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Heaven in a Grain of Sand
William Blake's poem, 'Auguries of Innocence,' begins:
"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour"
Those lines came to mind in 2022 as one of the most remarkable photos of our universe ever taken was released. In July, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope took the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far. We're looking at galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, and it is teeming with thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared. Webb’s image is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. The red galaxies started to shine within a billion years of the big bang.
And yet, for all the wonder of distant galaxies in the vastness of space, Blake invites us to be equally awed by the flower in our hand. God's creation astounds us, everywhere we care to look.
"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour"
Those lines came to mind in 2022 as one of the most remarkable photos of our universe ever taken was released. In July, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope took the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far. We're looking at galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, and it is teeming with thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared. Webb’s image is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. The red galaxies started to shine within a billion years of the big bang.
And yet, for all the wonder of distant galaxies in the vastness of space, Blake invites us to be equally awed by the flower in our hand. God's creation astounds us, everywhere we care to look.
Ref: Ab.022
Date:
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year: 2022
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