{"id":3837,"date":"2024-07-18T09:09:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T13:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3837"},"modified":"2024-07-18T09:09:57","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T13:09:57","slug":"follow-the-clues-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/18\/follow-the-clues-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Follow the Clues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>

A surprising number of astronomers believe it\u2019s out there somewhere.

Planet Nine.<\/em>

No, not Pluto, the iconic \u201cninth planet\u201d that was discovered in 1930, but then downgraded to the status of dwarf planet two decades ago when astronomers concluded it wasn\u2019t big enough to sit at the grown-ups table.

Planet Nine is the preliminary name given to an exceedingly large body that observers expect to find in the near future far beyond the orbit of Neptune and the Kuiper Belt, the domain of comets and icy asteroids.

The predicted object is likely to be a frozen giant about 10 to 15 times the size of Earth.

That would make Planet Nine one of the largest objects in our celestial neighborhood, and would compel us to redraw the familiar maps of our solar system. Apparently there are still plenty of mysteries out there to be solved.

So how can something that large have gone unnoticed? Planet Nine, if indeed it exists, is too far away to be seen unless a powerful telescope is pointed at just the right place at the right time.

And how do we know where to look?

We follow the clues.

Astronomers have been noticing that small icy bodies in certain parts of the Kuiper Belt are wobbling, suggesting that they\u2019re being pushed around by the gravitational force of something huge. Advanced telescopes and cameras are scanning those regions carefully.

One of the sky-searchers is astronomer Michael Brown, whose previous discoveries led directly to the reclassification of Pluto \u2013 a development he describes in his book How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming. <\/em>

\u201cMy daughter, she\u2019s still kind of mad about Pluto being demoted, even though she was barely born at that time,\u201d he says. \u201cShe suggested a few years ago that she\u2019d forgive me if I found a new planet. So I guess I\u2019ve been working on this for her.\u201d 

So what about the ultimate mystery in the cosmos? Is there a Supreme Being out there somewhere?

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human being to journey into space, famously remarked that he had looked around during his flight and failed to see God. Therefore God doesn\u2019t exist.

Ruth Bell Graham, Billy\u2019s wife, suggested that Gagarin would have seen God if he had just taken off his spacesuit. 

No matter how advanced or sophisticated our technology, we will never be able to point a telescope in the sky and see the face of God. So why should we believe God exists?

We follow the clues.

If God is in fact the central Fact of the universe, God\u2019s influence and impact should be everywhere \u2013 in every sign of order and design, in every living system, in answered prayers, in the beauty of nature, in works of art crafted by men and women made in God\u2019s image, and in the testimony of every human heart. 

Not only that, Jesus invites inquiry: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you\u201d (Matthew 7:7, New Living Translation<\/em>).

Is Planet Nine out there? One of these days we\u2019ll find out.

Is there an infinite \/ personal God at the center of everything?

This may be the day you find out for yourself.
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here A surprising number of astronomers believe it\u2019s out there somewhere. Planet Nine. No, not Pluto, the iconic \u201cninth planet\u201d that was discovered in 1930, but then downgraded to the status of dwarf planet two decades ago when astronomers concluded it wasn\u2019t big enough to sit at the grown-ups table. Planet Nine… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[308,772],"class_list":["post-3837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-astronomy","tag-search-for-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3837"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3840,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3837\/revisions\/3840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}