I have observed the Pinwheel Galaxy (M33) at least four times in the last 3 years with an intention to sketch the object each time. Most recently, on the advent of a trip to see friends in the Philippines where we will be teaching them to observe and sketch the heavens, I studied and sketched the galaxy using the same instrument we are giving to them: a little 80mm refractor on a tabletop mount.
Unlike the Philippines, however, Crozet was well below freezing and the wind was blowing, so the sketch was quick. While details of the galaxy cannot be seen with this instrument, it still stands out near zenith in the early evening night sky at this time of year.
In 2008 I studied the Pinwheel with a 4 inch refractor with the aid of an astro video camera. The view was relatively wide-field, so I could see a good extent of the magnificent arms and the complex core. With this kind of view and magnification, the shape of the arms stands out. A prominent feature just to the left of the nucleus on the upper sketch is a small group of five stars in a curved line. I hoped to study this area more closely some other time.
At the end of November this year I wanted to sketch the core area, so I used a 12.5 inch Dobsonian telescope with the astro-video camera pumping the picture into a protected area, where I could take my time studying the unusual core using a high resolution color monitor. In this view (see the sketch below), the foreground stars stand out, some of the dark lanes near the nucleus were better defined, and the shape of inner-arms is more apparent. You can see the same curved line of five foreground stars, except this orientation shows the line from left to right just below the nucleus.
The more I thought of the multiple views I had seen, the more I considered the reach that God has in the universe but also into the soul of men. My juxtaposition of a heavenly object like the Pinwheel and mankind—both affected by the hand of God—is not whimsical. It is Biblical. Psalm 147:2-3 describes the reach of God to gather exiles (people who have been discarded and displaced),heal the broken-hearted, and bind up the wounded. In short, it is a description of the saving work of Jesus Christ for those who put their trust in Him. But these verses are followed by verse 4 that states that God determines the number of stars and calls them each by name. The scripture verses are disturbing to many because of their radical content: that God created and has named every star just as he is able to address broken people. The choices are clear: the writer is a liar or truthful; God is completely mischaracterized, or we have One that must be considered seriously, because His reach is very far and very personal.
I make no apologies for my position in my short walk through life knowing Jesus: what the scriptures say is true: God reaches farther than I can comprehend and He does settle the heart. Just as better and better equipment permits us to reach further into the details of a beautiful object in space, the more a person walks with Jesus the more he finds that God’s reach is further into a soul. Such is the wondrous grace, truth, and love of God; and the call of God is universal: to anyone who will reach out to Him.
