Star Breather

Ever since I was a kid, at least old enough to appreciate matters of astrology, I have known the name Betelgeuse, or "beetle juice" as we called it. I came to know it because it is the name of a red supergiant, i.e., very large star. One of the largest in the universe, and not very far away, only 640 light years, compared to millions of light years for most. Some galaxies are millions of light years across! Astronomers believe Betelgeuse could explode into a Supernova cloud any day now. Maybe it already did so 500 years ago. If so, it would be another 140 years before we would see it. Still with me? Anyway, Betelgeuse is so large that if it were sitting where our sun is, it's outer surface would be somewhere between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and would totally engulf Mercury, Venus and Earth. That, my friends blows my mind. Now I have a new hero. It's name is VY Canus Majoris, or Big Dog. It is called by astronomers a red hypergiant, and holds the distinction of being the largest single star in the universe. It is by the way, twice the size of Betelgeuse! Take a deep breath.

These critters were brought into being by our Creator God in a process described in intimate detail in Gen. 1:16, "He made the stars also". What! Only five words to describe the creation of the universe with all the planets, stars, galaxies, supernovas, black holes, etc? There is a smidgen more detail in Psalm 33:6 where it says "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" Can you imagine? He surely had to take a deep breath to do all of that, for HE is the Star Breather!

Thank you Lynne and Scott, for bringing Lou Giglio into my life, to remind me again of the majesty of the God we serve!