Introduction
With the plethora of new telescopes that are capable of
reaching out to the stars in the Milky Way there are no lack of astronomers
making statements that sound certain about their uncertain discoveries. The
study of the stars and their satellites is definitely an interesting pursuit, one
that has valuable benefits for mankind, but also one that can be used to waste
a whole lot of money, and even the lives of those who devote themselves to it.
When you hear of the newest planet or solar system or star,
it is important to remember these 7 things:
1. God Created
It
The primary purpose of the stars, exoplanets, and moons is to “declare the glory
of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour
forth speech, night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech,
they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into
all the earth, their words to the ends of the world (Psalm 19:1-4).” Skeptic Dr.
Michael Shermer paraphrases Psalm 19:1 magnificently when he says, “A Hubble
Space Telescope photograph of the universe evokes far more awe for creation
than light streaming through a stained glass window in a cathedral.”
God created the stars, in their vast expanse and impossible
number, with a Word (Genesis 1:14-19) on the fourth day. It is estimated that
in the known Universe (Latin - single phrase) that there are enough stars for
every person on earth to personally own 11 trillion of them. There are no lack
of stars/planets/satellites in the universe for astronomers to discover and
research, each tells a story of God’s creative power. Carl Sagan got it right
when he said, “There are far more galaxies than people.”
God’s creation is far grander than anything mankind can
produce. Astronomy is merely seeing God's creation after he created it.
2. Mankind
Discovered Something About It
What mankind has discovered about exoplanets and solar
systems heretofore has been entirely confined to the Milky Way Galaxy, a galaxy
of nearly 100 billion stars. There are an estimated 100 billion more galaxies
to explore, though Hubble’s Ultra Deep Field estimates that as a severe
underestimation, if technology and theology allow.
So far the exoplanets discovered by astronomers all tell an interesting story, not a single one has been boring. Some are gas giants, others as small as earth, some are superheated past the temperature of lesser stars, others are supercooled, some rotate, others are tidally locked, some orbit on their star’s equator, others orbit around their star’s poles, some may have been stars once, others may be collapsed gas giants, some have stars as sister satellites, others are so far from their star that if you were standing on the exoplanet you couldn’t discern your star from the starry backdrop, etc.
So far the exoplanets discovered by astronomers all tell an interesting story, not a single one has been boring. Some are gas giants, others as small as earth, some are superheated past the temperature of lesser stars, others are supercooled, some rotate, others are tidally locked, some orbit on their star’s equator, others orbit around their star’s poles, some may have been stars once, others may be collapsed gas giants, some have stars as sister satellites, others are so far from their star that if you were standing on the exoplanet you couldn’t discern your star from the starry backdrop, etc.
But what mankind has discovered is currently, drastically, limited by technology. Mankind does not know the molecular makeup of most of
the discovered exoplanets, nor even what they look like, and many of the
details, such as temperature, atmosphere, and physical attributes are nothing
but hypotheses presented by the astronomer or reporter as fact. Anytime you see
a picture of a supposed planet that looks like Earth, it is because an artist
drew up a picture of an earthlike planet and slapped a name on it of a dim spot
on a star trillions of miles away. If technology allows us to see the true pictures
of these planets I have no doubt we will be less bored than ever, and enjoy
pictures of alien landscapes beyond our imaginations. But they won’t
look like Earth, that’d be boring.
3. God
is Demonstrating His Creativity Through It
In a universe where no snowflake, no human, no star is
exactly the same, God demonstrates his vast creativity. In a universe where a
gas giant can orbit its star in 36 hours and exist at 7,800 degrees farenheit
(Planet KELT-9b) and another will have its first birthday in about 154,000
Earth years (GU Piscium b has a 160,000 year lap around its star), we see the
vast creativity of our Creator. Each of our ~200 billion galaxies has a
uniqueness and detail that should make us see the awesome mind of our God.
Not only is its topography, location, temperature,
composition, speed, and appearance different, but it even has its own name. “God
determines the number of the heavenly bodies; he gives to all of them their
names (Psalm 147:4).”
4. God is
Sustaining It
KELT-9b, mentioned above as a 7800 degree gas giant, should
not exist. The temperatures, radiation, and gravity of its host star should
have put an end to it long ago. But what is impossible with stars is possible
with God. Likewise, Earth, even in her supposed “Goldilocks Zone” wouldn’t
exist for a moment if she were not constantly and totally tweaked by the Sustainer
of the Universe.
“He upholds the Universe by the word of his power (Hebrews
1:3).”
5. It is Not in the Goldilocks Zone
Gliese 581d is a planet the right distance from its star for
the temperature to sustain water…but if there is water it needs a greenhouse
type atmosphere, and it is 8 times the mass of Earth, and its star 1/3 the
brightness as the sun, and it has 0% the rotation axis of Earth…in other words,
it is tidally locked. Earth exists in what many astronomers call the “Goldilock’s
Zone” where conditions are “just right” to sustain life. When you hear of a
planet being a Goldilocks planet, look at what they mean, usually they mean
that one of a million conditions has been met. Hardly a sustainable planet. In
other words, don’t buy a one-way ticket to Gliese 581d.
For another example, Earth has a magnetic field that is
likely caused by a molten core, where-as Mars lacks this magnetic field and
will never be habitable. Neither will any other planet ever meet the necessary
life sustaining aspects of Earth, whether this is by design or by consequence
it is true.
6. It
has been Fatally Affected by Sin
While history has allowed many people to watch stars die, no
observable planet has yet met its demise observed by human eyes. That may soon
not be the case. Astronomers believe WASP-18b has crossed the event horizon
which will end in it being consumed by its host star, as it spirals in a theoretically
unsustainable diminishing orbit into the star WASP-18.
All of the exoplanets previously observed and to be
observed, and even those that will never be observed by human eyes have an expiration
date. Whether they are being consumed by their host, or blasted into smithereens,
or will face the purifying fire of the end of the age, they will not exist
forever.
So why do stars/planets/humans die? Death is a result of the
broken Universe, a universe which has been ravaged by futility, not willingly,
but because death entered into the cosmos through sin, the sin of one man Adam, and perpetuated by every human to come after him. Death and decay is the consequence of sin, which ravages everything, and desperately calls for relief,
even in the stars groaning (Romans 8:19-22).
7. Redemption
is Needed and Coming
But the Creator has not subjected his creation to futility
for naught. A New Heaven is hoped for, a recreation of the fallen Universe. Through
the cursed death of Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection God is “reconciling
to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood
of his cross (Colossians 1:20).”
The cosmos currently exists in a state of bondage to the law
of sin and death. But a time is coming when all things will be placed under
subjection to the reigning king, Jesus Christ, at which time all who hope in
the Son of God will be set free from their bondage to corruption.
Conclusion
The planets in this solar system were called of old, “Wandering
Stars”, because if you plotted your course and placed your hope in them, they
would lead you astray. Their paths are unpredictable without computer
processing, and the traveler who hoped to navigate his path by them would meet
with a difficult journey and may arrive in a place he did not intend or hope to
go.
But Jesus Christ is fixed forever on the Throne of Grace,
set your eyes upon him, and spend your time studying him and his word. The
exoplanets and other heavenly bodies have their purpose in showing you the
glory of God, but they are not the end goal of your existence or your
salvation. There is one name given under the stars by which we must be saved,
there is salvation in no one else. Look to Jesus, and be saved.
