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Series Code: MBI
Program Code: MBI000002
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01:05 The Italian astronomer Galileo once wrote
01:08 that the great book of the universe 01:10 stands continually open to our gaze, 01:15 but it cannot be understood 01:17 unless one first learns to comprehend the language 01:20 in which it is written. 01:35 Throughout the centuries we have turned our eyes to the heavens 01:38 in an effort to further their complexity 01:41 meaning and design. 01:48 It is a timeless quest for discovery 01:50 and today it is enhanced by the most sophisticated 01:53 instruments ever devised. 01:57 Amazing tools of astronomy 01:59 that draw the deepest regions of space 02:01 into clearer focus than at any time in history 02:05 unfolding before our eyes a vast frontier 02:09 of seemingly infinite wonder and size. 02:19 During the next few moments we will continue our search 02:22 to understand both the mysteries of the universe 02:25 and our significance within it 02:27 as we venture to most distinct corners of creation. 02:33 And as we pause along the way 02:36 to marvel at the celestial master piece 02:38 the creator has fashioned in the night sky 02:42 we will stand in a light more radiant 02:45 than cast by any galaxy or star. 02:48 The light of God's eternal power and truth 02:52 reflected in the miracle of all that He has made. 03:42 In all of history this has to be 03:43 the greatest time ever to be an astronomer 03:45 because the phase of discover just keeps accelerating. 03:49 The answers to so many questions 03:50 we could have only dreamed of knowing in the past 03:52 now actually seem within a reach. 03:56 It's a tremendous challenge 03:58 because once you leave the solar system 03:59 and head out into the realm deep space 04:01 the concepts of distance, time and quantity 04:04 take on meanings that are almost impossible to grasp 04:07 at least to the context of everyday experience. 04:13 To see with in our sun's family of planets 04:15 we can usually count and measure using increments 04:17 some what familiars thousands, millions perhaps billions. 04:22 But when you consider the universe as a whole 04:24 it's so large that you have to begin thinking in trillions 04:28 and then from there move on numerical values 04:30 that are even more inconceivable. 04:33 And even the most astronomers 04:34 we thrown on these huge numbers as if we really understand them. 04:38 Often times I'm not convinced we really do, 04:40 I have to sit back from time to time reflect upon 04:43 what are these millions and billions and trillions and 04:45 much bigger numbers we throw around so easily. 04:49 Now to work with numbers that large 04:50 requires a special unit of measurement. 04:52 So astronomers have devised the light year, 04:55 simply put it's the distance of light travels in 365 days. 05:00 Think of it this way, 05:05 we know that beam of light moves at a 186,000 miles per second. 05:10 So on the course of a year 05:11 it will travel about six trillion miles. 05:14 At that rate you can make a complete trip around the earth 05:17 and link the time it takes to snap your fingers. 05:23 Traveling that rapidly 05:24 a trip to the moon would take 1.3 seconds. 05:30 We could reach the sun in about eight minutes. 05:34 And the nearest star outside solar system, 05:36 Alpha Centauri would require 05:38 a journey of a little over four years. 05:42 Now, I want you to establish in your mind 05:43 what a light year is and again 05:45 it's a distance of light travel in 365 days. 05:49 Then you begin to realize what a 100 light years must mean 05:52 or a 1,000 light years or a 100,000 light years. 05:56 And you would loose that entirely if you talked about 05:59 miles in every one of those cases. 06:08 Now, despite the enormous distances involved 06:10 technologies has opened a spectacular 06:12 window to the universe. 06:14 And as we continue to venture out 06:16 sometimes millions of light years from the earth 06:19 we now only see many of creations greatest wonders 06:22 we also have the chance to come face to face 06:24 with a full magnitude of God's power and it's an awesome sight. 06:40 Though its dimensions are enormous 06:43 our solar system actually measures about 06:45 11,000th of a single light year in diameter 06:49 and is in reality only a pin point 06:52 on one arm of the Milky Way galaxy, 06:56 a cosmic ocean of perhaps 200 billion stars. 07:06 To better understand just how large our galaxy really is, 07:10 imagine the orbital pathways of the planets 07:13 compressed into an area the size of a coffee cup. 07:25 Within the parameters of this dramatically reduced scale 07:29 the Milky Way would still engulf 07:31 the entire North American continent. 07:38 Our solar system is located here on the outskirts of the galaxy 07:43 about 25,000 light years from its centre. 07:54 If we were to view the Milky Way on its edge 07:57 it would appear much like this. 07:59 Its flat disk measuring about a hundred million light years 08:02 across surrounds its bulging central core 08:06 a brilliantly luminous region 08:08 containing more than 100 billion stars. 08:16 Branching from this radiant hub 08:18 majestic arms comprised of gas, dust and stars 08:22 rotate like a carousel at speeds 08:25 that can exceed 9,000 miles a minute. 08:29 These arms are among the most beautiful of God's creations 08:33 and the location of mysterious and wondrous phenomena 08:37 we are only beginning to understand. 09:17 Scattered throughout the Milky Way, 09:19 magnificent regions called nebulae move among the stars. 09:27 These islands of hydrogen gas and dust 09:31 many of them thousands of times 09:33 larger than our entire solar system 09:35 are illuminated by star light 09:37 creating the most vibrant colors in the universe. 09:53 Some of these nebulae including the breathtaking eagle 09:57 may possibly be stellar nurseries 09:59 locations where new stars are born. 10:09 While others like the crab nebulae 10:11 are the products of an event that there are rarely observed 10:15 has captivated astronomers for centuries. 10:35 In July of 1054 A.D. 10:37 Chinese astronomers first viewed and recorded the appearance 10:41 of a spectacular new celestial body. 10:45 They called it a guest star 10:48 and for 23 days it blazed as the brightest object 10:51 in the heavens except for the sun. 10:56 Though they didn't realize it at the time, 10:59 those ancient observers were witnesses to the violent death 11:02 of a star more than 6,500 light years away. 11:19 Now, known as a supernova 11:22 the exploding star hold gas, dust and heavy elements 11:25 in every direction while forming the ever expanding Nebula. 11:34 Until 1968 an era of mystery 11:37 surrounded the cloud like mass. 11:40 Astronomers could not understand 11:41 why after 900 years the remains of a dead star 11:45 could continue to shine so brightly. 11:56 Finally, the answer was uncovered at the 11:59 National Radio Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. 12:06 After aiming a powerful astronomical instrument 12:08 at the centre of the crab nebula 12:11 then tracking it as it move through the heavens. 12:14 Radio frequencies not visible to optical telescopes 12:17 were detected pulsing in a precise consistent pattern. 12:24 The source of these unusual transmissions 12:27 would prove to be one of the most 12:28 fascinating celestial bodies ever discovered. 12:41 Following the explosion that had formed the Nebula 12:44 remnants from the dead star compressed into a small 12:48 extremely dense object called a Pulsar. 12:55 Measuring less than 20 miles in diameter 12:58 the Pulsar spun rapidly on its accesses 13:01 while generating an invisible shaft of ultra violet energy 13:04 that swept through space much like the beam from a lighthouse. 13:13 These constant burst of radiation 13:15 have heated and illuminated the crab nebula 13:18 for nearly a thousand years. 13:25 Shortly after its discovery this sequence of photographs 13:29 provided a direct view of the Pulsar 13:32 flashing with in the great cloud of gas and dust. 13:43 Since 1968, radio telescopes have identified 13:46 several hundred of these mysterious remnants 13:49 of once massive stars through out the Milky Way. 14:05 The death of a star can produce another 14:07 even stranger phenomenon. 14:10 When a star at least five times the size of the sun 14:13 finally burns out its fuel supply 14:17 it can collapse on its own forming a black hole. 14:26 The gravitational pull of this galactic whirlpool 14:29 is so strong that everything around it 14:32 including light itself is trapped inside. 14:37 The space of a star is distorted and stretched 14:40 while being relentlessly consumed 14:42 by inescapable forces of a neighboring black hole. 14:53 It has been speculated that the centre of the Milky Way 14:57 may contain a black hole with a mass and gravitational pull 15:01 millions of times grater than our own sun. 15:16 Less than a century ago, it was commonly believed that the 15:19 Milky Way was in and of itself the entire universe. 15:24 Nothing was thought to exist beyond its boundaries. 15:37 Then in 1924, high above Los Angles 15:40 at the Mount Wilson Observatory 15:43 a discovery was made that would dramatically 15:45 alter the world's perception of the cosmos. 15:53 Utilizing the most powerful telescope of his day 15:56 the astronomer Edwin Hubble conclusively determined that 15:59 distant hazy objects in space long thought to be nebulae 16:03 within the Milky Way were in reality individual galaxies 16:08 many as large or larger than our own. 16:15 For the first time in history 16:17 a correct conceptual view of the universe was insight. 16:47 Edwin Hubble had opened a window to a cosmos 16:50 inconceivably large and filled with countless galaxies 16:54 richly diverse in their sizes and shapes. 17:08 Elegant spirals similar to the Milky Way 17:10 were discovered through out the heavens. 17:15 The graceful arms of these flat galactic thin wheels 17:18 are formed of gas, dust and billions of stars. 17:26 Even more common are elliptical galaxies. 17:32 Virtually devoid of gas elliptical are comprised 17:35 almost exclusively of stars alone 17:38 and are usually spiracles or oblong in shape. 17:46 While smaller irregular galaxies 17:49 take on a variety of eccentric forms. 17:55 About two percent of all known galaxies 17:57 are classified as irregular, many of them are satellites 18:01 of more massive spirals and elliptical. 18:17 Once thought to be evenly distributed 18:19 throughout the universe 18:21 we now realize that individual galaxies 18:24 are instead drawn together at least in part 18:26 by gravitational attraction to form clusters and chains. 18:37 It has been said that a penny held at arms length 18:40 toward the constellation Coma Berenices will block from view 18:43 a cluster of more than a thousand galaxies. 18:54 Important clues to understanding 18:56 the overall structure of the entire universe 18:58 may well reside in these galactic clusters. 19:05 And as astronomers continue to survey 19:07 and map every corner of the cosmos 19:10 a remarkable tool of observation 19:12 revolutionizes their quest for discovery. 19:16 The orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. 19:46 Named in honor of the renowned astronomer 19:49 the Hubble Telescope captured the attention of the world 19:52 during its spectacular repair mission in December of 1993. 20:10 A team of astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour 20:13 adjusted and fine-tuned the complex instrument 20:16 while improving the focusing ability of its optical systems. 20:24 Since then the orbiting telescope 20:26 has more than fulfilled the dreams of astronomers 20:29 throughout the world. 20:37 Working 300 miles above the haze of our planets atmosphere 20:40 the telescope relies on the predictability 20:43 and order of the universe to achieve its objectives. 20:49 When a target area is identified in space 20:51 the Hubble's computers lock in on two of a possible 20:54 15 million predetermined guide stars. 21:00 This procedure accurately alliance 21:02 and maintains the position of the instrument 21:05 as it continually moves around the earth. 21:24 The superb clarity and detail of the Hubble photographs 21:28 have already establish the telescope 21:30 as one of the most significant astronomical tools of all time 21:34 reshaping our view of virtually every aspect of the cosmos. 21:47 Hubble images of the M100 galaxy 56 million light years 21:51 from the earth are enabling astronomers to accurately 21:54 measure distances to stars that could provide vital clues 21:58 towards computing the true size of the universe. 22:13 The volatile star Eta Carinae, 22:17 scientist now have a clear picture of a colossal eruption 22:20 that adjusted fragments of the star far into space 22:23 at speeds exciding two million miles an hour. 22:37 With its cameras aimed at the nucleolus 22:39 of M51 the whirlpool galaxy 22:45 this photograph of a mysterious silhouette 22:47 on the galactic core is believed to be a 22:49 direct glimpse of a massive black hole. 23:04 After staring for ten days at a small patch of sky 23:07 near the handle of the big dipper 23:09 the Hubble generated one of the most 23:11 spectacular pictures in the history of science. 23:21 At least 1,500 galaxies many on the 14 billionth as bright 23:26 as the dimmest light that the human eye see 23:28 were reveled in a single breathtaking panorama. 23:36 With in a pinpoint of sky, the size of the area block by 23:40 a grain of sand held at arm's length 23:42 the scope of galactic diversity and distribution 23:46 was showcased as a never before. 24:03 At the very limits of the known universe 24:06 the Hubble telescope has photographed 24:08 small extremely bright galaxies 24:10 that release incredible amounts of radiation. 24:14 Quasi-stellar radio sources or quasars 24:22 these distant objects some are thousand times 24:25 brighter than the Milky Way emit as much energy every second 24:28 as our sun could radiate in ten million years. 24:34 The source of a quasars power is still unknown 24:38 but a popular theory contends there is an 24:40 enormous black hole in its nucleolus. 24:49 The quasar gravitational filed is strong enough to attract 24:52 a neighboring galaxy and in the process 24:55 it pulls of huge quantities of stars and gas. 25:02 As the galaxies merge the quasars converts 25:05 its captured fuel supply into radiation strong enough 25:08 to blaze from the deepest corners of known space. 26:39 From the vantage point of a mountaintop observatory 26:43 the heavens are in open volume waiting to be read. 26:48 And as a sky filled with individual 26:50 wonders had surveyed each night 26:52 no aspect of the universe proves 26:54 more striking to behold than its size. 27:02 Throughout the Old Testament a recurring phrase 27:05 is used to describe God's shaping of the cosmos. 27:10 "He stretched out the heavens." 27:16 They are written more 3,000 years ago 27:19 the words convey a vivid and accurate picture of the universe 27:22 modern astronomy continues to reveal. 27:30 The sheer quantity of celestial bodies 27:32 is almost beyond comprehension. 27:41 Though estimates continue to raise 27:43 it is believed there are at least one hundred billion 27:46 individual galaxies in the universe 27:48 many of them comprised of 200 billion stars or more. 27:59 In an effort to draw these numbers 28:01 into some kind of meaningful focus 28:04 the British astronomer Sir James Jeans 28:07 speculated that the total number of stars in space 28:10 could equal or surpass the total number of grains of sand 28:14 on all the sea shores of all the world. 28:21 And in most cases each of these stars is separated 28:24 from any other by trillions of miles. 28:29 He stretched out the heavens in deed. 28:37 But how large really is the universe? 28:42 There is no way to measure precisely 28:44 but some prospective can be drawn 28:46 by using the imagination to survey 28:49 its boundaries of distance and time. 29:02 Let us travel now at the speed of light 29:05 departing from our home star on a trip across the cosmos 29:09 toward the edge of the known universe. 29:14 Our imaginary journey begins at midnight on January 1st 29:19 when we prepared a launch into space 29:21 at the speed of 186,000 miles per second. 29:28 We quickly pass the orbits of Mercury, 29:33 Venus and span the 93 million miles 29:38 that separate the earth from the sun 29:40 in just 8 minutes 19 seconds. 29:44 We continue on passing Mars, 29:53 then the gas giant planets 29:55 Jupiter, 30:01 Saturn, 30:04 Uranus, 30:08 Neptune 30:11 finally after 5 hours and 31 minutes 30:14 we race pass Pluto and its companion moon. 30:20 Our journey has taken us more than 30:22 three and half billion miles 30:26 to the outer limits of our solar system. 30:30 And it's still January 1st 30:38 now we alter our flight path 30:40 and travel in a direction perpendicular to our galaxy. 30:47 Behind us the nine planets and the sun 30:50 quickly vanish from sight. 30:55 The emptiness of space is broken only by the light of stars 30:59 so distant they do not yet appear to move. 31:04 A year passes then two years, 31:07 three, four years 31:11 finally on April 19th of the fifth year 31:15 we reach Alpha Centauri 31:17 the nearest star to our solar system. 31:20 We have traveled more than 25 trillion miles 31:23 and our journey has scarcely began. 31:29 We are now ten light years from the sun 31:32 far enough out in space that the stars 31:34 with in our galaxy appear to converge. 31:40 100 light years from the sun, 31:43 patterns of gas and nebulous material 31:45 from the arms of the Milky Way fill our view. 31:51 One thousand light years, the galaxies arms 31:55 and disc become more defined. 32:00 Yet it is not until we have traveled at the speed of light 32:03 for 100,000 years that the entire spiral shape 32:07 of the Milky Way is recognizable. 32:20 From here on each point of light we see 32:22 is no longer an individual star 32:25 but an entire galaxy composed of billions of stars. 32:35 Five million years after beginning our journey 32:38 the Milky Way is seen as part of the cluster 32:41 of about 30 galaxies known as the local group. 32:55 Fifty million light years out 32:57 we encounter the large Virgo cluster 33:00 containing more than 2,000 galaxies. 33:06 And so it goes as our travel 33:08 continue to take us deeper into the cosmos 33:13 we pass cluster after galactic cluster 33:16 each of building block of a far greater framework. 33:24 A billion years pass, 33:29 five billion, 33:33 finally after ten billion years we decelerate and pause 33:38 to observe a theoretical view 33:40 of universes large scale structure. 33:47 Countless billions of galaxies are now seen to comprise chains, 33:51 masses and thread like structures 33:53 that stretch across the cosmos 33:56 separated by enormous regions of empty space. 34:04 It is a spectacular tapestry so vast and diverse in its design 34:08 but the power of its creator must truly 34:11 surpass all human understanding. 35:32 From the prospective of size alone 35:34 I guess what you could say as human beings 35:36 we appear to be a little more than microbes 35:39 living on a speck of cosmic dust we call the earth. 35:46 Here we have a universe that is so incredibly large 35:49 and we are incredibly small so that relatively speaking 35:53 our place in the universe is totally insignificant. 36:01 This was illustrated by the Voyager spacecraft 36:03 several years ago. 36:06 Millions of miles from earth Voyager 1 look back 36:08 and showed us our planet in a way 36:10 we had never seen it before. 36:15 It was just a tiny dot engulfed by a single ray of sunlight. 36:20 And when you look at the picture today, 36:22 it's not hard to understand how the Old Testament writer 36:25 David must have felt when he asked God, 36:27 how could man possibly be important to You? 36:32 It is a question both timeless and quite logical. 36:38 For when considered against the inconceivable power 36:41 and size displayed throughout the universe 36:44 any perception of personal importance 36:46 we may hold are easily overwhelmed. 36:53 Yet God did not create on this awesome scale 36:55 to frighten or intimidate us with His power 37:00 instead, each night He uses the sheer magnitude of the cosmos 37:05 to help reveal the enormous 37:06 significance of every human life. 37:16 We are told in the Book of Psalms 37:18 in the Old Testament again in the Bible 37:20 that, "The heavens declare the glory of God." 37:23 We are not told anywhere else that 37:25 any of the part of the nature specifically 37:26 does that is clearly as the heavens do. 37:31 It's interesting to know that by definition of very word 37:34 cosmos means that object of super craftsmanship 37:38 or a system of order and harmony. 37:41 Now that's a wonderful interpretation of exactly 37:43 what the universe seems to be. 37:47 God has revealed His creative juices if you will 37:51 in the way that He is made diversity and beauty and wonder 37:55 and its there getting our attention 37:57 saying hey, I'm here look. 37:59 Here is the evidence that I'm here 38:00 its something that the Lord has put out there 38:02 for each one of us to seek out and come with a conclusion 38:05 that there must be a designer, there must be a Creator. 38:08 And so consequently I think most astronomers 38:11 I had ever met believe there is a God. 38:14 We may differ in our opinions and understanding of just 38:17 who God is and how involved He is with His creation 38:20 but the vast majority of astronomers I do believe 38:23 recognize that there is a Creator. 38:28 But even though I have met very few atheist astronomers 38:31 I have come to realize that merely 38:32 recognizing that God exists 38:34 is only the first step toward really understanding Him. 38:40 As we look deeper and deeper into space 38:43 the size, splendor and design we see throughout the universe 38:46 tell us very clearly that there must be a creator. 38:52 Yet to understand what that creator is really like 38:56 we must employ a different tool of exploration. 38:59 Something that can extend our view beyond 39:02 what we can learn about God 39:04 from observing the physical aspects of His creation alone. 39:10 It's a difficult jump to make when you are going from the 39:12 world of science, you are going through the world of thought, 39:15 you are going to the world of physical evidence 39:17 you can test things in the laboratory, 39:19 test ideas of theories but then when you try to come down 39:22 to the ultimate questions of the meaning of life 39:25 and what our relationship is to God and 39:28 what our responsibilities are 39:30 science has no answers for you there. 39:32 You have to leave the realm of science 39:34 and go into some other realm. 39:36 Now, we are talking about the spiritual realm. 39:40 And our methodology there has to change our tools 39:43 have to change because there is no way that our finite minds 39:46 could ever accurately discern 39:48 the true nature of an infinite God. 39:52 To do that we needed something 39:54 beyond our own intellectual experience. 39:57 So God reveled Himself to us in the form of His word the Bible. 40:04 Opening a Bible is an experience in some ways 40:08 comparable to turning a telescope toward the night sky. 40:12 For like a precisely crafted lens or mirror 40:16 the Bible clarifies and expands our understanding 40:19 not of planets and galaxies but of the God who made them. 40:25 Anyone who reads its pages can begin to discern 40:29 the deepest feelings and thoughts 40:31 of the Creator of the universe. 40:34 And as we look beyond the realities of His unmistakable 40:37 existence and power we come face to face with a personal 40:42 loving God who reaches out to each of us 40:45 with His promises of forgiveness, 40:47 hope and eternal life. 41:01 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 41:05 and I will give you rest. 41:08 For I am the Lord your God who says do not fear 41:12 for I am with you. 41:13 I will strengthen you and help you. 41:21 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. 41:27 Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 41:39 In this world you will have trouble. 41:41 But take heart! 41:43 I have overcome the world. 41:51 I have come into the world as a light, 41:54 so that no one who believes in me 41:57 should stay in darkness. 42:10 Truly, I say to you, he who believes in me has eternal life. 42:26 Never will I leave you, never will I forsake. 42:34 I have loved you with an everlasting love. 42:42 God loves us and cares about us very deeply 42:46 the Bible very clearly tell us that. 42:49 And the more you learn about Him 42:51 the more you realize that here we have a God who is so big 42:53 and so powerful, that He created the universe 42:56 beyond comprehension and size. 43:00 But yet at the same time we have a God that loves us so much 43:03 and cares for us so much individually 43:05 that He is promised to meet every need that will ever have. 43:10 For some reason beyond my understanding, 43:13 we are important to the Creator of the universe 43:16 and He loves us more than anything else He has ever made. 43:22 In all of creation there can be no greater mystery or miracle. 43:32 Though we inhabit a mere speck of a planet 43:34 we are the supreme focus of the Creators' attention and care. 43:42 And as we explore God's celestial masterpiece 43:45 during the decades to come 43:47 new discoveries will undoubtedly enhance our understanding 43:53 for we have privileged to see more clearly 43:56 into space than ever before. 44:02 And with every stunning glimpse 44:05 the universe will continue to reflect the both 44:07 grandeur of God's creative power 44:10 and the matchless significance we hold in His in His eyes. |
Revised 2014-12-17