would watch the Mercury 7 launches and then we had the Gemini series. Apollo followed soon after and at one point I thought I would have loved to be an astronaut. But back in the day, wearing glasses was a deal breaker and so I never gave it serious consideration.
To this day, I use an app on my phone called “SkyView.” It shows the positions of heavenly bodies and throughout the years, it has been a real help to my studies. I can also follow the manmade satellites with another app and I have a reference section on my phone for these sorts of educational apps.
This month, we are in for quite a treat. Although this entire week has been a warmup, tomorrow night, Friday, February 28th will be the main event.
In an incredibly rare occurrence, all seven planets will be visible, with a little help. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will all be visible after dark, without any optical aid. To catch Neptune and Uranus, you will need a telescope. The rare occurrence is being called the “Planetary Parade.” What makes this situation so unusual is that the planets are all on the same side of the sun and so they will all be visible. They travel along a line referred to as an “ecliptic” and right after sunset, we should have quite a show. When we usually have these sorts of alignments, Mercury and Venus, closer to the sun, can be difficult to see so this promises to be something quite spectacular.
I must say that I don’t understand how people can deny the presence of God in such an ordered universe. The idea of a random big bang event that started everything just seems absolutely impossible to subscribe to. There had to a God, an awesome powerful, omnipresent, omniscient, God who planned and then spoke creation into existence – what we call the “ex nihilo” beginning – something from nothing.
Our verse for tonight affirms that God is the Creator of all that we observe in the heavens and on the earth. This includes the sun and the moon, although those heavenly bodies are so insignificant compared to God Himself that they are not even mentioned by name in the creation story. Moses, the author of Genesis, tells us, in Genesis 1:16-18, “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 expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.”
My encouragement this evening is that God created an awesome universe for us to enjoy. Whether it is studying the microbes and molecules on a micro level, or studying the grandiosity of the universe from a macro perspective, my prayer is that you will seize every opportunity to revel in God’s creation. I hope that you enjoy the Planetary Parade! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…