Find your innner woman 13: the Astronomer

It finally cleared up yesterday so we could go out with Dr. Lisle (our professor this week) and check out the night sky. As the sun dragged itself seemingly imperceptibly past the mountains, the sky deepened, the stars multiplied and crystallized as our night vision increased. I have to say, I was unbelievably excited to be studying the stars and such. My family will remember that phase of life when I was obsessed with stars and planets and constellations - begging for a telescope. Well, I never really lost that passion for this amazing part of God's creation. I mean seriously, the universe is out there, don't you want to know what it's like!?

We started out just looking at some stars which were rather unimpressive through the telescope, as it wasn't super crazy strong. Dr. Lisle pointed out a bunch of constellations, the north star, and the celestial equator. We watched Orion slowly set beneath the mountains and new constellations arise in the east. It was really magical, seeing the universe  revolve around us. We looked at some star clusters and even a spiral galaxy! People would randomly gasp and point out shooting stars. (Kaitlyn saw her very first one and actually squealed which was adorable. Poor Cannon missed every sighting.) Oh we also saw the international space station at around 9:30 and then at about 11 we saw it again! That's right - it orbits the earth at 17 000mph meaning it goes all the way around in 90 minutes!!!

My favourite part of the night was our last object - SATURN! It was the only planet out at the time and I could not have been more happy. I have been wanting to see Saturn through a telescope for a VERY long time. All night, I was anxiously waiting, keeping my eye on the glinting planet to the east. As it slowly rose, it reached its peak and we aimed the telescope in its direction. I didn't really know what to expect as I waited in line for my turn but what I saw was beyond what I could have imagined. It truly was beautiful: pale yellowish in colour, crisp rings surrounding, Titan and Rhea hovering nearby. It looked like a textbook image - so perfect. It was hard to realize the reality of what I was seeing and it was truly amazing. I can only imagine what it would have been like for those who first saw it through a telescope, having no idea what they were going to see. God is so amazing! The detail and care He puts into everything is unbelievable. When I look at the night sky, I see not only His unfathomable vastness and amazing power but also His creativity and His intelligence. Everything just works up there the way it is supposed to. I could just watch it all night long.

What a great God we have!