Perfect Orbit

 

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven.  Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created.  Your regulations remain true to this day, for everything serves your plans.  Psalm 119:89-91

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, launched and deployed this month, has a mission:  …the Webb mission will explore every phase of cosmic history – from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe.[1]  The mirror which sits atop the rest of the orbiting craft is 21-feet in diameter, and coated with gold.  (This could explain some of the costs of government budget we hear about!) 

The panels of the mirror were folded-up and stuffed inside a rocket that was deployed earlier this month.  When it got to this point in its million-mile planned journey, the folks at mission control pressed the right buttons on the remote control, and the thing unfolded.  I suppose, if it didn’t, they’d have spent a zillion bucks to send a repairman.  That’s roughly what my plumber gets.

According to NASA’s plans, the telescope will map out the universe, that which can be known, and give scientists more understanding of how it expanded, evolved, and became what we can see, along with what will become of us.[2]  

To do all this the telescope’s mirror/receiver will travel a million miles towards the sun to enter a “perfect” orbit, circling another piece of NASA hardware, Lagrange 2, which is itself circling the sun.  You can see the animation of the orbit HERE.

The so-called “perfect” orbit is achieved in Lagrange Points, special locations in planetary systems where gravitational and rotational forces cancel out.  It’s something like having a gyro balance your iPhone’s camera, giving a clear, stable video.  I suppose if you’re going to take pictures of the universe’s 62-bazillion light year sized expanse, you need a good camera.

On the other hand, if you see the value of a stable orbit trajectory and don’t have the 9.7-billion-dollar startup cost, you could spend $12.99 at the Cokesbury store and get a copy of God’s Word.  According to what David, the Psalmist wrote, what you will find in every little nook and cranny of the universe, both seen and unseen, is the evidence of God’s faithfulness.  A “perfect” orbit is where God’s will and man’s compliance places humans and all creation in harmony with God and humankind. 

As you listen/read here today, don’t let the abrupt switch from a science observation to theological musing, turn you off.  I’m not against science.  Quite the contrary; it fascinates me.  It seems the more scientific discovery is reported, the more theology and reality come into focus.  Faith is best understood when His Creation unfolds like the James Webb telescope.

For You Today

To understand just how magnificent creation is, you must keep your eyes, ears, and heart opened to God’s ways, which is found in God’s Word, and through prayer.  That reaches far beyond what NASA has planned for Webb’s spacecraft.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  NASA on Youtube.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

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[1] NASA

[2] This is my takeaway after reading several of NASA’s website pieces