The Italian
astronomer Galileo once wrote
00:01:05.85\00:01:08.90
that the great
book of the universe
00:01:08.93\00:01:10.90
stands
continually open to our gaze,
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but it cannot be understood
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unless one first learns
to comprehend the language
00:01:17.27\00:01:20.07
in which it is written.
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Throughout the centuries we have
turned our eyes to the heavens
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in an effort to
further their complexity
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meaning and design.
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It is a timeless
quest for discovery
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and today it is enhanced
by the most sophisticated
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instruments ever devised.
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Amazing tools of astronomy
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that draw the
deepest regions of space
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into clearer focus
than at any time in history
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unfolding before
our eyes a vast frontier
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of seemingly
infinite wonder and size.
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During the next few moments
we will continue our search
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to understand both the
mysteries of the universe
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and our significance within it
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as we venture to most
distinct corners of creation.
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And as we pause along the way
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to marvel at the
celestial master piece
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the creator has
fashioned in the night sky
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we will stand in
a light more radiant
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than cast by any galaxy or star.
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The light of God's
eternal power and truth
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reflected in the
miracle of all that He has made.
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In all of history this has to be
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the greatest time
ever to be an astronomer
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because the phase of discover
just keeps accelerating.
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The answers to so many questions
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we could have only
dreamed of knowing in the past
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now actually
seem within a reach.
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It's a tremendous challenge
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because once you
leave the solar system
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and head out into
the realm deep space
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the concepts of
distance, time and quantity
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take on meanings that are
almost impossible to grasp
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at least to the
context of everyday experience.
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To see with in our
sun's family of planets
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we can usually count
and measure using increments
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some what familiars thousands,
millions perhaps billions.
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But when you consider
the universe as a whole
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it's so large that you have
to begin thinking in trillions
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and then from there
move on numerical values
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that are even
more inconceivable.
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And even the most astronomers
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we thrown on these huge numbers
as if we really understand them.
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Often times I'm not
convinced we really do,
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I have to sit back from
time to time reflect upon
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what are these millions
and billions and trillions and
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much bigger numbers we
throw around so easily.
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Now to work with
numbers that large
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requires a special
unit of measurement.
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So astronomers have
devised the light year,
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simply put it's the distance
of light travels in 365 days.
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Think of it this way,
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we know that beam of light moves
at a 186,000 miles per second.
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So on the course of a year
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it will travel
about six trillion miles.
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At that rate you can make a
complete trip around the earth
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and link the time it
takes to snap your fingers.
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Traveling that rapidly
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a trip to the moon
would take 1.3 seconds.
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We could reach the sun
in about eight minutes.
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And the nearest star
outside solar system,
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Alpha Centauri would require
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a journey of a
little over four years.
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Now, I want you to
establish in your mind
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what a light year is and again
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it's a distance of
light travel in 365 days.
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Then you begin to realize
what a 100 light years must mean
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or a 1,000 light years
or a 100,000 light years.
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And you would loose that
entirely if you talked about
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miles in every
one of those cases.
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Now, despite the
enormous distances involved
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technologies has
opened a spectacular
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window to the universe.
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And as we
continue to venture out
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sometimes millions of
light years from the earth
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we now only see many of
creations greatest wonders
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we also have the
chance to come face to face
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with a full magnitude of God's
power and it's an awesome sight.
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Though its
dimensions are enormous
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our solar system
actually measures about
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11,000th of a single
light year in diameter
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and is in
reality only a pin point
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on one arm of
the Milky Way galaxy,
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a cosmic ocean of
perhaps 200 billion stars.
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To better understand just
how large our galaxy really is,
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imagine the orbital
pathways of the planets
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compressed into an area
the size of a coffee cup.
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Within the parameters of
this dramatically reduced scale
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the Milky Way would still engulf
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the entire North
American continent.
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Our solar system is located here
on the outskirts of the galaxy
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about 25,000 light
years from its centre.
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If we were to view
the Milky Way on its edge
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it would appear much like this.
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Its flat disk measuring about
a hundred million light years
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across surrounds
its bulging central core
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a brilliantly luminous region
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containing more
than 100 billion stars.
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Branching from this radiant hub
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majestic arms
comprised of gas, dust and stars
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rotate like a carousel at speeds
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that can exceed
9,000 miles a minute.
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These arms are among the most
beautiful of God's creations
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and the location of mysterious
and wondrous phenomena
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we are only
beginning to understand.
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Scattered
throughout the Milky Way,
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magnificent regions called
nebulae move among the stars.
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These islands of
hydrogen gas and dust
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many of them thousands of times
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larger than our
entire solar system
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are illuminated by star light
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creating the most
vibrant colors in the universe.
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Some of these nebulae
including the breathtaking eagle
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may possibly be
stellar nurseries
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locations where
new stars are born.
00:09:59.79\00:10:01.95
While others
like the crab nebulae
00:10:09.44\00:10:11.68
are the products of an event
that there are rarely observed
00:10:11.71\00:10:15.24
has captivated
astronomers for centuries.
00:10:15.27\00:10:17.91
In July of 1054 A.D.
00:10:35.15\00:10:37.63
Chinese astronomers first viewed
and recorded the appearance
00:10:37.66\00:10:41.38
of a spectacular
new celestial body.
00:10:41.41\00:10:45.83
They called it a guest star
00:10:45.86\00:10:48.31
and for 23 days it
blazed as the brightest object
00:10:48.34\00:10:51.76
in the heavens
except for the sun.
00:10:51.79\00:10:53.53
Though they didn't
realize it at the time,
00:10:56.80\00:10:58.99
those ancient observers were
witnesses to the violent death
00:10:59.02\00:11:02.16
of a star more than
6,500 light years away.
00:11:02.19\00:11:05.82
Now, known as a supernova
00:11:19.81\00:11:22.11
the exploding star hold
gas, dust and heavy elements
00:11:22.14\00:11:25.81
in every direction while forming
the ever expanding Nebula.
00:11:25.84\00:11:29.57
Until 1968 an era of mystery
00:11:34.31\00:11:37.26
surrounded the cloud like mass.
00:11:37.29\00:11:40.03
Astronomers could not understand
00:11:40.06\00:11:41.61
why after 900 years
the remains of a dead star
00:11:41.64\00:11:45.15
could continue to
shine so brightly.
00:11:45.18\00:11:47.53
Finally, the answer
was uncovered at the
00:11:56.96\00:11:59.29
National Radio Observatory
in Green Bank, West Virginia.
00:11:59.32\00:12:02.57
After aiming a
powerful astronomical instrument
00:12:06.10\00:12:08.40
at the centre of the crab nebula
00:12:08.43\00:12:11.36
then tracking it as it
move through the heavens.
00:12:11.39\00:12:14.29
Radio frequencies not
visible to optical telescopes
00:12:14.32\00:12:17.43
were detected pulsing in a
precise consistent pattern.
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The source of these
unusual transmissions
00:12:24.79\00:12:27.44
would prove to
be one of the most
00:12:27.47\00:12:28.95
fascinating celestial
bodies ever discovered.
00:12:28.98\00:12:31.79
Following the explosion
that had formed the Nebula
00:12:41.79\00:12:44.60
remnants from the dead
star compressed into a small
00:12:44.63\00:12:48.02
extremely dense
object called a Pulsar.
00:12:48.05\00:12:51.08
Measuring less than
20 miles in diameter
00:12:55.47\00:12:58.35
the Pulsar spun
rapidly on its accesses
00:12:58.38\00:13:01.02
while generating an invisible
shaft of ultra violet energy
00:13:01.05\00:13:04.71
that swept through space much
like the beam from a lighthouse.
00:13:04.74\00:13:07.76
These constant
burst of radiation
00:13:13.73\00:13:15.94
have heated and
illuminated the crab nebula
00:13:15.97\00:13:18.48
for nearly a thousand years.
00:13:18.51\00:13:20.23
Shortly after its discovery
this sequence of photographs
00:13:25.66\00:13:29.65
provided a direct
view of the Pulsar
00:13:29.68\00:13:32.22
flashing with in the
great cloud of gas and dust.
00:13:32.25\00:13:34.86
Since 1968, radio
telescopes have identified
00:13:43.08\00:13:46.51
several hundred of
these mysterious remnants
00:13:46.55\00:13:49.05
of once massive stars
through out the Milky Way.
00:13:49.08\00:13:52.16
The death of a
star can produce another
00:14:05.36\00:14:07.90
even stranger phenomenon.
00:14:07.93\00:14:09.68
When a star at least
five times the size of the sun
00:14:10.66\00:14:13.77
finally burns
out its fuel supply
00:14:13.80\00:14:17.75
it can collapse on its
own forming a black hole.
00:14:17.78\00:14:21.93
The gravitational pull
of this galactic whirlpool
00:14:26.85\00:14:29.81
is so strong that
everything around it
00:14:29.84\00:14:32.24
including light
itself is trapped inside.
00:14:32.27\00:14:37.58
The space of a star is
distorted and stretched
00:14:37.61\00:14:40.47
while being
relentlessly consumed
00:14:40.50\00:14:42.38
by inescapable forces of
a neighboring black hole.
00:14:42.41\00:14:45.31
It has been speculated
that the centre of the Milky Way
00:14:53.85\00:14:57.10
may contain a black hole with
a mass and gravitational pull
00:14:57.13\00:15:01.16
millions of times
grater than our own sun.
00:15:01.19\00:15:04.32
Less than a century ago, it
was commonly believed that the
00:15:16.52\00:15:19.79
Milky Way was in and of
itself the entire universe.
00:15:19.82\00:15:24.01
Nothing was thought to
exist beyond its boundaries.
00:15:24.04\00:15:26.81
Then in 1924,
high above Los Angles
00:15:37.75\00:15:40.89
at the Mount Wilson Observatory
00:15:40.92\00:15:43.01
a discovery was made
that would dramatically
00:15:43.04\00:15:45.40
alter the world's
perception of the cosmos.
00:15:45.43\00:15:47.87
Utilizing the most
powerful telescope of his day
00:15:53.03\00:15:56.22
the astronomer Edwin Hubble
conclusively determined that
00:15:56.25\00:15:59.67
distant hazy objects in
space long thought to be nebulae
00:15:59.70\00:16:03.45
within the Milky Way were
in reality individual galaxies
00:16:03.48\00:16:08.36
many as large or
larger than our own.
00:16:08.39\00:16:11.36
For the first time in history
00:16:15.38\00:16:17.47
a correct conceptual view
of the universe was insight.
00:16:17.50\00:16:21.07
Edwin Hubble had
opened a window to a cosmos
00:16:47.85\00:16:50.58
inconceivably large and
filled with countless galaxies
00:16:50.61\00:16:54.75
richly diverse in
their sizes and shapes.
00:16:54.78\00:16:57.60
Elegant spirals
similar to the Milky Way
00:17:08.00\00:17:10.88
were discovered
through out the heavens.
00:17:10.91\00:17:15.37
The graceful arms of
these flat galactic thin wheels
00:17:15.40\00:17:18.64
are formed of gas,
dust and billions of stars.
00:17:18.67\00:17:22.04
Even more common
are elliptical galaxies.
00:17:26.74\00:17:29.34
Virtually devoid of gas
elliptical are comprised
00:17:32.02\00:17:35.20
almost
exclusively of stars alone
00:17:35.23\00:17:38.44
and are usually
spiracles or oblong in shape.
00:17:38.47\00:17:41.16
While smaller irregular galaxies
00:17:46.95\00:17:49.35
take on a variety
of eccentric forms.
00:17:49.38\00:17:51.95
About two percent
of all known galaxies
00:17:55.15\00:17:57.58
are classified as irregular,
many of them are satellites
00:17:57.61\00:18:01.48
of more massive
spirals and elliptical.
00:18:01.51\00:18:04.06
Once thought to
be evenly distributed
00:18:17.80\00:18:19.86
throughout the universe
00:18:19.89\00:18:21.24
we now realize
that individual galaxies
00:18:21.27\00:18:24.02
are instead drawn
together at least in part
00:18:24.05\00:18:26.88
by gravitational attraction
to form clusters and chains.
00:18:26.91\00:18:30.74
It has been said that a
penny held at arms length
00:18:37.21\00:18:40.06
toward the constellation Coma
Berenices will block from view
00:18:40.09\00:18:43.92
a cluster of more
than a thousand galaxies.
00:18:43.95\00:18:46.85
Important clues to understanding
00:18:54.26\00:18:56.05
the overall structure
of the entire universe
00:18:56.08\00:18:58.60
may well reside in
these galactic clusters.
00:18:58.63\00:19:01.17
And as
astronomers continue to survey
00:19:05.20\00:19:07.62
and map every
corner of the cosmos
00:19:07.65\00:19:09.99
a remarkable tool of observation
00:19:10.02\00:19:12.18
revolutionizes
their quest for discovery.
00:19:12.21\00:19:16.07
The orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope.
00:19:16.10\00:19:18.33
Named in honor of
the renowned astronomer
00:19:46.92\00:19:49.21
the Hubble Telescope captured
the attention of the world
00:19:49.24\00:19:52.53
during its spectacular repair
mission in December of 1993.
00:19:52.56\00:19:56.34
A team of astronauts aboard
the space shuttle Endeavour
00:20:10.36\00:20:13.73
adjusted and fine-tuned
the complex instrument
00:20:13.76\00:20:16.68
while improving the focusing
ability of its optical systems.
00:20:16.71\00:20:19.71
Since then the
orbiting telescope
00:20:24.00\00:20:26.24
has more than fulfilled
the dreams of astronomers
00:20:26.27\00:20:29.03
throughout the world.
00:20:29.06\00:20:30.36
Working 300 miles above the
haze of our planets atmosphere
00:20:37.03\00:20:40.82
the telescope relies
on the predictability
00:20:40.85\00:20:43.12
and order of the universe
to achieve its objectives.
00:20:43.15\00:20:46.29
When a target area
is identified in space
00:20:49.04\00:20:51.81
the Hubble's computers
lock in on two of a possible
00:20:51.84\00:20:54.91
15 million
predetermined guide stars.
00:20:54.94\00:20:57.94
This procedure
accurately alliance
00:21:00.75\00:21:02.79
and maintains the
position of the instrument
00:21:02.82\00:21:05.10
as it continually
moves around the earth.
00:21:05.13\00:21:07.48
The superb clarity and
detail of the Hubble photographs
00:21:24.67\00:21:28.04
have already
establish the telescope
00:21:28.07\00:21:30.21
as one of the most significant
astronomical tools of all time
00:21:30.24\00:21:34.37
reshaping our view of virtually
every aspect of the cosmos.
00:21:34.40\00:21:38.24
Hubble images of the M100
galaxy 56 million light years
00:21:47.01\00:21:51.28
from the earth are enabling
astronomers to accurately
00:21:51.31\00:21:54.28
measure distances to stars
that could provide vital clues
00:21:54.31\00:21:58.06
towards computing the
true size of the universe.
00:21:58.09\00:22:00.74
The volatile star Eta Carinae,
00:22:13.58\00:22:15.78
scientist now have a clear
picture of a colossal eruption
00:22:17.19\00:22:20.56
that adjusted fragments
of the star far into space
00:22:20.59\00:22:23.77
at speeds exciding
two million miles an hour.
00:22:23.80\00:22:26.88
With its cameras
aimed at the nucleolus
00:22:37.47\00:22:39.53
of M51 the whirlpool galaxy
00:22:39.56\00:22:42.23
this photograph of a
mysterious silhouette
00:22:45.02\00:22:47.45
on the galactic
core is believed to be a
00:22:47.48\00:22:49.80
direct glimpse of
a massive black hole.
00:22:49.83\00:22:52.13
After staring for ten
days at a small patch of sky
00:23:04.49\00:23:07.81
near the handle
of the big dipper
00:23:07.84\00:23:09.70
the Hubble
generated one of the most
00:23:09.73\00:23:11.47
spectacular pictures
in the history of science.
00:23:11.50\00:23:14.26
At least 1,500 galaxies many
on the 14 billionth as bright
00:23:21.17\00:23:26.33
as the dimmest light
that the human eye see
00:23:26.36\00:23:28.87
were reveled in a
single breathtaking panorama.
00:23:28.90\00:23:32.13
With in a pinpoint of sky,
the size of the area block by
00:23:36.57\00:23:40.25
a grain of sand
held at arm's length
00:23:40.28\00:23:42.92
the scope of galactic
diversity and distribution
00:23:42.95\00:23:46.35
was showcased as a never before.
00:23:46.38\00:23:48.36
At the very limits
of the known universe
00:24:03.91\00:24:06.28
the Hubble
telescope has photographed
00:24:06.31\00:24:08.30
small extremely bright galaxies
00:24:08.33\00:24:10.77
that release
incredible amounts of radiation.
00:24:10.80\00:24:14.45
Quasi-stellar
radio sources or quasars
00:24:14.48\00:24:17.58
these distant objects
some are thousand times
00:24:22.09\00:24:25.06
brighter than the Milky Way
emit as much energy every second
00:24:25.09\00:24:28.82
as our sun could
radiate in ten million years.
00:24:28.85\00:24:34.75
The source of a
quasars power is still unknown
00:24:34.78\00:24:38.22
but a popular
theory contends there is an
00:24:38.25\00:24:40.30
enormous black
hole in its nucleolus.
00:24:40.33\00:24:42.64
The quasar gravitational filed
is strong enough to attract
00:24:49.81\00:24:52.72
a neighboring
galaxy and in the process
00:24:52.75\00:24:55.92
it pulls of huge
quantities of stars and gas.
00:24:55.95\00:24:59.04
As the galaxies
merge the quasars converts
00:25:02.44\00:25:05.46
its captured fuel supply
into radiation strong enough
00:25:05.49\00:25:08.52
to blaze from the
deepest corners of known space.
00:25:08.55\00:25:11.59
From the vantage point
of a mountaintop observatory
00:26:39.99\00:26:43.53
the heavens are in open
volume waiting to be read.
00:26:43.56\00:26:48.16
And as a sky
filled with individual
00:26:48.19\00:26:50.28
wonders had surveyed each night
00:26:50.31\00:26:52.43
no aspect of the universe proves
00:26:52.46\00:26:54.55
more striking to
behold than its size.
00:26:54.58\00:26:57.77
Throughout the Old
Testament a recurring phrase
00:27:02.69\00:27:05.47
is used to describe
God's shaping of the cosmos.
00:27:05.50\00:27:10.19
"He stretched out the heavens."
00:27:10.22\00:27:12.05
They are written
more 3,000 years ago
00:27:16.29\00:27:19.08
the words convey a vivid and
accurate picture of the universe
00:27:19.11\00:27:22.55
modern astronomy
continues to reveal.
00:27:22.58\00:27:25.29
The sheer quantity
of celestial bodies
00:27:30.00\00:27:32.24
is almost beyond comprehension.
00:27:32.27\00:27:34.57
Though estimates
continue to raise
00:27:41.13\00:27:43.54
it is believed there are
at least one hundred billion
00:27:43.57\00:27:46.26
individual
galaxies in the universe
00:27:46.29\00:27:48.73
many of them comprised of
200 billion stars or more.
00:27:48.76\00:27:52.74
In an effort to
draw these numbers
00:27:59.93\00:28:01.74
into some kind
of meaningful focus
00:28:01.77\00:28:04.18
the British
astronomer Sir James Jeans
00:28:04.21\00:28:06.97
speculated that the
total number of stars in space
00:28:07.00\00:28:10.28
could equal or surpass the
total number of grains of sand
00:28:10.31\00:28:14.62
on all the sea
shores of all the world.
00:28:14.65\00:28:18.09
And in most cases each
of these stars is separated
00:28:21.04\00:28:24.43
from any other by
trillions of miles.
00:28:24.46\00:28:29.72
He stretched out
the heavens in deed.
00:28:29.75\00:28:32.80
But how large
really is the universe?
00:28:37.62\00:28:40.22
There is no way
to measure precisely
00:28:42.23\00:28:44.82
but some
prospective can be drawn
00:28:44.85\00:28:46.75
by using the
imagination to survey
00:28:46.78\00:28:49.12
its boundaries of
distance and time.
00:28:49.15\00:28:51.54
Let us travel now
at the speed of light
00:29:02.76\00:29:05.70
departing from our home
star on a trip across the cosmos
00:29:05.73\00:29:09.79
toward the edge of
the known universe.
00:29:09.82\00:29:14.56
Our imaginary journey begins
at midnight on January 1st
00:29:14.59\00:29:19.08
when we prepared
a launch into space
00:29:19.11\00:29:21.13
at the speed of
186,000 miles per second.
00:29:21.16\00:29:25.12
We quickly pass
the orbits of Mercury,
00:29:28.83\00:29:31.15
Venus and span
the 93 million miles
00:29:33.12\00:29:38.32
that separate the
earth from the sun
00:29:38.35\00:29:40.35
in just 8 minutes 19 seconds.
00:29:40.38\00:29:42.79
We continue on passing Mars,
00:29:44.83\00:29:47.18
then the gas giant planets
00:29:53.07\00:29:55.30
Jupiter,
00:29:55.33\00:29:56.36
Saturn,
00:30:01.16\00:30:04.79
Uranus,
00:30:04.82\00:30:08.07
Neptune
00:30:08.10\00:30:11.70
finally after 5
hours and 31 minutes
00:30:11.73\00:30:14.76
we race pass Pluto
and its companion moon.
00:30:14.79\00:30:17.43
Our journey has
taken us more than
00:30:20.80\00:30:22.68
three and half billion miles
00:30:22.71\00:30:26.12
to the outer limits
of our solar system.
00:30:26.15\00:30:30.31
And it's still January 1st
00:30:30.34\00:30:32.79
now we alter our flight path
00:30:38.15\00:30:40.09
and travel in a direction
perpendicular to our galaxy.
00:30:40.12\00:30:43.17
Behind us the nine
planets and the sun
00:30:47.67\00:30:50.29
quickly vanish from sight.
00:30:50.32\00:30:52.00
The emptiness of space is broken
only by the light of stars
00:30:55.72\00:30:59.10
so distant they do
not yet appear to move.
00:30:59.13\00:31:01.97
A year passes then two years,
00:31:04.04\00:31:07.48
three, four years
00:31:07.51\00:31:11.82
finally on April
19th of the fifth year
00:31:11.85\00:31:15.47
we reach Alpha Centauri
00:31:15.50\00:31:17.67
the nearest star
to our solar system.
00:31:17.70\00:31:20.39
We have traveled more
than 25 trillion miles
00:31:20.42\00:31:23.89
and our journey
has scarcely began.
00:31:23.92\00:31:26.35
We are now ten
light years from the sun
00:31:29.41\00:31:32.20
far enough out in
space that the stars
00:31:32.23\00:31:34.56
with in our galaxy
appear to converge.
00:31:34.59\00:31:37.30
100 light years from the sun,
00:31:40.72\00:31:43.31
patterns of gas
and nebulous material
00:31:43.34\00:31:45.62
from the arms of the
Milky Way fill our view.
00:31:45.66\00:31:48.35
One thousand light
years, the galaxies arms
00:31:51.82\00:31:55.34
and disc become more defined.
00:31:55.37\00:31:57.28
Yet it is not until we have
traveled at the speed of light
00:32:00.43\00:32:03.73
for 100,000 years that
the entire spiral shape
00:32:03.76\00:32:07.81
of the Milky
Way is recognizable.
00:32:07.84\00:32:09.81
From here on each
point of light we see
00:32:20.07\00:32:22.96
is no longer an individual star
00:32:22.99\00:32:25.58
but an entire galaxy
composed of billions of stars.
00:32:25.61\00:32:29.98
Five million years
after beginning our journey
00:32:35.85\00:32:38.89
the Milky Way is seen
as part of the cluster
00:32:38.92\00:32:41.31
of about 30 galaxies
known as the local group.
00:32:41.34\00:32:44.89
Fifty million light years out
00:32:55.35\00:32:57.47
we encounter the
large Virgo cluster
00:32:57.50\00:33:00.01
containing more
than 2,000 galaxies.
00:33:00.04\00:33:02.77
And so it goes as our travel
00:33:06.20\00:33:08.55
continue to take us
deeper into the cosmos
00:33:08.58\00:33:13.09
we pass cluster
after galactic cluster
00:33:13.12\00:33:16.15
each of building block
of a far greater framework.
00:33:16.18\00:33:19.51
A billion years pass,
00:33:24.28\00:33:25.97
five billion,
00:33:29.06\00:33:30.23
finally after ten billion
years we decelerate and pause
00:33:33.48\00:33:38.66
to observe a theoretical view
00:33:38.69\00:33:40.48
of universes
large scale structure.
00:33:40.51\00:33:42.86
Countless billions of galaxies
are now seen to comprise chains,
00:33:47.32\00:33:51.48
masses and
thread like structures
00:33:51.51\00:33:53.84
that stretch across the cosmos
00:33:53.87\00:33:56.50
separated by enormous
regions of empty space.
00:33:56.53\00:33:59.77
It is a spectacular tapestry so
vast and diverse in its design
00:34:04.01\00:34:08.71
but the power of
its creator must truly
00:34:08.74\00:34:11.45
surpass all human understanding.
00:34:11.48\00:34:13.55
From the
prospective of size alone
00:35:32.50\00:35:34.48
I guess what you
could say as human beings
00:35:34.51\00:35:36.76
we appear to be a
little more than microbes
00:35:36.79\00:35:39.22
living on a speck of
cosmic dust we call the earth.
00:35:39.25\00:35:41.98
Here we have a universe
that is so incredibly large
00:35:46.83\00:35:49.69
and we are incredibly small
so that relatively speaking
00:35:49.72\00:35:53.93
our place in the universe
is totally insignificant.
00:35:53.96\00:35:58.24
This was illustrated
by the Voyager spacecraft
00:36:01.02\00:36:03.34
several years ago.
00:36:03.37\00:36:04.42
Millions of miles from
earth Voyager 1 look back
00:36:06.34\00:36:08.96
and showed us
our planet in a way
00:36:08.99\00:36:10.44
we had never seen it before.
00:36:10.47\00:36:11.88
It was just a tiny dot engulfed
by a single ray of sunlight.
00:36:15.91\00:36:20.63
And when you look
at the picture today,
00:36:20.66\00:36:22.54
it's not hard to understand
how the Old Testament writer
00:36:22.57\00:36:25.05
David must have
felt when he asked God,
00:36:25.08\00:36:27.39
how could man
possibly be important to You?
00:36:27.42\00:36:29.73
It is a question both
timeless and quite logical.
00:36:32.49\00:36:35.94
For when considered
against the inconceivable power
00:36:38.70\00:36:41.55
and size displayed
throughout the universe
00:36:41.58\00:36:44.28
any perception of
personal importance
00:36:44.31\00:36:46.49
we may hold are
easily overwhelmed.
00:36:46.52\00:36:49.06
Yet God did not
create on this awesome scale
00:36:53.04\00:36:55.75
to frighten or
intimidate us with His power
00:36:55.78\00:36:58.45
instead, each night He uses the
sheer magnitude of the cosmos
00:37:00.87\00:37:05.41
to help reveal the enormous
00:37:05.44\00:37:06.94
significance of
every human life.
00:37:06.97\00:37:09.67
We are told in
the Book of Psalms
00:37:16.20\00:37:18.28
in the Old
Testament again in the Bible
00:37:18.31\00:37:20.32
that, "The heavens
declare the glory of God."
00:37:20.35\00:37:23.09
We are not told
anywhere else that
00:37:23.12\00:37:25.04
any of the part of
the nature specifically
00:37:25.07\00:37:26.87
does that is
clearly as the heavens do.
00:37:26.90\00:37:29.11
It's interesting to know
that by definition of very word
00:37:31.40\00:37:34.06
cosmos means that
object of super craftsmanship
00:37:34.09\00:37:38.26
or a system of
order and harmony.
00:37:38.29\00:37:40.98
Now that's a wonderful
interpretation of exactly
00:37:41.01\00:37:43.77
what the universe seems to be.
00:37:43.80\00:37:45.57
God has revealed His
creative juices if you will
00:37:47.82\00:37:51.93
in the way that He is made
diversity and beauty and wonder
00:37:51.96\00:37:55.67
and its there
getting our attention
00:37:55.70\00:37:57.00
saying hey, I'm here look.
00:37:57.03\00:37:59.06
Here is the
evidence that I'm here
00:37:59.09\00:38:00.84
its something that
the Lord has put out there
00:38:00.87\00:38:02.60
for each one of us to seek
out and come with a conclusion
00:38:02.63\00:38:05.53
that there must be a designer,
there must be a Creator.
00:38:05.56\00:38:08.75
And so consequently I
think most astronomers
00:38:08.78\00:38:11.42
I had ever met
believe there is a God.
00:38:11.45\00:38:13.98
We may differ in our opinions
and understanding of just
00:38:14.01\00:38:17.32
who God is and how
involved He is with His creation
00:38:17.35\00:38:20.65
but the vast majority
of astronomers I do believe
00:38:20.68\00:38:23.29
recognize that
there is a Creator.
00:38:23.32\00:38:25.57
But even though I have met
very few atheist astronomers
00:38:28.59\00:38:31.46
I have come to
realize that merely
00:38:31.49\00:38:32.79
recognizing that God exists
00:38:32.82\00:38:34.96
is only the first step
toward really understanding Him.
00:38:34.99\00:38:37.58
As we look deeper
and deeper into space
00:38:40.63\00:38:43.13
the size, splendor and design
we see throughout the universe
00:38:43.16\00:38:46.63
tell us very clearly
that there must be a creator.
00:38:46.66\00:38:50.30
Yet to understand what
that creator is really like
00:38:52.49\00:38:55.98
we must employ a
different tool of exploration.
00:38:56.01\00:38:59.69
Something that can
extend our view beyond
00:38:59.72\00:39:02.42
what we can learn about God
00:39:02.45\00:39:04.25
from observing the physical
aspects of His creation alone.
00:39:04.28\00:39:07.80
It's a difficult jump to
make when you are going from the
00:39:10.21\00:39:12.61
world of science, you are going
through the world of thought,
00:39:12.64\00:39:15.20
you are going to the
world of physical evidence
00:39:15.23\00:39:17.40
you can test
things in the laboratory,
00:39:17.43\00:39:19.48
test ideas of theories but
then when you try to come down
00:39:19.51\00:39:22.80
to the ultimate
questions of the meaning of life
00:39:22.83\00:39:25.48
and what our
relationship is to God and
00:39:25.51\00:39:28.17
what our responsibilities are
00:39:28.21\00:39:30.10
science has no
answers for you there.
00:39:30.13\00:39:32.38
You have to leave
the realm of science
00:39:32.41\00:39:34.61
and go into some other realm.
00:39:34.64\00:39:36.57
Now, we are talking
about the spiritual realm.
00:39:36.60\00:39:40.24
And our methodology
there has to change our tools
00:39:40.27\00:39:43.28
have to change because there
is no way that our finite minds
00:39:43.31\00:39:46.66
could ever accurately discern
00:39:46.69\00:39:48.00
the true nature
of an infinite God.
00:39:48.03\00:39:52.38
To do that we needed something
00:39:52.41\00:39:54.29
beyond our own
intellectual experience.
00:39:54.32\00:39:57.32
So God reveled Himself to us in
the form of His word the Bible.
00:39:57.35\00:40:01.43
Opening a Bible is an
experience in some ways
00:40:04.71\00:40:08.05
comparable to turning a
telescope toward the night sky.
00:40:08.08\00:40:11.32
For like a precisely
crafted lens or mirror
00:40:12.91\00:40:16.00
the Bible clarifies and
expands our understanding
00:40:16.03\00:40:19.67
not of planets and galaxies
but of the God who made them.
00:40:19.70\00:40:23.59
Anyone who reads its
pages can begin to discern
00:40:25.78\00:40:29.20
the deepest
feelings and thoughts
00:40:29.23\00:40:31.66
of the Creator of the universe.
00:40:31.69\00:40:34.13
And as we look beyond the
realities of His unmistakable
00:40:34.16\00:40:37.60
existence and power we come
face to face with a personal
00:40:37.63\00:40:42.24
loving God who
reaches out to each of us
00:40:42.27\00:40:45.35
with His
promises of forgiveness,
00:40:45.38\00:40:47.65
hope and eternal life.
00:40:47.68\00:40:49.62
Come to me, all you
who are weary and burdened,
00:41:01.48\00:41:05.29
and I will give you rest.
00:41:05.32\00:41:08.13
For I am the Lord your
God who says do not fear
00:41:08.16\00:41:12.06
for I am with you.
00:41:12.09\00:41:13.74
I will
strengthen you and help you.
00:41:13.77\00:41:16.40
Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give you.
00:41:21.68\00:41:27.09
Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid.
00:41:27.12\00:41:31.28
In this world you
will have trouble.
00:41:39.17\00:41:41.65
But take heart!
00:41:41.68\00:41:43.70
I have overcome the world.
00:41:43.73\00:41:46.18
I have come into
the world as a light,
00:41:51.62\00:41:54.89
so that no one
who believes in me
00:41:54.92\00:41:57.28
should stay in darkness.
00:41:57.31\00:41:59.16
Truly, I say to you, he who
believes in me has eternal life.
00:42:10.69\00:42:16.75
Never will I leave
you, never will I forsake.
00:42:26.18\00:42:31.09
I have loved you
with an everlasting love.
00:42:34.18\00:42:37.41
God loves us and
cares about us very deeply
00:42:42.98\00:42:46.23
the Bible very
clearly tell us that.
00:42:46.26\00:42:48.36
And the more you learn about Him
00:42:49.66\00:42:51.04
the more you realize that
here we have a God who is so big
00:42:51.07\00:42:53.95
and so powerful, that
He created the universe
00:42:53.98\00:42:56.59
beyond comprehension and size.
00:42:56.62\00:42:58.79
But yet at the same time we
have a God that loves us so much
00:43:00.12\00:43:03.38
and cares for us
so much individually
00:43:03.41\00:43:05.83
that He is promised to meet
every need that will ever have.
00:43:05.86\00:43:10.56
For some reason
beyond my understanding,
00:43:10.59\00:43:13.34
we are important to
the Creator of the universe
00:43:13.37\00:43:16.09
and He loves us more than
anything else He has ever made.
00:43:16.12\00:43:18.96
In all of creation there can be
no greater mystery or miracle.
00:43:22.99\00:43:27.53
Though we inhabit a
mere speck of a planet
00:43:32.28\00:43:34.93
we are the supreme focus of the
Creators' attention and care.
00:43:34.96\00:43:38.77
And as we explore
God's celestial masterpiece
00:43:42.92\00:43:45.48
during the decades to come
00:43:45.51\00:43:47.50
new discoveries will undoubtedly
enhance our understanding
00:43:47.53\00:43:50.92
for we have
privileged to see more clearly
00:43:53.80\00:43:56.16
into space than ever before.
00:43:56.19\00:43:58.68
And with every stunning glimpse
00:44:02.89\00:44:05.29
the universe will
continue to reflect the both
00:44:05.32\00:44:07.89
grandeur of God's creative power
00:44:07.92\00:44:10.55
and the matchless significance
we hold in His in His eyes.
00:44:10.58\00:44:13.96