A Picture Of Heaven

• Stars are very hot spheres of gas (usually more than 90% hydrogen) that give off various forms of radiation, including light. The sun is an average-size star. Some stars are much smaller than the sun, others are millions of times bigger. Stars vary in color according to their surface temperature, from blue-white (the hottest at about 35,000 degrees) to white, yellow, orange, to red (the coolest at about 3,000 degrees). Stars are "born" from accumulating physical matter, live out their lives according to how much fuel they have, and then "die" - either by going cold and dark, or exploding (a supernova) when they no longer have the gravity to hold together. From the ejected matter, new stars will eventually be born.

• Constellations are merely chance alignments of stars that seem to draw an outline of something - a human, animal or an object. "The Big Dipper" (also known as "The Plow," or "The Wagon") is a familiar example (it is actually part of the constellation Ursa Major - the Big Bear). Some others (there are 88 "official" constellations) are Orion the Hunter, Leo the Lion, and Canis Major. There are thousands more that anyone can decide for oneself on any starry night. Some find the cross of orange stars in the above photograph quite beautiful.

• Galaxies are very large aggregations of stars, gas, dust, and physical matter. The "Milky Way," of which the sun is a member, has an estimated 200 billion stars (many of which are now known to have planets). Throughout the universe there are billions of galaxies.

Heaven is a very big place. There will be much to do when we are ready. See If You Could Create A World.

Fact Finder: Did the apostle Paul speak of how the stars of the heavens differ?
1 Corinthians 15:41
Note: Paul was very well qualified to make that statement. See 2 Corinthians 12:2-4