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sible for us to comprehend. Yet sup–
pose we could drastically compress
our Milky Way to the size of the
continent of Asia. Then our entire
sola r system- including the sun, the
earth, and the orbits of all the othe r
planets- would be the size of a sma ll
pebble one inch in diameter. Can
you imagine being given the assign–
ment of finding a pebble (our solar
system) amid a ll the mjJlions of
square miles in the continent of
Asia? Surely it would be far easier
to find the proverbial needle in a
haystack!
Yet even our gargantuan galaxy
could be easily lost in the endless
expanses of space. For far beyond
our Milky Way are additional thou–
sa nds of millions of galaxies-as
common as blades of grass in a
meadow. I n just the space defined
by the bowl of the Big Dipper con–
stellation, astronomers have found
nearly a million galaxies, with each
galaxy containing thousands of mil-
The
PLAIN TAUTH July 1977
lio ns of sta rs and other heaven ly
bod ies.
The Edge of the Unlverse?
As man reaches out to explore the
heavens, will he ever ftnd the end?
So far, using the la rgest and mos t
sophisticated telescopes, astrono–
mers have probed the universe to a
distance of over one hundred thou–
sand million million million miles.
If we could ride on a beam of light,
it would take sorne ten thousand
million years to travel this distance!
Still, astronomers have been unable
to find the edge of the universe. Per–
haps it is endless; no one knows.
Indeed, the latest evidence in–
dica tes not only that the universe is
expanding, but tha t no known natu–
ral forces appear to be sufficien t to
stop the galaxies from expanding to
infinity. Sorne scientists may be re–
luctant to accept such a conclusion,
but the universe gives every in–
dication of having had a detinüe be-
gi nning, perhaps 15 billion years
~
ago. Cogent evidence points to a
~
unique creation event.
~
Did our univcrse simply come
into being by itself? Or is it the )
product of divine intelligence?
~
Man has only scratched the sur-
~
.r
face of knowledge about the heav-
e ns. But even this limit e d
~
"'
unde rstanding has been a humbling
-o~
experience. The more man learns .,
about the awesome universe, the
2
more evident its Creator be-
~
comes.
o
RECOMMENDED READING
The mysteries of the heavens have al–
ways challenged the mind of man.
Where did the universe come from?
Why does
it
exíst? The free color book–
let
Our Awesome Uníverse
discusses
these queslions and describes sorne of
the amazing discoveries of modern as–
tronomy. (To request your copy, ptease
use the coupon on the back cover of
this magazine.)
29