Mind-Boggling: New Space Image Reflects the Glory of God in the Universe

Steve Warren : Jul 18, 2018
CBN News

Star-gazing scientists' best guess is the universe contains somewhere between one and two trillion galaxies. This means the universe is literally overflowing with stars, somewhere around the number of 700 sextillion stars—the number seven followed by 23 zeros. And that's just the estimated number of stars in the observable universe.

[CBN News] A new image released by the European Space Agency (ESA) reveals more than 1,000 points of light that are actually individual galaxies. (Image: North Galactic Pole-Infrared/ESA/via CBN News)

The infrared image was taken by the ESA's Herschel Space Observatory's Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE).

The image shows the North Galactic Pole, covering 180 square degrees of the sky.

Astronomers say each point of light in the image represents a galaxy. A galaxy is an enormous array of stars, interstellar gas, and dust. For example, our galaxy is known as The Milky Way. Scientists believe it includes more than 100 billion stars.

Images like this one reaffirm the Psalmist's declaration who wrote in the Bible's Old Testament:

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." -Psalm 19:1

According to the website Answers in Genesis, the Bible indicates that the universe has stretched out or expanded.

Isaiah 40:22 tells us that God stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. The verse also suggests the universe has increased in size since God created it and He is causing it to expand.

"He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names." -Psalm 147:4

According to Gizmodo.com, images like this one allow astronomers to estimate the total number of galaxies across the entire observable universe. A few years ago, astronomers came to the realization that the universe contains up to 10 to 20 times more galaxies than previously thought.

The star-gazing scientists' best guess is the universe contains somewhere between one and two trillion galaxies. This means the universe is literally overflowing with stars, somewhere around the number of 700 sextillion stars—the number seven followed by 23 zeros.

And that's just the estimated number of stars in the observable universe. There could also be trillions more that we cannot see with our current technology.

"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon, and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou art mindful of Him? and the Son of man, that thou visitest Him?" -Psalm 8:3-4