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Of Matches and Quasars


The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.... In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.” (Hebrews 1:3,4 &7)

            If you light a match in a dark room, it can seem pretty bright. Light it in a room with the lights on, you'll notice the color but not really the light. The overhead lights or lamps drown the light of the match. Open the curtains at midday and sunlight will often make the lights unnecessary. The light from the sun drowns the light from the ceiling light. Its apparent magnitude (what we see) is -26.74.The sun is an unimpressive star in terms of size and light. If it were 32.6 light years away (I don't know why the scientists chose that distance) it would have a magnitude of about 4.2. It would be so dim that you might not see it without help.
3C 273 (Hubble picture)
            There are stars that are much brighter, and then there are quasars. Quasars are the brightest objects in the universe. 3C 273 is a quasar in the constellation Virgo. It is so far away that it can't be seen with the naked eye. If it were 32.6 light years away, it would have a magnitude of -26.7. It would be as bright as the sun seems to be in our sky. In effect, if it were any closer than 32.6 light years away, it would drown out the light of the sun.3C 273 is estimated to be over 4 trillion times brighter than the sun.               
     All of that may seem technical. The point is this, a match flame compared to the sun is nothing, and the sun compared to a quasar is less than the flame of a fire being compared to the sun. So imagine the flame of a match compared to a quasar. Now, "He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire" but "the Son is the radiance of God's glory." 
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Birthday of
Samuel Finley Breece (Morse Code)
U. S. Grant



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