Discovery

Astronomers reported yesterday that they have the first snapshot of planets in another solar system.

Somewhere in the constellation of Pegasus there is a large star. It doesn’t have a name. It has a number, HR 8799. It’s really far away. 128 light years away and one light year is about 6 trillion miles. Orbiting HR 8799 are three planets each larger than Jupiter.

The picture at the upper left of this post is what the scientists who discovered the system call the snapshot.

The Christian Science Monitor put it this way:

“In the hunt for solar systems beyond our own, astronomers have crossed an important threshold – capturing from the ground, as well as from space, the first direct images of planets around bright, sun-like stars.”

I am not an organized religious person or a dogma proponent. I do acknowledge and embrace the efficacy of things spiritual and write about what that could mean often, but the only truth that came to mind when I saw this photograph was the phrase, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.”

It’s something to think about anyway.