Tag: kepler

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Math Moment: Math & Astronomy

astronomy

Did you know that math helps us explore outer space, learning more about the vastness of God’s creation–and how perfectly designed earth is for life?

Have you ever tried to count the stars? We can’t possibly count them all, but we can use math to estimate the number of stars. While there are different ways to do this, one way is to estimate the total mass of a galaxy (which in itself takes a lot of math) and then divide that total mass by the average mass of a star (which again takes math to estimate). So how many stars are there? Well, there’s an estimated 100 to 400 billion stars in our galaxy alone, which would then need multiplied by the number of galaxies (currently estimated to be in the trillions). That’s a lot of stars! Notice we just used math to approximate the stars in our galaxy, but we can’t fully count them all!

Yet God calls each star by name–and it’s because of His power that they continue.

He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Psalm 147:4
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. Isaiah 40:26

Think about how much greater God is than we are! We can’t even count the stars, and He calls them by name and keeps them in their places. He is greater than we can even imagine.

Have you ever wondered how we know how far it is to the moon, sun, and stars? We can’t just stretch a tape measurer across these distances! Instead, we make the measurements that we can from earth and then use geometry to figure out the distances. When we do, we see that the earth is just the right distance from the sun. If it were closer to the sun, we’d burn up…if further away, we’d freeze.

Now, the earth and the other planets don’t just sit in space; they orbit around the sun in elliptical orbits. How do we know that? Again, men used math! Johannes Kepler used data that had been recorded about Mars to figure out what orbit around the sun would result in those readings. He discovered that planets orbit in ellipses, and that no matter where they are on the ellipse, if you were to go back the same amount of time and look at the resulting area formed between those two locations and the sun, it’d always be the same. So that means God governs creation so consistently that we can mathematically describe how a planet will orbit.

When Kepler shared some of his findings, he paused to praise the Creator.

"Crying out with the royal Psalmist: Great is our Lord and great His virtue and of His wisdom there is no number…To Him be praise, honour, and glory, wourld without end. Amen." [Stephen Hawking, ed. On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy. Philadelphia: Running Press Book Publishers, 2002, pg. 1157.]

Well, I hope that gives you a little glimpse into how math helps us explore outer space and how as we do, we see that truly, the Heavens declare God’s praises.

math history

Discover more about how we use math to explore the heavens–along with lots of other historical and present-day applications of math in Kate’s new Math History Timeline!

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Solar Eclipse, Math, & Praising the Creator

This upcoming Monday, August 21, 2017, be prepared for a period of darkness in the middle of the day as we experience a solar eclipse.

While solar eclipses occur periodically, it’s rare that the entire United States can view it. According to Time and Date, the last time “a total solar eclipse was visible from coast to coast was almost 100 years ago, on June 8, 1918.”

This short article by Kahn Academy offers a brief overview of a solar eclipse. NASA’s website on the eclipse is complete with information, along with a page of math challenges.

Math challenges? Yes. Math is the tool that we use to explore God’s creation—including the movement of the heavenly bodies overhead. While we can easily read online dates and times that the eclipse will occur in different parts of the world, it’s worth noting that math was used to predict those dates and times. You see, God governs creation so predictably and reliably that we can use math to know ahead of time when something like an eclipse will take place.

It is fascinating to go back and read the works of Johannes Kepler, known for discovering the Laws of Planetary Motion (i.e., mathematical ways of describing the consistent way God causes planets to orbit the sun). His work (which contains a lot of math, by the way) is interspersed with praises to the Creator, such as this one:

Crying out with the royal Psalmist: Great is our Lord and great His virtue and of His wisdom there is no number…To Him be praise, honour, and glory, wourld without end. Amen.[1]

As we experience the eclipse Monday, may we pause and praise the great Creator, exclaiming with the Psalmist:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. Psalm 19:1-6 (KJV)

I hope you’ll have fun learning a little about the eclipse (see the links above to get started) and how we use math to help us describe the movement of the sun, earth, and moon (look for words like angles, elliptical, etc., as you read). And then as you’re wowed by the ellipse Monday, remember how much greater the Creator is…and that, though our sin earns us His wrath, He took that punishment upon Himself (1 Peter 2:24) and offers us eternal life with Him forever (John 3:16; John 17:3). Is there someone you know with whom you could share that incredible news?

Reminder: If you’re looking for a curriculum that teaches math in such a way that students leave math praising the Creator and using math as a real-life tool to describe His creation, be sure to check out Principles of Mathematics. We also have resources available to help you bring that perspective for other grades.

[1] Stephen Hawking, ed. On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy. Philadelphia: Running Press Book Publishers, 2002, pg. 1157.