Stars fascinate me.  Bits of superheated gases and particles, they produce astonishing amounts of heat, energy, and light.  They come in different shapes and colours.  They have different luminosities and characteristics. They have delighted poets for centuries, inspired romance for at least as long, and figure prominently in our music and literature.  Their cheerful dazzle has guided many a sailor home through uncharted seas.

They twinkle so beautifully…and they aren’t so little, either.

Our sun’s diameter is approximately 1.3 million km.  And if that isn’t enough to ponder on its own, clusters of stars forming infinite galaxies should knock your socks off.

Each galaxy could contain as many as 100 billion stars – and there are perhaps 100 billion galaxies out there, spinning and weaving, casting a spell over the teeny-tiny humans gaping at them from our window to the Universe.  100 billion billion stars, innumerable to our greatest scientific minds’ estimates, twinkling in unison, a heavenly halo of glimmering wonder hovering expectantly over our sleeping heads.

“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.  He counts the stars and calls them all by name.”  Psalm 147:3-4 NLT)

  To prove that God has the power to heal our deepest hurts, the Psalmist adds the tasty little tid-bit that God calls each star by name.

And we haven’t even found them all yet…

The beauty of space is in its vastness – its infinite variations on the heavenly theme, its colours and textures, its mystery and vibrancy.  Its showcase of the imaginative genius of a creative God.

Its twinkle…

What boggles you about space?  What do you see that declares beauty in its deep mystery?