Cosmic Cliffs

This week, the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope were released. This telescope was launched on Christmas Day and is currently orbiting the sun from nearly a million miles passed earth. It is NASA’s new flagship deep space telescope, taking the spotlight from the Hubble Telescope which only orbits about 340 miles from the earth’s surface. The pictures that have been released so far are incredible, giving much greater detail than we’ve ever seen before. The image above is one of my favorites. It’s called “Cosmic Cliffs” and shows a star nursery roughly 7,600 light-years away. In fact, you can see bubbles and cavities being blown by the intense radiation and stellar winds of newborn stars. There’s even dust-shrouded stars being born visible amongst the mountains and valleys of this region of the Carina Nebula.

As I look at these photos, I’m reminded of the spectacular poetry found in Psalm 19. The first few verses go like this: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun” (Psalm 19:1-4). Each time I’m reminded of the vastness and beauty of the universe where we live, I can’t help but wonder at the greatness of God. Won’t you spend a few moments reflecting on Him today?