Astronomy and the Bible;

CHAPTERXIV

The FixedStars

TO

theunaided eye,thestarsseemto holdthe
samerelativepositionsintheheavensfromage.
toage. OrionandthePleiades,Arcturus,and
thetwelve signsof thezodiac,arementionedin the
bookofJob. IfAbrahamcouldoncemorelookupon
theskieswebehold,hewouldseethestarsashesaw
them thousands of years ago, when God "brought
himforthabroad,andsaid,Looknowtowardheaven,
andtellthestars,ifthoubeabletonumberthem." To
the unassisted eye, not asingle star seems to have
movedfromitsplace.
Thisseemingfixityofplacemisledmenforatime.
Itwassupposedthatthestarshadnopropermotions
oftheirown. Butintime,itwasdiscoveredthatthe
planets, includingtheearth,are inmotion aboutthe
sun;thesatelliteswereinmotionabouttheirplanets

;

andthecometswererangingthemightyorbitsthrough
theskies. Wheretherewassomuchmotion,theques-
tion arose, Are the starsfixed as they seem tobe?
Havetheynomotionoftheirown^

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