NUMBER OF STARS

Bible Miracles: Number of Stars

Only a hundred years back no one knew how vast the numbers of stars were as only about 1,100 were observable. Now we know that there are billions of stars and that they cannot be numbered. The Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria in 2nd century AD compiled the catalog of stars named Almagest, counting 1022 stars. Then in 1609, Galileo made the first telescope that could magnify objects twenty times with which he was able to look at the moon and the satellites of planets of the solar system. However, it wasn’t until the advent of telescopes such as the Hubble, we now know that there are at least 100-200 billion galaxies, each with one hundred to one thousand billion stars. And, there are probably billions of habitable planets in the Universe. Lots of stars and planets, roughly ten thousand stars for every grain of sand on earth and 100 thousand planets for every grain of sand on earth. According to Astrophysical Journal over 90 percent of the galaxies in the observable Universe have yet to be studied. So expect the number of galaxies to increase to astonishing trillions in number. For those who do not have any idea of how big this figure is? If you start counting 1,2,3 with normal speed, then it will take almost 25 years day and night to reach a billion count and almost 25000 years to count a one trillion figure.

While almost three thousand years ago, the Bible claimed that there are billions of stars, OR the countless number of stars that no one would ever able to figure. It states that :

Jeremiah 33:22: “the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured.”

Genesis 15: 5: “And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” ESV

Jeremiah 33:22: As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured,……..”   ESV

Further, as modern science tells that each star is unique same Bible taught us.  All stars look alike to the naked eye. Even when seen through a telescope, they still seem to be just points of light. However, a close examination of their light spectra reveals that each is different from all others. Thousands of years ago, the Bible mentioned this reality as in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 41. Centuries before the advent of the telescope, the Bible declared that each star varies in size and intensity

1 Corinthians 15:41: “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory”. ESV