Astronomy Basics - 1

The Astronomy Basics: Enjoy the beauty of God's amazing creation and the account of human experience on all matter and energy, including our Solar System and Galaxies, that exist in the vastness of space.

1. Who is the creator of Stars and who knows their names & numbers?

2. Compare Astrology, Astronomy and Astrophysics?

3. Which is larger in space?
a)A Star; b)A Solar System; c)A galaxy; d)The Universe/Cosmos

4. Constellations are groups of stars in particular regions of the sky. Which of the following is not a constellation?
a) Cassiopeia
b) Orion
c) Pleiades, also known as "The 7 Sisters"
d) Sun and the planets

5. A black hole is an invisible, highly dense celestial body with gravity strong enough to keep light from escaping. It is called a back hole because,
a) black holes were named after their discovery by a black man
b) It is a big, dark hole in space
c) It only attracts black objects
d) it always appears dark, and no light can leave it.

6. What does the universe include?
a) Everything that we see from the earth
b) Everything that exists in the Milky way, our galaxy
c) Everything that includes in our solar system
d) Everything that exists in the space

7.




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Answers:
1. God (Gen 1:16, Ps 147:4)

2. Astrology: 1. The study that assumes and attempts to interpret the influence of the celestial/heavenly bodies (movements and positions of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars) on human behavior/affairs, and terrestrial events/world events. 2. Astrology, unlike astronomy, is not a scientific study and has been much criticized by scientists. 3. The astrology-related evidence in the Bible indicates that it is an ancient profession, though the Bible condemns it.

Astronomy: The scientific study of the universe and the objects in it, including stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. Astronomy, a branch of physics, describes the position, size, motion, magnitudes, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial objects. Astronomers analyze not only visible light but also radio waves, x-rays, and other ranges of radiation that come from sources beyond the Earth's atmosphere.

The Hebrews were devout students of the wonders of the starry skies(Amos 5:8; Ps. 19). In the Book of Job, which is the oldest book of the Bible in all probability, the constellations are distinguished and named. Mention is made of the "morning star"(Rev. 2:28; comp. Isa. 14:12),
the "seven stars" and "Pleiades," "Orion," "Arcturus," the "Great Bear" (Amos 5:8; Job 9:9; 38:31), "the crooked serpent," Draco (Job 26:13), the Dioscuri, or Gemini, "Castor and Pollux" (Acts 28:11). The stars were called "the host of heaven" (Isa. 40:26; Jer. 33:22).

The oldest divisions of time were mainly based on the observation of the movements of the heavenly bodies, the "ordinances of heaven" (Gen. 1:14-18; Job 38:33; Jer. 31:35; 33:25). Such observations led to the division of the year into months and the mapping out of the appearances of the stars into twelve portions, which received from the Greeks the name of the "zodiac." The word "Mazzaroth" (Job 38:32) means, "the twelve signs" of the zodiac. Astronomical observations were also necessary among the Jews in order to the fixing of the proper time for sacred ceremonies, the "new moons," the "passover," etc. Many allusions are found to the display of God's wisdom and power as seen in the starry heavens (Ps. 8; 19:1-6; Isa. 51:6, etc.)

Astrophysics: Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition) of celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions. The study of cosmology is theoretical astrophysics at the largest scales where Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity plays a major role.

Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists typically apply many disciplines of physics, including mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics. In practice, modern astronomical research involves a substantial amount of physics. The name of a university's department ("astrophysics" or "astronomy") often has to do more with the department's history than with the contents of the programs. Astrophysics can be studied at the bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. levels in "aerospace engineering, physics, or astronomy" departments at many universities.

3. d.
The Universe is very big, very very big, really big. It is everything of everything.

Star: (Everybody knows this) It is a glowing ball of Hydrogen and Helium in space, usually visible as a small bright point of light in the night sky. Stars are born from clouds of gas and dust. Our Sun is an example of a star. Stars can appear red, orange, yellow, blue, or white according to their masses and effective temperatures. Stars live for millions or billions of years, depending on their masses, and die sometimes spectacular deaths. Stars usually exist in very large collections called galaxies.

Solar System: It is a group of celestial bodies orbiting a star. Our Sun is a Star. Our Sun, its planets, and all the other objects in the space together are called the Solar System.

Galaxy: It is a huge group of at least hundreds of millions of Stars. Milky Way, our galaxy, has over 200 Billion Stars.

Universe:
1. The sum of everything that exists anywhere in the cosmos including time and space; 2. All physical matter, energy, and space, including the Solar System, the galaxies, and the contents of the space between the galaxies. Current theories of cosmology suggest that the universe is constantly expanding which means it is impossible to figure out the edge or end of the universe even with Powerful telescopes'(like America's "Hubble Telescope"), ability to look far deep into the distant reaches of the visible universe.

Astronomers estimate that there are about 125 Billion or more galaxies in the Universe. Can you imagine the bigness? In a nutshell, this means the Universe is huge, very very huge.

Even our super brainees couldn't figure out how big is the Universe. It is impossible even to estimate with near accuracy. I doubt you can imagine how big is even our Solar System, because just the small ex planet, Pluto is 4500 billion miles away from our Sun and orbiting around this Sun. This Solar System is only a dust particle when compare with the Universe. Technically, our Solar System itself is not a small matter. It is very very big. Our Sun is 93 million miles away from earth. It will take 8 minutes for the Sun light to travel from Sun to earth, when calculated with the speed of light @ 186000 miles per second. There are objects as far as 10 Billion miles away and still orbiting our Sun. Is this "power of gravity" or "power of God?"

With the aid of giant telescopes and radio telescopes, like Hubble space telescope NASA launched in 1990, Astronomers estimate the Universe is expanding without an end for space. That means it is beyond the understanding of humans.

Who can fathom God's wisdom?
Can we conclude that "Faith in God begins when our ability stops"?

4. d

5. d

6. d