A moment for some perspective.
Carefully consider the photo to the right, from Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Explanation: What’s happening at the center of active galaxy 3C 75?
The two bright sources at the center of this composite x-ray (blue)/ radio (pink) image are co-orbiting supermassive black holes powering the giant radio source 3C 75.
Surrounded by multimillion degree x-ray emitting gas, and blasting out jets of relativistic particles the supermassive black holes are separated by 25,000 light-years. At the cores of two merging galaxies in the Abell 400 galaxy cluster they are some 300 million light-years away.
Astronomers conclude that these two supermassive black holes are bound together by gravity in a binary system in part because the jets’ consistent swept back appearance is most likely due to their common motion as they speed through the hot cluster gas at 1200 kilometers per second. [PER SECOND]
Such spectacular cosmic mergers are thought to be common in crowded galaxy cluster environments in the distant universe.
In their final stages the mergers are expected to be intense sources of gravitational waves.
Given this explanation, one wonder at what "intense" might imply.
Read Daniel 3.
Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and worthy of praise, and glorious for ever…. O ye heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever…. O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever…. O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever…. O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever…. O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all for ever…. O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever…. O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever…. O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever…. O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
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Thank you Father for the this wonderful photo and it reminds us how great our Lord is. Are you going to post more pics like this with a reading? Personally I would like for you to do so. Thanks again before a stargazer in NYC.
I sure hope God knows what He’s doing with that stuff… :)
I’d say the stars have done their job of “blessing the Lord.” Recalls Psalm 19 as well, “the heavens show forth the glory of God..”
. . . and blasting out jets of relativistic particles. . .
Wait, are we sure these black holes aren’t at the USCCB?
//runs away and hides
O wondrous suckitude!
The universe is certainly enormous and full of wonders! Blessed be the Lord!
It is a shame Catholics don’t speak more directly to the common person on cosmology. St. Thomas Aquinas was able to prove the existence of God even from the static model of the universe prevalent at the time.
Oh what fun his intellect would have addressing the big bang caused by a vacuum fluctuation that is used now offered to explain why we are here.
This is just a glimpse of God’s power, and majesty and glory.
I am like dust and nothing. (tears rolling down my cheeks)