Website of the Shouses

Website of the Shouses

THE MILKY WAY AND BEYOND

Jim made the following notes while viewing the Video, “The Milky Way and Beyond” produced by Moody Video, 820 N. LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60610. I would highly recommend you get and view this excellent production.

                               (Feel free to print this out)

 Intro:

 - Our universe is so vast that we can’t even think of it in terms we are                   comfortable with; thousands of miles, millions of miles, etc.

 -The light year is the only method of measurement useable.

       -  a light year is the speed at which light will travel in a years time going at              186,000 miles a second.

       -  is equal to 66.7 millions miles per hour and 6 trillion miles per year                                     (6,000,000,000,000 miles per year).

                     -  at this speed you can

                                    -  circumvent the earth in the snap of a finger.

                                    -  reach the moon in 1.3 seconds.

                                    -  reach the sun in 8 minutes.

                                    -  reach the nearest star, Alpha Centura, in 4 years.

-Our Solar System

       -1/1000 of a light year in diameter.  A pinpoint on one are of the Milky Way                  Galaxy.

       -  contains 200 billion stars.

       -  is ½ of a light year in circumference.

       -  in comparison to the entire known universe would be comparable to the              size of a coffee cup placed in the entire North American Continent.

 -The Milky Way Galaxy

       - Our solar system is 25,000 light years from the center of the MWG.

       - The MWG is 100 million light years across.

       -  It contains over 100 Billion stars.

       - The arms of the MWG rotate, like a carousel spirally at speeds of 9,000               miles per minute, 540,000 miles per hour.

Nebula

       - These are islands of  hydrogen gas and dust.

       - Most all are larger that our own Solar System.

       - The Eagle Nebula:

                     -It’s believed that stars are formed here.

       -  The Crab Nebula:

                     -On July 1054 AD, Chinese Astronomers discovered a bright light                         in the sky, which they called “Guess Star”.  It was later                                         discovered to be a dead star some 6,500 light years away.

Super Nova

       -  Name given for the death of a star.

       - In SN, particles are packed into an extremely dense pack to make a

pulsar.

       - These can be 20 miles in diameter.  100’s have been discovered since                1968.

Black Holes  

       - These are formed when a star dies.

       - They have tremendous gravitational pull.  Millions of times that of the                   sun’s on the planets of our solar system.

The beginning of man’s  knowledge of God’s Universe.

       - 1924, Edwin Hubble, through his telescope found out that what, before                 that time were thought to be stars in our own solar system,  were really new galaxies separate from our own.

       -  These galaxies:

                     -  were countless in number.

                     -  shaped like spirals, containing gases, dust and stars.

                     -  those elliptical in shape, containing only stars.

                     -  irregular shaped.  2% of all galaxies are like this.

                     - many of these are drawn together in clusters and chains.

                     - a penny held at arms length towards the constellation                                           Colabearanesus, will block from view a 1,000 galaxies.

The Orbiting Hubble Space Telescope:

       -Became well known in 1993.

       -orbits the earth some 300 miles out in space.

       -allows us to make accurate measurements to the stars.

       -after being locked on a pinpoint area in the vicinity of the handle of the big           dipper for 10 days, it was revealed that at least 1500 galaxies existed in just that area alone.  Many of these were seen as light 1/4 billionth that of the dimmest light the human eye can see.

Quasrs(Quasi Stellar Radio Sources) were discovered at the edge of the universe.

       -These emit light so bright that the amount of star burned up in one second           in a quasar is equal to that burned up by our sun in 10 million years.

       -The source of quasars is still unknown.

       -We do know huge black holes exist in the middle of these.

       -They have so much pull, that they draw galaxies into them, using their new           found energy to give off vast amounts of light.

 The Size of the Universe.

       -The Bible says it best; 

 (Isa 51:13 KJV)  And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and   laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

       -Over 100 Billion galaxies each containing 200 Billion stars on average.

       -It’s thought that there are more stars in the heavens than there are grains            of sand on all the sea shores of the earth.  And these stars each have trillions of miles of space between them.

       -To put it all in perspective let’s travel though the universe at the                 speed of light

         (6 trillion miles per year,  66.7 million miles per hour, 186,000 miles           a second).

       -Beginning at midnight January 1st:

       -we pass our own sun      in 8 minutes and 19 seconds         93 million miles

       -we pass Pluto                in 5 hours and 31 minutes             3 ½ billion miles

       -we reach Alpha Centauri    on April 19 of the 5th year   25 trillion miles                our nearest star

       -we begin seeing the area         100 years                         625 trillion miles         we call the Milky Way

       -we see the entire Milky Way    100,000 years            625,000 trillion miles 

       -From here on out every light we see isn’t a star but an entire galaxy                      consisting of billions of stars each.

       -we see the Milky Way as           5 million years                            ?  miles 

       1 of 30 galaxies in a cluster known as The Local Group

       -now comes The Vergo Cluster    50 million years                            ? miles          containing some 200 galaxies.

       -Continuing on, and on                1 billion years                              ?  miles 

       -Continuing on, and on                5 billion years                              ?  miles

       -Billions of galaxies seen as           10 billion years                     ? miles                 the tapestry of God’s creation.

 Conclusions:

             -We are but microbes living on a speck of dust, we call Earth, in the                     universe of God’s Creation.

             -(Psalm 19:1 KJV)  The heavens declare the glory of God; and the                       firmament showeth his handiwork.

             -Knowing God exists, is only the first step in understanding God.

             -There is no greater mystery or miracle -- His love for us over all His                     creation.

             -(Psalm 8:3-5 KJV)  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy                       fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and  he son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honour.

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