God Arises
Nature and Science Speak about God
~ 115 ~
miles. That is, it is twelve lakh times larger than the
earth. The sun itself is not stationary, but is
revolving along with all its planets and asteroids at
a speed of 600,000 miles per hour. Within a vast
galactic system, there are thousands of such mobile
systems which combine to form a galaxy. A galaxy
is like a huge plate upon which countless stars are
in continuous revolution, singly as well as in
groups, just like so many spinning tops. These
galaxies themselves are, in turn, in continuous
motion. The nearest galaxy, in which our solar
system is situated, is rotating on its own axis in such
a way that it concludes a single rotation within a
period of 200 million years.
Astronomers estimate that the universe consists of
five hundred million galaxies. Each galaxy contains
about 100,000 stars. The nearest galaxy, the Milky
Way, which is partially visible at night, has an area
of 100,000 light years. And we, the inhabitants of
the earth, are thirty thousand light years away from
the centre of this galaxy. This galaxy, in turn, forms
part of an even larger super-galaxy within which
seventeen galaxies similar to our own are in