Fun fact: "The sun is about 400 times more distant than the moon. Remarkably, it is also 400 times larger. So it has the same angular size as the moon - meaning it appears the same size and covers the same portion of the sky."
Usually, when Evolution sneaks its way into a science book, it's obvious. When I'm reading about an animal or plant or place, I can easily ignore the supposed origin story and continue with the facts. But Evolution has a much tighter grip on astronomy. It can be hard to tell the difference between real observations and guesses confidently stated as fact. "The Big Bang"? False. Billions of years? False. Star formation? Umm... maybe?
If you have experienced this same obstacle to your quest for knowledge, I'd like to introduce you to Taking Back Astronomy. It shows us the universe from a Biblical creationist perspective, explaining Evolutionary theories and why they don't agree with the evidence. Guess what? Star formation is a complete guess. It has never been observed. The book also covers solar system formation, comets and "the Oort cloud", the age of the universe, "the Big Bang", and even the concept of aliens! "Creation In-Depth" sections go into further detail for the more scientific. If it's already been a long day and you don't feel like trying to wrap your head around equations, you can skip them. (I didn't understand everything, but it was fascinating just the same!) There's also a chapter on Bible verses that relate to astronomy. Finally, at the end, we take a look at the warring worldviews themselves. Do either of them make logical sense? What does the Christian worldview entail?
I must mention the pictures. They are so bright and vivid, and several pages are set aside just to show them off. When you see an image of galaxy-filled space that looks like a close-up of glitter paint, the realization that God numbers the stars and calls them by name suddenly means a lot more.
Happy Eclipse Day!
"Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:16-18 (NKJV)
Bonus: Created Cosmos and The Privileged Planet are fascinating dvds relating to astronomy, without any guesses confidently stated as fact.
I hope you had a beautiful Easter. May we love better because He first loved us.
