Auroras, Solar Winds, and Miracles

Good Morning, God!

Look God! How amazing just this one small planet is! Thank You! This Aurora was caused by a large Coronal Mass Ejection back in May. Now, I know YOU REALLY KNOW ALL ABOUT THIS. And, I know we are just starting to learn — but I have to say, being able to watch a speeded up movie of Coronal Mass Ejections was impressive. These ejections take place over several hours — so since total solar eclipses only last for several minutes — we weren’t able to see them until the space age.

Back when I was in school I learned that LIGHT travels as 186,000 miles per second. That means that light travels from our sun to earth in around 8 minutes.

But, here I am learning that light isn’t the only stuff coming from the sun. There is something called the Solar Wind that is also flowing out from the sun — but more slowly — its speed is measured in hundreds of kilometers per second. Hmm. Actually, there is a FAST solar wind and a SLOW solar wind coming from our sun all the time — winds that vary not just in speed but in density and composition. And the Coronal Mass Ejections interact with the Solar Wind and can cause magnetic storms here on Earth.

Science sure has changed from my time in school. And it is still changing. My mother told me that when she was in school they were told that 60 miles an hour was the maximum speed humans could ever achieve. I find it odd, God, that Science can be so CERTAIN! Or is that HUMANS that are so certain. Good science is open — as are good minds.

So I find myself torn between delight at what we are learning — and a growing humility at the extent of what we don’t know. For me it means that I find Miracles easy to accept. There is a lot going on in Your Creation, God! And most of it is beyond our ability to see or measure. Norbert Weiner observed that we can’t make sense of any system without recourse to a larger system. I must say, I am grateful that YOU are my largest system, and Science is set within YOU.

I am THANKFUL FOR YOU — thankful that You CARE about us — THANKFUL THAT YOU LISTEN!