Halfway to Creation

One of the websites I check every day without fail is the Astronomy Picture of the Day. This site features a daily picture of some aspect of our universe, with an accompanying explanation written by an astronomer. There aren't very many things more fascinating and beautiful than some of the photos of the distant universe taken by the Hubble Space Telescope or other observatories. I have downloaded hundreds of these pictures and integrated them into my screensaver (along with pictures of the World's Most Beautiful Grandchildren, dancing, fabulous Alaska landscapes from Jill, etc).

I don't know how it's possible to look at some of these gorgeous astronomical photos without a sense of wonder and humility at our tiny place in the inconceivable vastness of the universe. I don't think for a moment that we are alone in the billions of beautiful galaxies we can see, even if we are so far away from them we may never know for sure. It's no wonder that we refer to outstanding people as "stars."

The photo on the APOD website today isn't one of the most vivid and beautiful...nothing like the famous "Pillars of Creation" image or some of the glorious nebula photos like this one. It's a pretty nondescript photo of an exploding star...but what makes it unique is that it is so unimaginably distant - quite literally, halfway to creation.

The idea that something is so far away that it takes 7.5 billion years for its light to reach us is just about as amazing and humbling as anything I can imagine. On those days when I wake up feeling like I'm a hundred years old, it's useful to think of what that span of time means in the great scheme of things.

There are two ways to look at the immensity of the night sky. You can feel tiny, lost, and utterly insignificant, or you can feel wonder at being a part of something so awe-inspiring. I choose the latter.

Although I'm not a conventionally religious person, I don't see how you can look at the universe and not believe in God. But I also don't see how one can see the immensity of creation and believe in a God that worries about whether or not men grow beards or women cover themselves from head to foot, whether you eat meat on Fridays, pray five times a day, or worship in a church, synagogue, or mosque. Somehow, I think God - whatever that means - sits back and shakes His (Her? Its?) head at the things we do in His (Her? Its?) name.

The universe is a grand and glorious place that we seem to work very hard at diminishing. As for me, I prefer to keep the sense of wonder at this vast, unknowable place that God - however you choose to understand the term - has laid out for us. It's a comfort in difficult times.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo