- 6/12/2025
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00You
01:00The Italian astronomer Galileo once wrote that the great book of the universe stands continually open to our gaze.
01:15But it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language in which it is written.
01:30Throughout the centuries, we have turned our eyes to the heavens in an effort to fathom their complexity, meaning and design.
01:43It is a timeless quest for discovery, and today it is enhanced by the most sophisticated instruments ever devised.
01:55Amazing tools of astronomy that draw the deepest regions of space into clearer focus than at any time in history, unfolding before our eyes a vast frontier of seemingly infinite wonder and size.
02:12During the next few moments, we will continue our search to understand both the mysteries of the universe and our significance within it, as we venture to the most distant corners of creation.
02:31And as we pause along the way to marvel at the celestial masterpiece the Creator has fashioned in the night sky,
02:41we will stand in a light more radiant than cast by any galaxy or star.
02:48The light of God's eternal power and truth, reflected in the miracle of all that He has made.
02:56The proyect Riverside
02:56The light of God's eternal power and truth, reflected in the fact that He has made in knowledge and authority within it, such as the innate hell.
02:59The light of God is
03:14The light of God is healthier and his heat of their mapping collection.
03:17The light of God is brightaki whose love sees his death as day as he is Dennison.
03:26In all of history, this has to be the greatest time ever to be an astronomer, because the
03:46pace of discovery just keeps accelerating.
03:49The answers to so many questions we could have only dreamed of knowing in the past now
03:53actually see them within our reach.
03:57It's a tremendous challenge, because once you leave the solar system and head out into
04:01the realm of deep space, the concepts of distance, time and quantity take on meanings that are
04:06almost impossible to grasp, at least in the context of everyday experience.
04:10You see, within our sun's family of planets, we can usually count and measure using increments
04:18that are somewhat familiar, thousands, millions, perhaps millions.
04:23But when you consider the universe as a whole, it's so large that you have to begin thinking
04:27in trillions, and then from there move on to numerical values that are even more inconceivable.
04:34And even amongst astronomers, we throw around these huge numbers as if we really understand
04:39them.
04:40Often times I'm not convinced we really do, I have to sit back from time to time and reflect
04:43upon what are these millions and billions and trillions and much bigger numbers that we throw
04:48around so easily.
04:50Now to work with numbers at large requires a special unit of measurement.
04:53So astronomers have devised the light year.
04:56Simply put, it's the distance that light travels in 365 days.
05:01Think of it this way.
05:06We know that a beam of light moves at 186,000 miles per second.
05:11So in the course of a year, it'll travel about 6 trillion miles.
05:15At that rate, you could make a complete trip around the Earth in the length of time it takes
05:19to snap your fingers.
05:24Traveling that rapidly, a trip to the moon would take 1.3 seconds.
05:31You could reach the sun in about 8 minutes.
05:35And the nearest star outside the solar system, Alpha Centauri, would require a journey of a
05:39little over 4 years.
05:43Now once you've established in your mind what a light year is, and again it's the distance
05:46that light travels in 365 days.
05:50Then you begin to realize what a hundred light years must mean, or a thousand light years,
05:54or a hundred thousand light years.
05:57And you would lose that entirely if you talked about miles in every one of those cases.
06:04Now despite the enormous distances involved, technology has opened a spectacular window to the universe.
06:15And as we continually venture out, sometimes millions of light years from the Earth, we
06:20not only see many of creation's greatest wonders, we also have the chance to come face to face
06:24with the full magnitude of God's power.
06:27And it's an awesome sight.
06:41Though its dimensions are enormous, our solar system actually measures about one one-thousandth
06:47of a single light year in diameter, and is in reality only a pinpoint on one arm of the
06:54Milky Way galaxy, a cosmic ocean of perhaps 200 billion stars.
07:06To better understand just how large our galaxy really is, imagine the orbital pathways of
07:13the planets, compressed into an area the size of a coffee cup.
07:17Within the parameters of this dramatically reduced scale, the Milky Way would still engulf the
07:31entire North American continent.
07:39Our solar system is located here, on the outskirts of the galaxy, about 25,000 light years from
07:45its center.
07:55If we were to view the Milky Way on its edge, it would appear much like this.
08:00Its flat disk, measuring about a hundred million light years across, surrounds its bulging central
08:06core, a brilliantly luminous region containing more than 100 billion stars.
08:12Branching from this radiant hub, majestic arms comprised of gas, dust and stars rotate like a carousel,
08:25at speeds that can exceed 9,000 miles a minute.
08:30These arms are among the most beautiful of God's creations.
08:34From the location of mysterious and wondrous phenomena, we are only beginning to understand.
08:39To understand.
08:40To understand.
08:41To understand.
08:42To understand.
08:46To understand.
08:47To understand.
08:48To understand.
08:49To understand.
08:50To understand.
08:51To understand.
08:52To understand.
08:53To understand.
08:54To understand.
08:55To understand.
08:56To understand.
08:57To understand.
08:58To understand.
08:59To understand.
09:00To understand.
09:01To understand.
09:02To understand.
09:03To understand.
09:04To understand.
09:05To understand.
09:06To understand.
09:07To understand.
09:08To understand.
09:09Scattered throughout the Milky Way, magnificent regions called nebulae move among the stars.
09:28These islands of hydrogen gas and dust, many of them thousands of times larger than our entire solar system,
09:35are illuminated by starlight, creating the most vibrant colors in the universe.
09:54Some of these nebulae, including the breathtaking Eagle, may possibly be stellar nurseries,
09:59locations where new stars are born, while others, like the Crab Nebula,
10:11are the products of an event that, though rarely observed, has captivated astronomers for centuries.
10:18In July of 1054 A.D., Chinese astronomers first viewed and recorded the appearance of a spectacular new celestial body.
10:43They called it a guest star, and for 23 days it blazed as the brightest object in the heavens, except for the sun.
10:53Though they didn't realize it at the time, those ancient observers were witnesses to the violent death of a star more than 6500 light years away.
11:05Now known as a supernova, the exploding star hurled gas, dust and heavy elements in every direction, while forming the ever expanding nebula.
11:29Until 1968, an aura of mystery surrounded the cloud-like mass.
11:39Astronomers could not understand why, after 900 years, the remains of a dead star could continue to shine so brightly.
11:47Finally, the answer was uncovered at the National Radio Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia.
12:06After aiming a powerful astronomical instrument at the center of the Crab Nebula,
12:11then tracking it as it moved through the heavens.
12:14Radio frequencies, not visible to optical telescopes, were detected pulsing in a precise, consistent pattern.
12:25The source of these unusual transmissions would prove to be one of the most fascinating celestial bodies ever discovered.
12:41Following the explosion that had formed the nebula, remnants from the dead star compressed into a small, extremely dense object called a pulsar.
12:55Measuring less than 20 miles in diameter, the pulsar spun rapidly on its axis,
13:01while generating an invisible shaft of ultraviolet energy that swept through space much like the beam from a lighthouse.
13:14These constant bursts of radiation have heated and illuminated the Crab Nebula for nearly a thousand years.
13:20The stars have been discovered in the stars.
13:26Shortly after its discovery, this sequence of photographs provided a direct view of the pulsar,
13:33flashing within the great cloud of gas and dust.
13:35The stars have been discovered in the sky.
13:43Since 1968, radio telescopes have identified several hundred of these mysterious remnants of once massive stars,
13:51throughout the Milky Way.
14:05The death of the star can produce another, even stranger phenomenon.
14:10When a star at least five times the size of the Sun finally burns out its fuel supply,
14:18it can collapse on itself,
14:21forming a black hole.
14:22The gravitational pull of this galactic whirlpool is so strong that everything around it,
14:33including light itself, is trapped inside.
14:38The shape of a star is distorted and stretched,
14:41while being relentlessly consumed by the inescapable forces of a neighboring black hole.
14:53It has been speculated that the center of the Milky Way may contain a black hole,
14:59with a mass and gravitational pull millions of times greater than our own Sun.
15:17Less than a century ago,
15:18it was commonly believed that the Milky Way was, in and of itself, the entire universe.
15:24Nothing was thought to exist beyond its boundaries.
15:38Then, in 1924, high above Los Angeles at the Mount Wilson Observatory,
15:42a discovery was made that would dramatically alter the world's perception of the cosmos.
15:53Utilizing the most powerful telescope of his day,
15:56the astronomer, Edwin Hubble, conclusively determined that distant, hazy objects in space,
16:02long thought to be nebulae within the Milky Way,
16:05were in reality individual galaxies,
16:08many as large or larger than our own.
16:16For the first time in history,
16:18a correct conceptual view of the universe was in sight.
16:21Edwin Hubble
16:22by the
16:41Edwin Hubble had opened a window to a cosmos inconceivably large and filled with countless
16:54galaxies, richly diverse in their sizes and shapes.
17:09Elegant spirals, similar to the Milky Way, were discovered throughout the heavens.
17:16The graceful arms of these flat galactic pinwheels are formed of gas, dust and billions of stars.
17:28Even more common are elliptical galaxies.
17:33Virtually devoid of gas, ellipticals are comprised almost exclusively of stars alone and are usually
17:40spherical or oblong in shape.
17:48While smaller, irregular galaxies take on a variety of eccentric forms.
17:56About 2% of all known galaxies are classified as irregular.
18:01Many of them are satellites of more massive spirals and ellipticals.
18:19Once thought to be evenly distributed throughout the universe, we now realize that individual
18:24galaxies are instead drawn together, at least in part by gravitational attraction, to form
18:30clusters and chains.
18:38It has been said that a penny held at arm's length toward the constellation Coma Berenices
18:43will block from view a cluster of more than a thousand galaxies.
18:55Certain clues to understanding the overall structure of the entire universe may well reside in these
19:01galactic clusters.
19:06And as astronomers continue to survey and map every corner of the cosmos, a remarkable tool
19:12of observation revolutionizes their quest for discovery.
19:17of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
19:47Named in honor of the renowned astronomer, the Hubble Telescope captured the attention
19:52of the world during its spectacular repair mission in December of 1993.
19:58Tally-ho on Hubble there, Houston.
20:05Houston, Endeavour has a firm handshake with Mr. Hubble's telescope.
20:11A team of astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour adjusted and fine-tuned the complex
20:17instrument while improving the focusing ability of its optical systems.
20:25Since then, the orbiting telescope has more than fulfilled the dreams of astronomers throughout
20:30the world.
20:36working 300 miles above the haze of our planet's atmosphere, the telescope relies on the predictability
20:44and order of the universe to achieve its objectives.
20:50When a target area is identified in space, the Hubble's computers lock in on two of a possible
20:5615 million predetermined guide stars.
21:02This procedure accurately aligns and maintains the position of the instrument as it continually
21:07moves around the Earth.
21:14The superb clarity and detail of the Hubble photographs have already established the telescope as one
21:31of the most significant astronomical tools of all time, reshaping our view of virtually every
21:37aspect of the cosmos.
21:48Hubble images of the M100 galaxy, 56 million light years from the Earth, are enabling astronomers
21:54to accurately measure distances to stars that could provide vital clues toward computing the true
22:00size of the universe.
22:14The volatile star Eta Corina.
22:18Space now have a clear picture of a colossal eruption that ejected fragments of the star
22:23far into space, at speeds exceeding 2 million miles an hour.
22:38With its cameras aimed at the nucleus of M51, the Whirlpool galaxy.
22:46This photograph of a mysterious silhouette on the galactic core is believed to be a direct
22:51glimpse of a massive black hole.
23:06After staring for 10 days at a small patch of sky near the handle of the Big Dipper, the
23:11Hubble generated one of the most spectacular pictures in the history of science.
23:22At least 1,500 galaxies, many only one four billionth as bright as the dimmest light the
23:28human eye can see, were revealed in a single breathtaking panorama.
23:37Within a pinpoint of sky, the size of the area blocked by a grain of sand held at arm's
23:42length, the scope of galactic diversity and distribution was showcased as never before.
24:04At the very limits of the known universe, the Hubble telescope has photographed small,
24:09extremely bright galaxies that release incredible amounts of radiation.
24:15Quasi-stellar radio sources, or quasars.
24:23Quasi-estant objects, some a thousand times brighter than the Milky Way, emit as much energy
24:28every second as our sun could radiate in 10 million years.
24:36The source of a quasar's power is still unknown, but a popular theory contends there is an enormous
24:41black hole in its nucleus.
24:50The quasar's gravitational field is strong enough to attract a neighboring galaxy.
24:55And in the process, it pulls off huge quantities of stars and gas.
25:03As the galaxies merge, the quasar converts its captured fuel supply into radiation strong enough
25:09to blaze from the deepest corners of known space.
25:28The solar看看s can be changed from mind to a little bit.
25:31The city of the world to add to the yellow Moltres, even though our sun cannot ride in 10
25:34years or after theезд.
25:35The physics of the planet seems to be over the speed of the planet.
25:37The star of the universe is a lagoon and a Kannad.
25:39The science of the world is a pretty smooth, the science of gravity.
25:41The sun is very moving, but there is still a basic assurance that we canto be on Batman.
25:43The sun is very important for the sun and its natural in the sky, but there is still a fascinating
25:44Suppose the sun is coming to the sky, cos it's the sun, because it's a full-air.
25:47The sun can be able to grow up and the sun has a little bit of great.
25:48The sun is falling apart.
25:50Today is going to the sun and the sun has the sea.
25:52I don't know.
26:22From the vantage point of a mountaintop observatory, the heavens are in open volume waiting to be read.
26:47And as a sky filled with individual wonders is surveyed each night, no aspect of the universe proves more striking to behold than its size.
26:58Throughout the Old Testament, a recurring phrase is used to describe God's shaping of the cosmos.
27:09He stretched out the heavens.
27:17Though written more than 3,000 years ago, the words convey a vivid and accurate picture of the universe modern astronomy continues to reveal.
27:26The sheer quantity of celestial bodies is almost beyond comprehension.
27:35Though estimates continue to rise, it is believed there are at least 100 billion individual galaxies in the universe, many of them comprised of 200 billion stars or more.
27:53In an effort to draw these numbers into some kind of meaningful focus, the British astronomer Sir James Jeans speculated that the total number of stars in space could equal or surpass the total number of grains of sand on all the seashores of all the world.
28:17And in most cases, each of these stars is separated from any other by trillions of miles.
28:24One of these stars is separated from any other by trillions of miles.
28:31He stretched out the heavens indeed.
28:39So large really is the universe.
28:43There is no way to measure precisely.
28:46But some perspective can be drawn by using the imagination to survey its boundaries of distance and time.
28:52Let us travel now at the speed of light, departing from our home star on a trip across the cosmos toward the edge of the known universe.
29:12Our imaginary journey begins at midnight on January 1st, when we prepare to launch into space at the speed of 186,000 miles per second.
29:29We quickly pass the orbits of Mercury,
29:33Venus,
29:36and span the 93 million miles that separate the Earth from the Sun in just 8 minutes 19 seconds.
29:45We continue on, passing Mars,
29:48then the gas giant planets,
29:55Jupiter,
29:57Saturn,
30:02Uranus,
30:07Neptune.
30:09Finally, after 5 hours and 31 minutes,
30:15we race past Pluto and its companion Moon.
30:21Our journey has taken us more than 3.5 billion miles
30:27to the outer limits of our solar system.
30:31And it's still January 1st.
30:39Now we alter our flight path and travel in a direction perpendicular to our galaxy.
30:45Behind us, the 9 planets and the Sun quickly vanish from sight.
30:56The emptiness of space is broken only by the light of stars so distant, they do not yet appear to move.
31:05A year passes,
31:07then 2 years,
31:093,
31:104 years.
31:12Finally,
31:14on April 19th of the fifth year,
31:16we reach Alpha Centauri,
31:18the nearest star to our solar system.
31:21We have traveled more than 25 trillion miles,
31:24and our journey has scarcely begun.
31:27We are now 10 light-years from the Sun,
31:33far enough out in space that the stars within our galaxy appear to converge.
31:38One hundred light-years from the Sun.
31:41One hundred light-years from the Sun.
31:44Patterns of gas and nebulous material from the arms of the Milky Way fill our view.
31:49One thousand light-years.
31:53One thousand light-years.
31:54The galaxy's arms and disk become more defined.
31:58Yet it is not until we have traveled at the speed of light,
32:04for one hundred thousand years,
32:07that the entire spiral shape of the Milky Way is recognizable.
32:10From here on, each point of light we see is no longer an individual star,
32:26but an entire galaxy composed of billions of stars.
32:30Five million years after beginning our journey,
32:40the Milky Way is seen as part of a cluster of about 30 galaxies,
32:44known as the Local Group.
32:56Fifty million light-years out,
32:58we encounter the large Virgo cluster,
33:01containing more than 2,000 galaxies.
33:07And so it goes,
33:09as our travels continue to take us deeper into the cosmos.
33:14We pass cluster after galactic cluster,
33:17each a building block of a far greater framework.
33:25A billion years pass.
33:29Five billion.
33:31Five billion.
33:35Finally, after 10 billion years,
33:38we decelerate and pause,
33:40to observe a theoretical view of the universe's large-scale structure.
33:49Countless billions of galaxies are now seen to comprise chains,
33:52masses,
33:53and thread-like structures,
33:55that stretch across the cosmos,
33:57separated by enormous regions of empty space.
34:05It is a spectacular tapestry,
34:06so vast and diverse in its design,
34:09that the power of its creator must truly surpass all human understanding.
34:14As long as possible,
34:15here is the world of standing.
34:32Oh, my God.
35:02Oh, my God.
35:32From the perspective of size alone, I guess that you could say as human beings, we appear to be a little more than microbes, living on a speck of cosmic dust we call the Earth.
35:43Here we have a universe that's so incredibly large, and we are incredibly small, so that, relatively speaking, our place in the universe is totally insignificant.
35:59This was illustrated by the Voyager spacecraft several years ago.
36:05Millions of miles from Earth, Voyager 1 looked back and showed us our planet in a way we had never seen it before.
36:12It was just a tiny dot engulfed by a single ray of sunlight.
36:21And when you look at the picture today, it's not hard to understand how the Old Testament writer David must have felt when he asked God,
36:28how could man possibly be important to you?
36:31It is a question both timeless and quite logical.
36:37For when considered against the inconceivable power and size displayed throughout the universe,
36:45any perceptions of personal importance we may hold are easily overwhelmed.
36:50Yet God did not create on this awesome scale to frighten or intimidate us with his power.
37:02Instead, each night he uses the sheer magnitude of the cosmos to help reveal the enormous significance of every human life.
37:11We're told in the book of Psalms, in the Old Testament again of the Bible, that the heavens declare the glory of God.
37:24We're not told anywhere else that any other part of nature specifically does that as clearly as the heavens do.
37:30It's interesting to note that by definition, the very word cosmos means an object of superb craftsmanship,
37:39or a system of order and harmony.
37:42Now that's a wonderful interpretation of exactly what the universe seems to be.
37:49God has revealed his creative juices, if you will, in the way that he's made diversity and beauty and wonder.
37:57And it's there getting our attention, saying, hey, I'm here, look, here's the evidence that I'm here.
38:02It's something that the Lord has put out there for each one of us to seek out and come to the conclusion that there must be a designer,
38:08there must be a creator.
38:10And so consequently, I think most astronomers I've ever met believe there is a God.
38:15We may differ in our opinions or understanding of just who God is and how involved he is with his creation,
38:21but the vast majority of astronomers, I do believe, recognize that there is a creator.
38:27But even though I've met very few atheist astronomers, I've come to realize that merely recognizing that God exists
38:36is only the first step toward really understanding him.
38:42As we look deeper and deeper into space, the size, splendor and design we see throughout the universe
38:48tells us very clearly that there must be a creator.
38:54Yet to understand what that creator is really like, we must employ a different tool of exploration,
39:01something that can extend our view beyond what we can learn about God,
39:05from observing the physical aspects of his creation alone.
39:11It's a difficult jump to make when you're going from the world of science, you're going to the world of thought,
39:16you're going to the world of physical evidence, you can test things in the laboratory or test ideas or theories.
39:22But then when you try to come down to the ultimate questions of the meaning of life
39:26and what our relationship is to God and what our responsibilities are,
39:31science has no answers for you there.
39:33You have to leave the realm of science and go into some other realm.
39:37Now we're talking about the spiritual realm.
39:41And our methodology there has to change, our tools have to change,
39:45because there's no way that our finite minds could ever accurately discern the true nature of an infinite God.
39:52To do that, we needed something beyond our own intellect or experience.
39:58So God revealed himself to us in the form of his word, the Bible.
40:05Opening a Bible is an experience in some ways comparable to turning a telescope toward the night sky.
40:14For like a precisely crafted lens or mirror, the Bible clarifies and expands our understanding,
40:21not of planets and galaxies, but of the God who made them.
40:27Anyone who reads its pages can begin to discern the deepest feelings and thoughts of the creator of the universe.
40:35And as we look beyond the realities of his unmistakable existence and power,
40:40we come face to face with a personal loving God,
40:44who reaches out to each of us with his promises of forgiveness, hope and eternal life.
40:51Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
41:09For I am the Lord your God, who says,
41:12Do not fear, for I am with you.
41:15I will strengthen you and help you.
41:18Peace I leave with you.
41:25My peace I give to you.
41:28Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.
41:41In this world you will have trouble, but take heart.
41:45I have overcome the world.
41:52I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
42:00Truly I say to you, he who believes in me has eternal life.
42:17Never will I leave you.
42:30Never will I forsake you.
42:35I have loved you with an everlasting love.
42:40God loves us and cares about us very deeply.
42:47The Bible very clearly tells us that.
42:50And the more you learn about him,
42:52the more you realize that here we have a God who is so big and so powerful
42:56that he created the universe beyond comprehension and size.
43:01But yet at the same time we have a God that loves us so much
43:04and cares for us so much individually
43:07that he has promised to meet every need that we will ever have.
43:12For some reason beyond my understanding,
43:14we are important to the creator of the universe.
43:17And he loves us more than anything else he has ever made.
43:24In all of creation, there can be no greater mystery or miracle.
43:33Though we inhabit a mere speck of a planet,
43:36we are the supreme focus of the creator's attention and care.
43:44And as we explore God's celestial masterpiece during the decades to come,
43:48new discoveries will undoubtedly enhance our understanding.
43:55For we are privileged to see more clearly into space than ever before.
43:59and with every stunning glimpse,
44:06the universe will continue to reflect both the grandeur of God's creative power
44:11and the matchless significance we hold in his eyes.
44:16we are all about to meet human beings and the strength
44:20of the world.
44:21the world being the world is engaged in life.
44:23We are all about to meet our needs and the world to serve us withå·´an.
44:24We are all about to meet our own needs and the world to serve us with the world to serve us with us.
Recommended
0:51
|
Up next
0:46
2:11
1:54
11:40
12:31