Some of you may know about my fascination for the night sky. Recently in my astronomy class, we’ve been looking at stars, including the structure and properties of our own Sun and the study of the most distance stars. I’ve grown found of these astronomical objects, so I wanted to share my perspective on stars is.
I kinda see stars having a very prominent role in God’s creation. Other than black holes (especially the supermassive variety) and perhaps galaxies (depending on what you consider a single object), stars are the most prominent material “gods” of this side of creation simply because of how their gravity shapes the universe around them. Heavy elements including oxygen and carbon, both vital to life as we know it, are only possible through the life and death of stars (specifically the high-mass variety, which are doomed to a vastly shorter lifespan than their lower mass counterparts). Also, without the energy and gravitational anchoring they provide for planets, life (again) is unlikely to be possible (though there are now hypotheses for rogue gas planets to possibly harbor life in their moons through infrared radiation output, but those planets are still only possible through the birth of stars). Indeed, they seem to hold a very God-like role on the mortal side of the universe.
I also kinda see stars are being able to do things that humans have always dreamt to doing: their longevity (especially red dwarfs, expected to live for a trillion years) reflects human desire for immortality. They hold a prominent role in society; literally everything revolves around them. They are literally larger than life and their massive size enable them to “see” the vastness of space in a lessened way than we do.
Of course, stars are able to do this without any thought to actually doing it (at least that’s what we know now. I’ve always wondered if God would have provided the universe with the same free will as us to “decide” how it wants to be created, so as to explain why not all planets will have life because they decided not to). To me, this is a very humbling fact that kinda pairs with Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot poem, reflecting on the fleeting desires of man and how many exploits like war and conflict are ultimately fruitless in the grand scheme of creation (I meant Sagan not because I agree with his views on God but because others in this forum have helped me appreciate how he is able to appreciate life no matter his beliefs).
While stars are nice and all, I have no interest in worshipping them or superseding them in place of God. So, I was wondering what your thoughts on allowing my love of astronomy feed my faith rather than take from it. Again, thank everyone for their help thus far!