Creation Every Day: Scanning the Skies

My stomach sank to see the unfathomably massive asteroid hurtling toward New York City.

Good thing I was only watching a new IMAX documentary about asteroid defenses.

In the film, scientists devised new methods to divert an asteroid and save the day. With references to lasers and nuclear detonations in space, it was like watching a summer blockbuster from the early 2000s.

Far from science fiction, the documentary reflects a growing urgency for real-life asteroid defenses. Late in 2022, NASA will crash a probe into a small asteroid, hoping to test whether they could redirect a space rock from a collision course with earth.

A science journal recently proclaimed, “Planetary defense enables humans to wrest some control from the cosmos.” I would scan the skies in terror if I thought nature—or humans—were in command. But the cosmos controls nothing. The Creator oversees all and commands humans to care for his creation. That includes watching for asteroids and planning to save lives if one comes our way.

God has catalogued each planet, star, and hunk of rock barreling through space. “Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing” (Isaiah 40:26, NIV).