Looking

                               

                                 Approach with caution.
                                        Forest ruin.


                               Summer...   well almost summer hands.
                           Ripple the world.


                              Grilled with TLC.   Another sign of spring.
                                 They keep flying north, I am thinking it is a giant geese invasion on

                          Canada.
                            Ok, Fine, I like flowers, got a problem with that?






                             He kept asking for the keys.
                               MACHE.  Just an urban seen.
                          Some artistic talent from one of the homeschoolers.  
                           St. Paul.  I have no clue what happened to Peter.
                               Just having some fun.




                           Yes I still play with blocks.  
                             No comment.
                            Sweet glasses with optional nose guards.
                          Our partner in cr....   I mean our evacuee Mrs. B.   Great having you, Mrs. B. 

Spring is Actually Here Among Us

                                  One out of about 3 1/2 benches of geraniums.

                         

                             If you need some of that spring come and get your flowers from Thompson Greenery in Barnesville.  When we open !_!   It would be the natural thing to do.

  

Known

  I heard this song recently on a short mission trip I went on and it really gave me one of those knocks God likes to give people every now and then. You can look it up on youtube, but here are the lyrics. 

they'll know us by the t-shirts that we wear

they'll know us by the way we point and stare

at anyone whose sin looks worse than ours

who cannot hide the scars of this curse that we all bare

they'll know us by our picket lines and signs

they'll know us by the pride we hide behind 

like anyone on earth is living right

and isn't that why Jesus died 

not to make us think we're right

chorus

when love, love, love

is what we should be known for

love, love, love

it's the how and it's the why 

we live and breath and we die

they'll know us by reasons we divide 

and how we can't seem to unify

because we've gotta sing songs a certain style

or we'll walk right down that aisle 

and just leave 'em all behind

they'll know us by the billboards that we make

just turning God's words to cheap cliches 

says "what part of murder don't you understand?"

but we hate our fellow man

and point a finger at his grave

chorus

they'll know us by the t-shirts that we wear

they'll know us by the way we point and stare

telling 'em their sins are worse than ours

thinking we can hide our scars

beneath these t-shirts that we wear 

What is Required for Us?

Why

After reading my previous rant about the size of the cosmos or universe which ever you prefer, it may leave you feeling like you are really nothing more than a mere atom in the vast universe and the only thing that makes you stay put in it is some small force called gravity and the only thing that keeps it from you is what seems a paper thin atmosphere. It is hard to look out into space and not become philosophical. Why me? Why here? Why now? Now some of you may already be nodding off. But bear with me for the next few minutes and we will just see more the fact that our being here is no fluke . Rather that ours is a planet so well placed and designed it is a joy to learn about.

I want you to pretend for a moment that there is no earth and in a sense we have to go home hunting in outer space. What will we look for? Well we would like a nice view and lots of space and maybe running water. Ok, but unlike house hunting on earth there are a couple other things that are a little higher on the list. Such as.

1. Within in the galactic habitable zone

2. Orbiting a main sequence G2 dwarf star

3. Protected by gas giant planets

4. Within circumstellar habitable zone

5. Nearly circular orbit

6. Oxygen rich atmosphere

7. Correct mass

8. Orbited by a large moon

9. Magnetic field

10. Plate tectonics

11. Correct ratio of liquid to continents

12. Terrestrial Planet

13. Moderate rate of rotation

And there are more that are being discovered all the time. These however are more than a enough for science and us to handle for the time being. Now that all sounds rather impressive. But what on earth(pun intended) does it mean? What is a main sequence G2 dwarf star or the magnetic field? Well let us take the above requirements one at a time and as we do we will see that not only are we here to live, but to learn how, where, and why we live.

1. 

   The Galactic Habitable Zone: As the name suggests this is a place within the galaxy suited to habitation. So where is this? About halfway between the center and the edge of the galaxy. What is wrong with the other places? The center is perhaps more hostile to life than the edges, since it has a much higher density of stars thus there are more super novas(exploding stars) which cause higher radiation, and at the very center you have a black hole. The edges are hostile in the sense that they do not carry enough heavy elements to build earth size planets. Even within the habitable zone there are places more suited to life and observation. Such as those places in between the arms where the dense amount of stars and (since there are many stars) super novas, are absent. This not only cuts down on radiation but clears our view so we can see where we are in our galaxy. We are placed just perfectly between the Sagittarius and Perseus arms of our galaxy in the galactic habitable zone. That takes care of requirement number one for life to even exist.

2. 

   Circling a Main Sequence G2 Dwarf Star: Very simply this is our sun. Why does it have to be a main whatever? Well its name is basically just telling the size of it and how bright it is. The reason its size is so important is that if it were smaller the habitable zone around it(we will learn more about that later) would have to be smaller making it necessary for the earth to be closer and if that happened our rotation would stop and the gravitational pull of the sun would lock us in so one side of the earth got constant sunlight and radiation, while the other got no sunlight at all---making complex life impossible. If it were larger... well that would cause a whole new set of problems. Think about more gravitational pull, higher radiation, bigger orbit for earth etc... our sun is the right size, brightness and distance.

3. 

   Protected by Gas Giant Planets: The gas giant planets, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune are, believe it or not, important to your life. First of all it is good to realize that in space things are always moving and at great speeds. And when comets and asteroids are constantly flying into our solar system, they might just hit something. It is believed that without these huge planets and their gravitational pull to attract these flying objects, we would be more vulnerable to astroid and meteorite (dust from comets) impacts.

4. Within Circular Habitable Zone: This zone, some times referred to as the goldilocks zone, is the area around the sun where life is possible. Our earth as you might have guessed is right in it. In fact it is so well placed that if our earth were 5% closer it would become like venus with a runaway greenhouse effect and temperatures up to 900 degrees if it were 20% further away our planet would become like mars an ice world without life. And we can see that if the change were even smaller it would still make life much more difficult if not impossible.

5. A Nearly Circular Orbit: Related strongly to the above requirement for life the orbit of the earth around the sun is very important to the weather, seasons, and stability of the earth. Think if our earth had a more oval rotation around the sun and it kept getting closer to the sun then all of a sudden it was that much further away. We know that life could not endure such harsh and sudden changes. We can see how just the tilt of the earth affects our seasons and climate.

6. 

   Oxygen Rich Atmosphere: Out of seventy planets and moons within our solar system only seven have gas clouds around them and out of that seven ours is the only one able to support life. This is due in large part to our atmosphere's composition of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% carbon dioxide. This mixture of gases is perfect for holding water, protection from harmful radiation, and a temperate climate. It is also the only transparent atmosphere in the solar system making it ideal for observation from earth. It is also interesting to note that out all the different wave lengths of the eletro magnetic spectrum (the electro magnetic spectrum is what in nature transports sound, light, radio signals etc... ) the lengths known as gamma, xray, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, microwave, and radio. Most of these are either lethal, invisible, and/or useless to life on earth. As a matter a fact the frequency of the radiation needed for complex life on earth represents one one trillionth of a trillionth or 1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of all the radiation in the universe. Thankfully our sun produces it in abundance and our atmosphere maximizes the amount given. While these rays are important for such things as photosynthesis(the base of the food chain) they are also the most informative about many different structures in our universe. So this thin band of life giving frequency is not only fitted perfectly for life but allows us to investigate the universe better.

7. 

   A Large Moon: It has been said that without our moon we would not be here. Why? Our moon is considered large at ¼ our size and this is good. The moon is large enough to exert a gravitational pull on the earth that stabilizes it keeping it at a mostly steady 23 ½ degrees of tilt, making for temperate seasonal change. It also refreshes our oceans by causing tides that churn nutrient rich water from deep in the ocean. The moon however plays a very interesting roll in one of the largest experiments ever done. A solar eclipse is one of the most amazing astronomical transactions and there are many requirements to make a perfect solar eclipse such as the one we observe from earth. The first three are a observation platform(earth), a eclipsing object (moon), and a object being eclipsed(the sun). This is only the start since the eclipsing object and the object being eclipsed have to appear to be exactly the same size from the observing platform. Well as it happens that even though the sun is 400 times larger than the moon the sun is 400 times further away making the moon appear to cover the sun perfectly. This amazingly special, movement of these heavenly bodies has led to many discoveries that are most helpful in understanding the universe. In 1870 scientists studying a solar eclipse found that it allowed them to observe the chromosphere(the inner part of the sun's atmosphere) and found that it contained helium, the second most abundant element in the universe. In turn this gave us better understanding of how stars(other suns) work and all because the conditions were right. Perhaps the solar eclipse's most prodigious contribution to science was when on May 29^th of 1919 research teams lead by Arthur Eddington photographed stars in the Highadees star cluster during the totality of the eclipse: later study would show that the sun's gravity was bending the light from these distant stars at the precise angle Albert Einstien predicted in his famous equation for relativity e=mc2. Now one of the most famous equations in nature had been proven.

8. 

   Magnetic Field: No this is not a field of magnets in the sky, but actually an assistant to our atmosphere in its job of keeping radiation away from us. How? Molten iron in the earth's core creates a magnetic field around the earth that deflects radiation given off from the sun and other celestial bodies.

9. Correct Mass: The reason the size of our earth is most important to our survival is that a a smaller earth would mean a weaker magnetic field unable to ward off harmful radiation.

10. Plate Tectonics: The earths crust ranges in size from 30 to 4 miles thick and is in constant motion. Here again is a thing to be thankful for, the constant motion of the plates helps regulate the earth's interior temperature, recycles carbon, mixes chemicals essential for living organisms, and shapes continents. These things would not be possible if the earth's crust were slightly thicker, thinner, or not in motion.

11. Correct Continent to Water Ratio: The ratio of water to land is crucial to a temperate climate and the survival of the abundant life on earth. If the ocean were just a hundred feet higher think of all the places that would be under water, while less water would would make it harder for moisture to reach inland via the water cycle, which would cause many more troubles. Not to mention the amount of coral reefs, shallows, lakes, and rivers that would just dry up killing much of the food and bacteria needed for life.

12. Terrestrial Planet: A terrestrial planet simply means that it is composed of mainly of hard element such as iron, silica etc... We have already seen the way this is a key part of life on earth.

13. Moderate Rate of Rotation: The rotation of the earth as it travels around the sun is also crucial to a temperate climate. We know that the length of days helps cause seasonal change. That change would be much more drastic if our rotation were increased or decreased even slightly.

We see that there is more to our habitation on this planet than meets the eye and how exquisitely our home is made for us and aren't we glad that we do not have to look for another. Keep in mind I have not even really gone into much detail and yet already we can see how wonderfully everything holds together. It makes me take to heart the passage, “the heavens declare the glory of the Lord and the firmament shows his handy work.” We may be just a spot in the universe but our spot is very very very well placed.

Interesting tidbit about life on earth: There have been studies done to try and estimate what the chances of all the right conditions being brought together just for life to exist. One such study took each factor  known to man and assigned it a conservative 1/10 value. The result was very interesting.  The chances of the conditions being just right for life to exist is 1/ 1,000,000,000,000,000.

Much of this is taken from information given by the movie Privileged Planet and the work done Guillermo Gonzalez. I would say that though many of the things discussed are considered facts, we should never stop questioning their “truth.” Remember “the earth was at the center of the solar system” for hundreds of years. I should also say that I claim no superior knowledge on these matters, I have simply learned something and wish to keep learning, and sharing the glory of our God.   

Lots of Time and Space

See that speck in the beam light.  The label next to it should read, "You are here."

Yep that is good old earth sitting in a sun beam and looking like a piece of dust.

                                                                 Lots of Time and Space

Here is an idea for the next time you feel you are big person who can do great things. Go to the nearest light switch, turn it on. How long did it take for you to see the light was on? Well as best as we can measure it, light travels at about 186,000 miles per second and if you are standing five feet away, well you can try to do the math but I will just say it is fast fast fast. Now think of traveling through space at that speed it would take you 8 minutes to reach the sun about 100 million miles away.   And if you wanted to go to pluto that would be about a 5 hour trip, and about 3650 million miles (or 3 ½ billion miles).   So in 5 light hours we can go 3650 million miles. I am going to try and give you an idea of how big that number is with a little comparison... OK it is a big comparison and is well known to all who live above ground. The sun is so big that it could hold 1 million earths inside it and is about 1 million miles across, given that, it would take 3650 suns lined up to get from earth to pluto.   Remember it takes a million earths to make one sun. Also remember that this is all just within our solar system.

Now we are going to go outside our solar system where all things are measured in light years. But before I start talking in such large terms think back to our “huge” solar system that takes about 10 hours to cross then think how far you could go in a day. Well about 1642 ½ days (4 ½ years) later you would end up at our nearest star Proxima. Here we will do some rough math and 3942 solar systems later we get to the closest star.

If you have done your astronomy you know that there are lots of stars and in our galaxy alone there are an estimated 200 to 300 billion stars. There is another big number that you may not quite grasp. A billion is a million 1,000 times. So it would look like this, 1,000,000,000. You get the idea, lots of stars in just our galaxy. And in the observable universe there are an estimated 100 billion(100,000,000,000) galaxies.

  Where were we? Oh yes the closest star, Proxima. From there we go on through our galaxy for year after year(mind you we are still going light speed) about 50,000 years later(depending on which direction you go) we get to the edge of our galaxy and if you do not feel small by now think this over, to get to the next nearest galaxy you will need to go for another 2 million years. 730,000,000 days later you have got to one of the estimated 100 billion galaxies in the universe that we can see from earth.

Next up:  What to think about when you feel like a small person who is not important.

References are taken from: Privileged Planet and Wonders of Creation: The Book of Astronomy by: Dr. Jonathan Henry.  

"I can calculate the motion of the heavenly bodies but not the

madness of people" - Isaac Newton

" We build to many walls and not enough bridges" - Isaac Newton

Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are

just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things

are of good report, if there is any virtueand if there is anything priseworthy-

meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8