This is an exciting lesson about our great universe. How big is it? BIG!!!
You may choose to read the lesson in Chinese [open in your browser to change the translation] and we will talk about these Discussion questions together in English.
Read more about Hubble’s mirror flaw
Important lesson learned: Check, double-check, triple-check. It could save a tremendous amount of trouble! Happily, the flaw in Hubble’s lens was corrected and stunning images continue to be received from Hubble. “Pillars of Creation” is one of the most famous.
Taken on April 1, 1995, “Pillars of Creation” was named one of the top ten photographs from Hubble by space.com.
Words fail to describe the enormity of the universe where distance is measured in light years. “Pillars of Creation” is a photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of elephant trunks of interstellar gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula some 6,500-7,000 light-years from Earth. NASA scientists named this nebula “Pillars of Creation”, because the gas and dust are in the process of forming new stars.
The phrase “pillars of creation” originated in a sermon given by an English Christian minister named Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) to describe the birth of Jesus Christ.
“And now wonder, ye angels, the Infinite has become an infant; he, upon whose shoulders the universe hangs…he who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation.”
Bible Reading: Genesis 1
For centuries man has been trying to discover the origins of the universe, only to find that it is bigger, more complex and more amazing than we can comprehend and that the more we learn, the more there is to learn ~ infinitely more.
We live on a very small planet called Earth orbiting around a pretty small star that we call the sun. We are in an area of the universe called The Milky Way galaxy which contains approximately 200 billion stars. Andromeda, our neighbor galaxy, is 2 million light-years away. Andromeda and The Milky Way along with about 54 other dwarf galaxies are called The Local Group!
Theories abound about how the universe started; however, many theories fail to answer the ultimate question, “What existed before there was something? From where did the ‘something’ come?”
Discussion
- What theories have you heard about the origin of the universe?
- From reading Genesis 1, fill in the blanks:
“And God _________,” (verses 3 and 6)
“God saw that it was _______.” (verses 10 and 12) - How does Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:31 answer “who, what, when, and why” about the creation of the universe?
- How do scientists who don’t believe in God answer these questions?
- If you believed Genesis 1 is true, how would you describe God?
- Have you decided what you personally believe?
Word List
- significant flaw – a major imperfection
- NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration (an agency of the US government responsible for research in outerspace)
- spacewalk – when an astronaut wears a special suit to work in outer space
- interstellar – inter=between, stellar=stars
- nebula – gas and dust in outer space
- pillar – a column for support
- minister – church leader
- sermon – a message given by a church leader
- infant – a baby
- light year = 300,000 kilometers/second = 9,460,800,000,000 kilometers/year
- orbit – path of a star, planet or moon
- phrase – a part of a sentence
- verses – sentences in the Bible which are numbered
Read more about creation:
Psalm 19:1-3
Psalm 90:2
Isaiah 40:25-31
John 1
Colossians 1:16-17
2014 Pillars of Creation 2023
