12.713 Billion Years Ago

It always amazes me to read articles like this. What amuses me most is the detail of information. They found the oldest planet ever detected.

"The old planet is located near the heart of a globular star cluster some 5,600 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. A light-year is about 6 trillion miles, about the distance light travels in a year."

OK, it's 5600 light-years from Earth. 1 light-year = about 6 trillion miles (5,865,696,000,000 miles ). Now, seriously, the human mind has a bit of a problem wrapping itself around that 6 trillion mile figure. 6 trillion. What about 5600 x 6 trillion. Can you even imagine how far that is? Really? And it's not even far at all when you consider other distances in the universe.

The Milky Way Galaxy is about 150,000 light-years across. That's just our galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy has at least 200 billion stars.

The Andromeda Galaxy is 2.3 million light-years away. Andromeda is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. The galaxy is the largest member of the Local Group, a group of about 30 galaxies that includes our own Milky Way. So 2.3 million light years is considered part of our Local Group. Andromeda has about twice as many stars as the Milky Way.

"The most distant galaxies we can now see are 10 or 12 billion light-years away. We could never see a galaxy that is farther away in light travel time than the universe is old -- an estimated 14 billion or so years. Thus, we are surrounded by a "horizon" that we cannot look beyond -- a horizon set by the distance that light can travel over the age of the universe. This horizon describes the visible universe -- a region some 28 billion light years in diameter. There is every reason to think that the universe extends a long way beyond the part of the universe we can see. In fact, a variety of observations suggest that our visible patch may be a small fraction -- maybe an infinitely small fraction -- of the whole universe." From NOVA online: How Big Is The Universe? There is some BS in there when they start talking theories. You see, they really aren't as sure of the data as they make out.

OK, back to the original article.

"What we think we've found is an example of the first generation of planets formed in the universe," Sigurdsson said. "We think this planet formed with its star, 12.713 billion years ago when the (Milky Way) galaxy was very young, just in the process of forming."

They found an example of the first generation of planets formed in the universe. The planet formed 12.713 billion years ago. They go on to describe the process. It's fascinating how they know so much about something so far away and so long ago. They surety with which they tell you is a bit laughable. They could be wrong about some of these things. There may be errors in the formulas used to figure it all out. There are yet things undiscovered. Some assumptions they make may be wrong. The foundation on which they build is surely wrong as they leave God out of it, vehemently. But just because I do not leave God out as Creator does not mean I believe it was created only 6000 years ago. Starting at the 2nd verse of Genesis is desribed the rebuilding of a destroyed and flooded planet, not the beginning of the universe. The universe may be 14 billion years old, it may be older. Scientists are probably right about much of what they have discovered but they cannot know while leaving God out of it. They are wrong about many things as well.

"The neutron star evolved into a fast-whirling pulsar and changes in how it spun helped scientists determine that one of the three cosmic objects dancing in space was a planet, said Harvey Richer of the University of British Columbia."

" The old planet is too far away to be directly observed, but because it exerts a slight gravitational tug on the pulsar it orbits, scientists figured out its mass and position based on its pull on the pulsar, Richer said."

Yes, it's fascinating how we are able to figure out so much about something so far away. It's also fascinating that people so bright cannot see God in all they have discovered.

Speaking of Jesus Christ (read the context): Colossians 1:5 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Isaiah 40:21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.


The fact is, when it comes to the very beginning of it all, without God, you have to resort to alot of BS to get "something the size of an atom inflated to the size of a galaxy." The universe began with a vast explosion of what? Where did it come from? Why did it explode? Why didn't it implode? Where did the laws that regulate all this come from? What is gravity? Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Matter can be converted to energy, and energy into matter, but the total amount of matter and energy in the universe remains the same. Science did not invent the laws of physics, they existed long before we did. Much of this is beyond our ability as humans to truly comprehend. We try, we do a pretty damn good job sometimes, but the incredible distances, the vast amount of time past, the enormous amount there is yet to know, and the time left in which to learn it, vastly limits us. It's interesting to be sure. I just think it's telling that we can amass such knowledge of the universe, yet the problems we face here on Earth, problems which are really more spiritual in nature, go unaddressed, and we're going to kill each other before we have a chance to finish our knowledge race. We're really good at the physical knowledge part, though. If only that were enough.