Astronomy

Astronomy, Astronomy Links and	Created Date: 19-Aug-2019
Weather Site Links	Last updated: 31-Jul-2023
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Sections:

1	Astronomy Gives Faith	2	Outer Space
3	Astronomy Helpful Links	4	Helpful Weather Links

Astronomy Gives Faith in the God of Bible

In the scriptures, God gave us enough information to have faith and to reveal there has to be a Creator. Without even the scriptures, the unbelieving world has no excuses or alibi when appearing before Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne of Judgment because of the evidence seen everywhere that includes the Universe. Many Biblical Scholars point to the message in the Stars that is called the Mazzaroth.

Excerpts from the Big Bang Topic:

The stars, star systems, constellations and the entire universe are a witness to having a creation. There are many highly respected astrophysicists and cosmologist who embrace the idea the entire universe is the result of the Big Bang that came out of an entity called Singularity.

There are a few theories:

On how Singularity came into existence but there are absolutely no working theories that make any sense.
On what caused Singularity to erupt or explode, but they also do not make any sense either.

From the Christian Perspective, the answer is God. God is a non-contingent being that created the contingent universe. In Philosophical Proofs, there is the discussion that no matter how far back in time that can be examined, there has to come a point when there was a Being/Entity that was not caused by something else to start everything.

There are two important points that are being ignored in all the debates on the "point in time" that was containing the theoretical entity called Singularity:

In order for there to be Singularity, implies there is a Dimension that contained the Singularity before the expansion.
The Dimension, that contained the Singularity, is where the catalyst would be for creating the Singularity and also making it expand.

which means that no matter how correct mathematically the theory on the equations that try to explain a Big Bang, they are incorrect because the source and catalyst are not explainable (along with many other areas). These two previous points is not to imply that is where God exists, or Singularity is how God started Creation. We know from the Book of Genesis that the Universe was created after the Earth was already present as read in Genesis 1:14-17.

No matter what is theorized by truly well meaning, pontificating atheistic or agnostic scientists, who albeit use fascinating mathematical models to explain the Big Bang and Singularity, the Christian can simply use the following summary of the unrealistic and improvable theory of the Singularity Start of the Universe:

First there was nothing then nothing exploded.

If this sounds funny, it is partially meant to be but also highly accurate on paraphrasing what the "Singularity Start of the Universe" is trying to assert. As of 2018, there is no new theories of:

Where out of nothing, Singularity became something so that is could explode.

Many non-believing scientists (NBS) are starting to get angry, on many YouTube videos, with Christians making statements like "when first there was nothing and the nothing exploded" because ...

Biblical Scholars point out that there is a great deal of evidence of the naming of the Stars and Constellations, revealed in the studies of the Mazzaroth, that the names gave the message of God and the future Messiah even before there was the written Word of God.

The following are a few scriptures of many dealing with the Universe, the Heavens, the Earth and the future Heavens and Earth.

	Features	Reference
1	Heavens (plural)	Genesis 1:1	In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
2	It can be torn	Isaiah 64:1	If only you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence
3	It was stretched	Isaiah 40:22	It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
4	New Heavens and new Earth	Isaiah 65:17	For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
5	Hang on nothing	Job 26:7	He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.
6	Earth given to man	Psalm 115:16	The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.
7	Names all the Stars	Psalm 147:4	He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.
8	Cannot contain God	2 Chronicles 6:18	But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!
9	New Heavens and new Earth	Revelation 21:1	Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth, ”for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

A favorite quote from Paul Davies:

“Scientists are slowly waking up to an inconvenient truth - the universe looks suspiciously like a fix. The issue concerns the very laws of nature themselves. For 40 years, physicists and cosmologists have been quietly collecting examples of all too convenient "coincidences" and special features in the underlying laws of the universe that seem to be necessary in order for life, and hence conscious beings, to exist. Change any one of them and the consequences would be lethal. Fred Hoyle, the distinguished cosmologist, once said it was as if "a super-intellect has monkeyed with physics".

To see the problem, imagine playing God with the cosmos. Before you is a designer machine that lets you tinker with the basics of physics. Twiddle this knob and you make all electrons a bit lighter, twiddle that one and you make gravity a bit stronger, and so on. It happens that you need to set thirty something knobs to fully describe the world about us. The crucial point is that some of those metaphorical knobs must be tuned very precisely, or the universe would be sterile.

Example: neutrons are just a tad heavier than protons. If it were the other way around, atoms couldn't exist, because all the protons in the universe would have decayed into neutrons shortly after the big bang. No protons, then no atomic nucleuses and no atoms. No atoms, no chemistry, no life. Like Baby Bear's porridge in the story of Goldilocks, the universe seems to be just right for life.”

Outer Space

The universe was created after the Earth. It was there for giving light and also for signs of who God the Creator is and with His Power.

The Earth was already in existence in Genesis 1:1 and God came in Genesis 1:2 to "remake/reform" the Earth, which is often called the Gap Theory. After God began the reforming of the Earth, then God created the Heavens (Universe). Additionally, the Earth was formerly part of the Kingdom of Heaven according to many Biblical Scholars.

Genesis 1:14-18	14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
Psalm 33:6	By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.
Psalm 136:7-9	To Him who made the great lights, For His loving-kindness is everlasting: The sun to rule by day, For His loving-kindness is everlasting, The moon and stars to rule by night, For His loving-kindness is everlasting.
Isaiah 40:26	Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.
Job 9:7-9	Who commands the sun not to shine, And sets a seal upon the stars; Who alone stretches out the heavens And tramples down the waves of the sea; Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;
Job 38:31-33	"Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion? "Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites? "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth?
Psalm 147:4-5	He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.

Astronomy Helpful Links

Heavens Above - Get times on fly over of ISS, Iridium Flares and so much more
Visibility of Moon and planets - Get times on visibility and what is visible.
Moon Phases - Information on visibility of Moon by date
Night Sky Network - Nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs
StarDate - Helpful Astronomy information from the University of Texas
EarthSky - Updates on the cosmos and world
Role of Data Science in Astronomy and Interstellar Exploration

Helpful Weather Sites

1. Cyclone / Hurricane Related

National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center - Great site but some graphics are small without option to enlarge.
Track the Tropics - Awesome site of information with graphics that can be enlarged for better viewing.
Hurricane Model Information - Show the definitions of the different types of hurricane models.

2. Helpful for Astronomers

Dark Sky Weather - Houston, TX - Site is searchable to another location.

3. Wind and other Patterns

Ventusky Weather - A great visual tool to see many aspects of the weather including wind patterns, wind speed, clouds, radar, etc.
Wind Patterns - An excellent representation of wind patterns, rain, temperature, clouds, air quality and more.
Earth - Another excellent site that gives representation of wind patterns.

4. Weather Forecasting

The Weather Channel Site - Wonderful site of information. In this author's opinion the site sometimes has the tendency sometimes to over dramatize, embellish and give the impression that cataclysmic doom is about to happen in areas of bad weather.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Service for United States - Great site.
Radar from National Weather Service - Visual with drill down information.
Weather Underground - Great information with a little bit too many advertisements that "muddy" the user experience..
AccuWeather - Local and national forecasting.

What to read next?

(a) Mazzaroth - Jewish Astronomy (b) Big Bang, (c) Time and Time Travel, (d) Time Domains, (e) Kingdom of God, (f) E=mc², (g) Evolution, (h) Ten Dimensions of the Universe, (i) Age of the Earth, Periods that Developed Life, Heavens, (j) Gap Theory of Genesis 1:2 - Earth formless for billions of years