An Easter Sign Revealed
Three thousand years ago a shepherd boy in Israel gazed into the night sky; inspired, he recorded his thoughts: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”. (Psalm 19:1) Assuming 20:20 vision, David could have perhaps counted 4,548 stars. He had no way of knowing that for each grain of sand on all of earth’s shorelines, there are 10,000 stars and 50,000 planets in the universe, numbers impossible to count. But 4,548 stars was enough for David to declare:
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in al the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.” (Psalm 8:1)
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4)
Big Dipper and Ursa Major credit: Sky and Telescope
One of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky is the Big Dipper. It is actually part of a bigger constellation, Ursa Major (Greater Bear). I’m sure David would have been familiar with the constellations, some of which were recorded in the Bible: “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?” (Job 38:31) Alkaid is the name of a star common to both the Big Dipper and Ursa Major; it is the end star in the handle of the Big Dipper and the tail of the Greater Bear. Hidden from natural sight, a fraction of an inch below Alkaid, lurks a massive galaxy, known as Whirlpool Galaxy M51.
Whirlpool Galaxy M51 credit: Orion Telescopes on Twitter
Thanks to the powerful NASA Hubble Space Telescope in orbit around Earth, we can observe the Whirlpool Galaxy up close. Its actual location is within a small constellation called Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs). Whirlpool’s smaller “sister” galaxy in this image is named NGC 5195. Whirlpool is a classic ‘spiral’ galaxy, a shape common to billions of other galaxies in the universe. It was first discovered, through a simple telescope, by the famous astronomer, Charles Messier, in 1773. If you could travel at the speed of light, it would take 23 million years to reach this galaxy. It is a little smaller that our Milky Way Galaxy; it contains an estimated 100 billion stars and is 60,000 light years in diameter.
Whirlpool Galaxy M51 credit: Pinterest
Spectacular as the Whirlpool Galaxy is, the incredible power of the Hubble Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory have recently revealed even greater secrets. Although the universe is generally highly populated, there are vast areas of nearly empty space called ‘supervoids’; the Canes Venatici Supervoid exists 1.2 billion light years beyond M51; it is a nearly empty area 1.3 billion light years in diameter – the Milky Way is a mere 100,000 light years in diameter! More recently, the Chandra Observatory discovered the first exoplanet, outside of our Milky Way, in orbit about a star in the Whirlpool Galaxy; it is named M51-ULS-1b. But now for the most exciting discovery of all!!!
Whirlpool Galaxy Cross credit: Pinterest
Hidden within the core of every major galaxy is a black hole, a massive region of gravity so dense that even light cannot escape. What a surprise when the Hubble Telescope zoomed into the nucleus of Whirlpool Galaxy and discovered a black hole in the shape of a giant cross, surrounded by glorious beams of light! It is almost as if the Creator of the Universe orchestrated a perfect earthly view angle and size (big enough for us to observe) of a cross 23 million years ago, knowing that one day, 2000 years after his visitation to Earth, mankind would discover it. In case you were wondering, the height and width of this cross is 6,466,349,795,631,000 miles, enough space to contain all 400 billion stars in our Milky Way Galaxy! In symbolic manner, God has made room for billions of humans through the Cross his Son bore.
Some additional passages for meditation this Easter 2021:
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth” (Joel 2:30)
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day” (2 Peter 3:8)
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17)
“Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Mathew 2:2)
“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14)
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built” (I Kings 8:27)
Jesus said, “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars…for the powers of the heavens will be shaken…and then will they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27)
“In his right hand he held seven stars…his face was shining like the brightness of the blinding Sun!” (Revelation 1:16)
