- Series:Astronomy, Transcript English
Genesis 1:16
“And 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.”
QI – a popular TV comedy panel show on the BBC – has often asked the question of its guests: “How many moons does the Earth have?” The guests will always get the answer wrong because the question setters deliberately keep changing the presuppositions of the question for comedic effect. At the time of writing, it is likely that the answer to the question is two, but by the time this Creation Moment is broadcast, the answer could well be one again! Let me explain.
Early in 2020, it was discovered that the Earth’s gravitational field had captured a tiny asteroid which had begun to orbit the Earth. The new moon – designated 2020 CD3 – has apparently been orbiting Earth for about three years. This object is about the size of a family automobile and orbits once every 47 days. But songwriters need not get busy yet with titles like “Blue 2020 CD3” or “Under the 2020 CD3 of love”. The new moon is not likely to hang around for long and will spin away from Earth in a few months. This has happened before. A previous asteroid – 2006 RH120 – was temporarily Earth’s second moon between September 2006 and June 2007.
God made this Universe with so many intriguing objects, some of which are in our own neighborhood in the Solar System. I don’t know why 2020 CD3 exists except that it gives God pleasure, and He demonstrates His creativity through such things.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord God, for the totality of Your creation. Everything we discover causes us to have more reason to praise Your Name. Amen.
Author: Paul F. Taylor
Ref: Crane, L. (2020), Earth has acquired a brand new moon that’s about the size of a car, < https://www.newscientist.com/article/2235427-earth-has-acquired-a-brand-new-moon-thats-about-the-size-of-a-car/ >, accessed 3/1/2020. Image: Image from International Gemini Observatory, CC BY-SA 4.0 International.
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