'Go out beneath the stars on a clear winter night,
and look up at the Milky Way spanning the heavens
like a bridge of glowing mist. Up there, ranged beyond
the other to the end of the Universe, suns without
number burn in the loneliness of space. Down to the
south hang the brilliant unwinking lanterns of other
worlds - the electric blue of Jupiter, the glowing
ember of Mars. Across the zenith, a meteor leaves
a trail of fading incandescence, and a tiny voyager
of space has come to a flaming end.''Looking out across the immensity to the great
suns and circling planets, to worlds of infinite
mystery and promise, can you believe that man
is to spend all his days cooped and crawling on
the surface of this tiny Earth - this moist pebble
with its clinging film of air? Or do you, on the other
hand, believe that his destiny is indeed among the
stars, and that one day our descendants will
bridge the seas of space?' ( Anon. )**********************************************************************
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his
pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat. ( Psalm 19:1- 6 )