What The Heavens Are Declaring

Measuring Our UniverseAstronomers use a number of methods for measuring the

size of our universe. The light-year is the unit of measurement typically used which is the distance light travels in 1 year (9.5 x 1012 km).

Our Universe is Vast

Current estimates of our universe’s size suggest that it is at least 93 billion light years in diameter and continuously expanding outward.

ParallaxParallax is the apparent difference in position of an object against a distant background due to a change in position of the observer.

Stellar ParallaxIf a star is viewed against a distant background at one “side” point in its orbit around the sun and then six months (1/2 an orbit) later, the star will appear to have moved slightly against the distant background. This is Stellar Parallax.

More Distant Objects Show Less

Parallax

Parallax MeasurementsUsing parallax (the apparent shift of an object’s position

against a fixed background caused by a change in the observer’s position), astronomers can measure the distances of sky objects up to 3,000 light years distant.

The Inverse Square Law for LightAs light travells outward, it gets dimmer by a fraction of the

distance squared. Brightness = 1 / (distance)2 .

Measuring Distances by BrightnessThe energy output of a star is called its luminosity. Cepheids are

very bright stars that periodically glow brighter and dimmer. Their pulsing rate from brighter to dimmer is directly related to their average luminosity (longer pulsing rates are associated with greater luminosity). Since more distant objects are observed to be less bright than closer objects, astronomers can determine the distance of cepheids by knowing their observed brightness and their luminosity (as determined by their pulsing rate).

Object Distances Determined by CepheidsUsing cepheids, astronomers can determine stars that have the same

luminosity (brightness) If these stars appear dimmer to us it is because of their distance. The inverse square law for light can be used to determine the distance required for a star of given brightness to appear as dim as it does to us. Using these principles, some cepheids must be 70 million light years away. Light from these galaxies took 70 million years to reach us which means that they are at least 70 million years old.

Standard CandlesA standard candle is a type of space object that always emits the

same amount of light (the same luminosity). Cepheids are one kind of standard candle. By measuring the observed brightness of the object and knowing its luminosity, astronomers can calculate the distance to the object. There are several standard candles that are used by astronomers which allows them to cross-check their results for accuracy.

Supernova Explosion CandleA certain type of supernova explosion (explosion of a large mass

star) can be used as a standard candle due its fixed luminosity. Using this candle, astronomers have measured galaxies as distant as 10 billion light years away.

A Sense of the Universe’s VastnessShrinking the Sun to the size of a tennis ball, earth is the size

of a sentence period and Pluto is 3 football fields away.

If our entire solar system (Sun to Pluto) were again shrunk to a ballpoint pen tip, our Milky Way galaxy would be a disk 150 miles across with us located 28 miles from the center.

God is Beyond Measure - Man Insignificant, Yet Cared For

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” Psalm 8: 3-4

In the Immense Universe, Humans Have Dominion Here

“You have made them a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned them with glory and honour. You have made them rulers over the works of your hands.” Psalm8: 5-6

God Redeems and Forgives Us“God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us

according to our iniquities…As far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from Him.” Psalm 103: 10, 12. How far is our sin removed?

What Does the Vastness of the Universe Teach?Despite our smallness, the universe declares the greatness

of God’s love. His love removes our sins beyond the ends of our universe for each one of us! “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him. Psalm 103: 11

What Does the Vastness of the Universe Mean to an Atheist?

Carl Sagan, an atheist astronomer, responded to the vastness of our universe in this way: “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.” - The Pale Blue Dot.

The Universe is DynamicA study of sky objects has shown that they change over long

periods of time, going through typical life cycles. Stars, galaxies, solar systems and planets are born, age and die in regular, predictable ways over billions of years of time.

Star BirthClouds of hydrogen gas and dust called nebulae contract and

heat up due to gravity compression. If they are large enough, they eventually reach the temperature, 15,000,000 oC, which causes atomic fusion to start, the process that generates the light energy we see coming from stars. A new star is born each year in our galaxy.

Star Aging: Dependent on Star Mass

How a star changes depends on the mass of the nebula cloud that produced the star. Less massive stars like our sun shine stably for billions of years until they use up their hydrogen which causes them to expand outward as red giants and then to collapse as white dwarfs.

Star Aging: Nucleosynthesis of New Elements

As they age stars produce new elements inside themselves from the process of atomic fusion. During the final red giant stage, stars produce carbon, nitrogen and oxygen.

Silicon-28 is name of isotope above

Star Aging of High Mass Stars: SupernovasStars with masses over eight times our Sun’s mass reach a stage

where iron is formed in its centre which causes the star to become unstable and eventually explode. The explosion of a high mass star is called a supernova which releases so much energy that briefly it outshines a whole galaxy. Supernovas also produce elements heavier than iron.

Stars Made The Periodic Chart of the ElementsThe element H with traces of He and Li is thought to have

formed as a result of the Big Bang. All the other elements are thought to have been formed inside stars, the heavier elements from Ne on from supernovas.

High Mass Stars’ DeathsAfter supernova explosions, high mass stars contract into

dense objects like neutron stars or black holes which have such strong gravity force that energy can not escape but is pulled back into the dense star. Objects passing close to black holes are annihilated and sucked into the black hole by its gravity force.

Supernovas Enrich Neighboring NebulasSupernova explosions propel heavier elements made by

atomic fusion into nebulas that surround them, enriching these with elements besides hydrogen and helium.

Planet FormationPlanets form alongside parent stars. Nebula dust grains and

atoms that are swirling around the star clump together and grow in size from pebbles to boulders to asteroid-size planets. As it grows larger, the planet gains more gravity which causes more material to clump to it.

Earth’s Presumed FormationAs our sun’s nebula contracted and began to swirl, the

planets began to clump together around the sun. Since the earth, moon and inner planets have heavy metals in their crusts and cores, the nebula that gave birth to the sun and planets of our solar system had elements from one or more earlier supernova explosions.

Man: Created from Dust, “Stardust”

The common earth elements like oxygen, nitrogen and carbon that we are composed of are thought to have come from a supernova explosion. In this regards we can be said to be made of “stardust”.

Process CreationSome Christians think of God’s creating of things as an

instantaneous, supernatural process (His speaking “Let there be” followed by an instant appearance of a fully-formed object). However nature clearly shows us that the creation of things around us today occurs by various processes.

Process CreationThe Bible affirms God as Creator and His Creation affirms that

new things are created by natural processes, governed by the Creator. Thus a Christian believes in a Creator who works through processes, in process creation. This does not imply however, that God only works through natural processes since He also performs miracles – inexplicable events which differ from normal patterns.

The Bible: God Creates PeopleThe Bible: God Creates PeopleEcclesiastes 12:1 “Remember your Creator in the

days of your youth, before the days of trouble come…”

God Creates UsGod Creates Us

Isaiah 43:1 “ But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you …. He who formed you…”

God Creates UsGod Creates Us

Job 36:3 “I will ascribe justice to my Maker…”

We Were Created Through A Process.We Were Created Through A Process.

Did God create you?Did God create you? Or did your parents make you? Or did your parents make you? (through a Natural process)(through a Natural process)

The answer to both questions is yes.The answer to both questions is yes.

Christians Affirm That God CreatesChristians Affirm That God CreatesThrough Processes.Through Processes.

God has made nature and governs its processes, creating and maintaining things through natural processes. Christians call this process creation.

Process Creation of The UniverseStars, planets and galaxies all are formed by natural

processes. Although God could have made each star miraculously at the beginning of the universe, the heavens are witnessing to the fact that God established and maintains dynamic processes by which sky objects were and are created.

The Heavens Declare That The Universe Is OldWhen a galaxy is one billion light years away, the light we see

today has taken one billion years to arrive which means that the object is at least one billion years old. Based on the distances measured to sky objects and other evidence, the age of the universe is estimated at 13-14 billion years.

Young Earth Arguments Against An Old UniverseSome young earth advocates have argued that light moved

faster when it first left distant sky objects, making it possible for it to reach us in much less time than billions of years. However, this conflicts with ample evidence that light in distant objects follows the same laws of quantum physics and electromagnetism (therefore travels the same speed) as for us on earth.

Evidence For An Old Universe From The Moon382 kg of moon rocks have been collected by NASA missions to

the moon. These have been dated at 3.2-4.5 billion years. Lunar meteorites (fragments of the moon dislodged by asteroid impacts and sent into the Earth) have likewise measured ages billions of years.

Mars’ Evidence for an Old Universe: 1Mars orbiters have sent back pictures showing the effects of

water erosion on the surface of Mars even though water is not visibly present today. Such erosion and the dispersion of the water into space would have taken millions to billions of years to accomplish.

Mars’ Evidence for an Old Universe: 2In addition, Mars exploration vehicles (rovers) have sampled

and chemically tested Mars rocks, finding they are made up of minerals (sulfides) and crystals that only form when exposed to or under water for long time periods. Mars was a very different planet many millions of years ago. It had a warmer and thicker atmosphere and liquid water on its surface.

The Sky Is A Time MachineWhen we look at a sky object one million light years away, the light

we see has taken one million years to arrive which means what we are seeing is one million years old. By looking at similar galaxies at various distances from thousands to billions of light years, it is possible to look back in time to see the various stages that a particular kind of galaxy has gone through in the past. Sky objects can give us a look back in time.

How Galaxies Have Changed Over TimeThe most distant galaxies are bluer and brighter with many

new stars forming in them as compared to closer galaxies.

Distant Galaxies Close Galaxy (Andromeda)

Asteroid Orbits As Evidence of Old UniverseUsing the present orbits of a number of asteroids, the past

orbits can be calculated. A number of these orbits when followed back millions of years converge to a single point. This indicates that a collision occurred millions of years ago with the smaller fragments sent into new orbits.

Evidence of Universe Age From MeteoritesRadiodating many meteorites with 5 different isotopes has

produced consistent ages of 4.5 billion years which would roughly indicate the age of our solar system and agrees with the ages shown by the oldest moon rocks.

meteorite that fell through the

roof of a house in South Auckland

Star Clusters Indicate an Old UniverseA star cluster is a group of stars that formed at approximately the

same time. High-mass stars in the cluster burn out faster and brighter while low-mass stars burn slowly and steadily. This means that star clusters with high-mass stars would be relatively young while star clusters with only low mass stars would be much older. The oldest star clusters with only low-mass stars have an age of about 12 billion years.

The Pleiades in Taurus (Young) NGC 2266 (Old)

Are Modern Science and the Bible in Conflict?Many lines of evidence from modern astronomy indicate the

universe is billions of years old. A reading of Genesis Ch 1, interpreting the days as 24 hours, is in conflict with modern science. However, a non-concordist reading of Genesis Ch 1 or, a concordist reading as longer periods of time, is not in conflict with the findings of modern astronomy.

The Big Bang Theory: A Beginning for our Universe

Our universe began (and time for it started) as a condensed, hot ball of energy/matter that rapidly began to expand outward and to cool about 13.7 billion years ago. Seconds into the expansion at temperatures over 109 K, energy condensed into sub-atomic particles and minutes later the nuclei of H and He atoms (with traces of Li formed). About 379,000 years from the start, electrons accumulated around nuclei to form atoms. Nebulae made up of of H, He and traces of Li condensed by gravity to form stars, galaxies and planets.

Evidence for the Big Bang 1: An Expanding UniverseScientists found evidence that sky objects in all directions

were moving away from us and that the farthest objects were moving the fastest away. This is consistent with a universe that is expanding. If we take the rate of expansion and work backwards through thousands, millions and billions of years, we find that 13.7 billion years ago all the sky objects were at one spot which is the beginning of what is called the “Big Bang”.

Sky Objects Are Moving Away from Earth• Hubble noticed what many astronomers before him had

observed: that sky objects in all directions from earth are moving away from the earth.

The Farther an Object is from Earth, the Faster it Moves• Hubble made the new discovery that the farther a sky

object is from earth, the faster it moves away from the earth. What could this mean?

Farther Objects Move Faster in an Expanding Universe

• In an expanding universe, objects farther away appear to be moving faster so they have greater red shifts. As the bread expands, the closer raisins move only 5 cm away but the farther raisins move 15 cm away – they move apart at a faster rate because there is more expansion between them.

How Do We Know that Sky Objects are Moving Away From Us?

• The Doppler Effect for waves helps us know whether an object is moving away from us or towards us.

The Doppler Effect• When something producing waves moves, the waves in

front get compressed into shorter waves while the waves behind get stretched out into longer waves. This is called the Doppler Effect.

Science Behind the Expanding Universe • There are many different kinds of light with different

energies and wavelengths. Visible light (detected by our eyes) has many colours. Red light has longer wavelengths, blue light has shorter wavelengths. White light is a mixture of all the light colours.

Science Behind the Expanding Universe • The Doppler Effect for a moving light source is that the light

gets shorter waves for an observer that the source is moving towards and waves get longer for an observer that the source is moving away from. When visible light waves are shortened, this is a shift towards the blue end of the spectrum (a blue shift). When visible light waves are stretched or lengthened, this is a shift towards the red end of the spectrum (a red shift).

Science Behind the Expanding Universe • If a light source is moving towards an observer, there

will be a blue shift but if a light source is moving away from an observer, there will be a red shift. Also, the faster a light source moves, the greater the shift will be (the more waves get compressed or stretched).

Science Behind the Expanding Universe

• What would a blue or red shift look like?

Science Behind the Expanding Universe

• A blue shift means the star’s spectrum is shifted towards the blue end of the spectrum because it is travelling towards you. A red shift means the star’s spectrum is shifted towards the red end of the spectrum because it is travelling away from you.

Science Behind the Expanding Universe • When astronomers look in any direction into space, all stars and galaxies show red shifts and the farther away the objects are, the greater the red shifts are. What does this mean?

• All stars and galaxies are moving away from each other – the Universe is expanding!

Science Behind the Expanding Universe

• The more distant the stars or galaxies are, the greater their red shifts which shows our universe is expanding more and more each day.

Evidence for the Big Bang 2: Background RadiationIf the Big Bang occurred, it would have radiated heat out in all

directions. This heat radiation would have cooled as it spread out. Today it should be found everywhere in a faint, low-energy form on the outer edges of our universe. This radiation was found in 1965 and is called Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR). CMBR is found in all directions at a temperature of 2.726o K or -270.274o C (close to absolute zero). It is interpreted as the energy glow remaining from the original “Big Bang”.

Evidence for the Big Bang 3: Early Nuclear FusionThe ordinary amount of matter in the universe is 75 %

hydrogen, 24% helium and 1% other elements. Helium forms inside stars from as two hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium. This only happens at very high temperatures (over 13,600,000o C).

Evidence for the Big Bang 3: Early Nuclear FusionThe amount of helium made by stars over billions of years is not

enough to have made the present amount of 24%. But if the Big Bang occurred, calculations indicate that about three minutes after the Big Bang started, the conditions were like the interior of a star and this would have caused hydrogen atoms to fuse into helium. The Big Bang model predicts that this event would have produced a 24% amount of helium after which the outward expansion and cooling stopped fusion reactions in the Big Bang expansion.

Our Universe is Peculiarly Fined Tuned for LifeOur universe need not have turned out as it has. It could

have developed different properties and forms of matter/energy than it has. It turns out that the laws and properties of matter and energy that developed from the Big Bang are precisely just right for life to be possible.

Unique Requirements for Life1. A stable energy source is required (like light from a long-

lived star)

Unique Requirements for Life2. A variety of atoms are needed (C, O, N, P, S, Fe, Ca, Na, K,

Cl, I) to make the complex molecules required by living things. Planet earth has these elements abundantly while the rest of the universe has 75% H, 24% helium and only 1% other elements.

Unique Requirements for Life3. The expansion rate of the universe needs to be our present

rate – a faster rate would have made star and galaxy formation impossible, while a slower rate would have caused to universe to collapse back into itself in a “Big Crunch”.

Unique Requirements for Life4. The force of gravity needs to be as it is – a weaker gravity

force would not be able to pull matter together into a star and hold it together against the outward fusion pressure, while a stronger gravity force would cause stars to be denser and to burn much too fast.

Unique Requirements for Life5. The 4 fundamental physical forces in our universe are

balanced in a special way.

Unique Requirements for Life5. (Continued) The strong nuclear force (holding protons and

neutrons together) is very strong over an extremely small distance. The weak nuclear force acts over extremely small distances and allows the conversion of protons to neutrons by changing the flavour of the quarks making up these particles (The sun would not burn without this). The electromagnetic force is just right for atoms and ions to exist - electrons are held by the nuclei of atoms by this force. The gravity force is also just right for stars to form and solar systems to exist. If the strengths of these forces were not balanced as they are, only hydrogen atoms could exist and fusion would be impossible.

Unique Requirements for Life6. Nuclear reactions in stars produce carbon and oxygen by

fusing helium atoms together. For life to exist, there must be more carbon than oxygen formed because living things are composed of many complex carbon molecules. Carbon atoms have a special excited nuclear state that resists fusion into oxygen which causes more carbon to be made and less oxygen. The nuclear properties of the atoms are tuned just right to make lots of carbon.

Unique Requirements for Life7. Water molecules have properties that make it an excellent

dissolver and transporter of substances. In addition, it is transparent to sunlight in the wavelengths we see, but not transparent to wavelengths like x-rays, ultraviolet or infrared light. Water in our atmosphere lets light in for photosynthesis, prevents harmful x-rays and ultraviolet rays from entering and reflects back infrared radiation, keeping our planet warmer. It seems as if our universe and especially our solar system from the start was programmed with laws and properties that would allow life to exist.

Three Scientific Descriptions of Our Universe’s OriginThe scientific description of how our universe formed can be

presented either neutrally, with an atheistic slant or with a Christian slant. Sometimes Christians dismiss scientific ideas because they are presented with an atheistic spin. This is probably done by atheists to promote their belief by associating it with science which is highly respected in our culture. But, by removing the atheistic perspective, one can get a religiously neutral scientific description. By replacing the atheistic perspective with a Christian perspective, a Christian can integrate their religious beliefs with a scientific description.

An Atheistic Description of Our Universe’s OriginThe universe started as an accident - a purposeless unplanned

event. We don’t yet understand how, but somehow all the matter and energy and space and laws of physics of this universe sprang into existence. Space expanded and matter cooled, and all these particles went about obeying the laws of physics, moving around and colliding with each other and sticking together when the forces were strong enough.

An Atheistic Description of Our Universe’s OriginAs luck would have it, the laws of physics cause clouds of atoms

to collapse under gravity into stars, hydrogen in these stars to fuse into heavier atoms, and stars to explode and spread these atoms around into new clouds. And out of one of these clouds of atoms our Sun and our Earth formed. There was no God, no Designer. The beginning of the universe can be explained as mindless matter obeying mindless laws.

A Neutral Scientific Description of Our Universe’s Origin

We don’t know what happened before the Big Bang. We do know that 13.7 billion years ago, the universe was densely filled with extremely hot particles. Space itself expanded, carrying the particles with it and spreading them out. The gases began to cool, and within a few minutes the particles had merged together to form hydrogen, then helium nuclei. About 300,000 years later, the universe had cooled down to about 3000 degrees Celsius, and light began to travel freely through space.

A Neutral Scientific Description of Our Universe’s Origin

Some regions in the expanding universe were slightly more dense than others and began to collapse under gravity, forming the first generation of stars. Gradually billions of galaxies formed throughout the observable universe, each containing billions of stars. About 4.6 billion years ago the sun formed within the Milky Way galaxy. A disk of dusty particles around the sun condensed into planets and the Earth was formed.

A Christian Scientific Description of Our Universe’s Origin In the beginning there was God. From nothing, God created time

and space, matter and energy, and the very laws of nature. God spoke and the universe began 13.7 billion years ago in a blast of light, heat and extremely energetic particles. At God’s command, space expanded and the universe cooled. God used nuclear and electric forces to fuse the particles together and gravity to bring the atoms together into stars.

A Christian Scientific Description of Our Universe’s Origin God made billions of stars in billions of galaxies,

extravagantly filling the whole universe over billions of years. In the stars God used nuclear fusion to make atoms of all sorts and dispersed them throughout space. About 4.6 billion years ago, God used gravity to shape some of this stardust into the sun and its planets, bringing together all the material necessary to form the dry ground, oceans and atmosphere.

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