The Stars and Galaxies
It’s good to stretch our minds
and study outer space
where trillions of the stars
a smallness does erase.
With light-years in the billions
we cannot realize
the vastness of our space
that all around us lies.
All of this vast space,
in light-years so we say
belongs to only one—
it is God’s domain.
Ruler over space,
creator of it too,
we c an see how vast he is
and get another view.
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Stars
The sun is yet a star
tho we don’t think of it—
the center of our solar system
we see quite a bit.
The stars are balls of gas
held by gravity.
The are very hot and bright
as we all can see.
The starts are formed in nebulae
of gas and too of dust
found often in the galaxies
far away from us.
Gravity attracts
an even greater mass,
where increasing density
heats up the inner gas.
At first it is dull red
but later it does shine
after fusion of the gases
happening over time.
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The Crab Nebula
A nebula is made
of dust and gas in space.
The nebula the Crab
is in the Milky Way.
The Crab is what is left
of an exploding star
in the 11th century,
seen from very far.
An exploding star
may leave a neutron core,
very dense and heavy
but very small, no more.
If this star does rotate,
it may flash a light
many times a second
in the darkened sky.
This is called a pulsar—
the Crab has one too—
a neutron star that flashes
as lighthouse do.
Radioastronomy
picks up these pulsing lights
of the neutron stars
shining in the night.
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The Milky Way Galaxy
Beyond the planets lies the realm
of the furthest stars,
and galaxies by billions,
all so very far.
We’re in the Milky Way,
a galaxy of stars
more than yes a billion
as it is so large.
Our galaxy, the Milky Way
is very vast indeed.
Our whole solar system
hardly can be seen.
The Milky Way in light-years
is 70,000 across—
a 1,000 light-years thick
and none of it is lost.
A light-year is the distance
light travels in a year
at 186,000
miles per second here.
At this tremendous speed
we cannot visualize
immenseness of the universe
which all around us lies.
Its arms are rather loose
as it spins in space
and giant blue-white stars
along the arms are spaced.
The sun and planets also spin
around the Milky Way
230 million years
is how long it takes.
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Andromeda Galaxy
Farther on in space
are many galaxies—
one is Andromeda—
beautiful to see.
They used to think a cloud of gas
far out into space
but found that it’s a galaxy
and old ideas erased.
It is a spiral galaxy
shining in the sky.
It’s arms are rather loose,
spinning in the night.
20,000 light-years
across this galaxy.
300 billion stars
shining oh so brightly.
More than 20 billion suns
is the light it gives,
shining oh so brightly
in a sky that lives.
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The Whirlpool Galaxy
The Whirlpool Galaxy is next,
unusual to see
with its spiral arms outstretched
very openly.
It is a spiral galaxy
like the Milky Way—
15 million light-years
shining far away.
In the middle of it
as a young blue star
glowing very brightly
in the center of the arms.
Another reaches into space
to a smaller galaxy
and both of them do glow,
blue stars quite intensely.
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The Universe
A 100 billion galaxies
may be in the sky,
stretching over space
that is very wide.
What once was thought a cloud or star
was found a galaxy
and space grew large by leaps and bounds
with new astronomy.
We can see the galaxies
stretching into space
at least 10 billion light-years,
so very far away.
All the distant galaxies
are moving fast away.
The further they are from us,
the faster move in space.
The universe expanding
and space expanding too.
Will it ever stop?
We really have no clue.
Only God does know
the future of the stars
or galaxies or space
expanding as they are.
All of space is his domain
whether here on earth
where he knows our every thought
or where the stars give birth.
God is vaster than we knew
and more powerful too
that we can ever realize
by thought or wandering thru.
But we know God our Father
can shepherd every one
into his heaven of happiness
when our life is done.
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