Big Dog and Little People

It doesn't look like much, does it? Compared to the other images we have shared on this site, the above photo is rather, well, dull. When you saw it, you probably shrugged your shoulders, rolled your eyes, yawned, and thought, "Big deal. A fuzzy cloud of gas. Is that little dot in the center a star? Show me something good. Show me something impressive."

Well, that little dot in the center of that gaseous, hazy cloud is Canis Majoris--the Big Dog Star.

Canis Majoris, a red hypergiant star in the Canis Major constellation, is located about 5,000 light years from Earth.

So, how big is the Big Dog?

Canis Majoris is approximately 2,600 times the size of our sun. This might help put things into perspective. A person walking at 3 miles per hour (an average pace), for 8 hours per day (a lot of walking), would take 2 years and 11 months to circle Earth. Not a bad accomplishment. The same person, walking at the same speed and the same number of hours each day, would take 310 years and 7 months to circle the Sun. Of course, this is a physical impossibility since, at the most, a person will live for 120 years.

So, how long would it take for a person to circle Canis Majoris? 650,000 years!

Not a visual learner? Need another picture or two in order to grasp the enormity of the largest star known to man? How about this. Canis Majoris is the size of Saturn's orbit around the Sun.

Light (traveling at 186,000 miles per second) takes approximately 8 minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth. Canis Majoris is so large that light takes 8 hours to travel around the star's circumference.

Canis Majoris is so large that it can fit 7 quadrillion Earths inside it. A quadrillion is 1,000 trillion. Think of it this way. If the Earth was a golf ball, Canis Majoris would be the size of Mount Everest.

If you haven't said "Whoa!" yet, take a minute to watch this video.



Do you feel small, yet? You should. Why? Because you are small. You are but a speck on the Earth. The Earth is but a speck compared to the Sun. And the Sun is an insignificant little speck compared to Canis Majoris.

While the world would encourage you to be filled with self-esteem, to look in the mirror and declare your own goodness; a man named Paul--a man who was once filled to overflowing with self-esteem--penned these words. "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think: but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).

Many people apply the term "big dog" to people of influence and power, or to people that possess some kind of physical, artistic, or intellectual talent. Some would go as far as to apply the term to themselves. A cottage industry of casual apparel has been successfully marketed to the masses by feeding man's innate desire to be the "big dog."

But think again of the astronomical size of Canis Majoris. And then consider this. God created Canis Majoris with a word. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

Here's an even more humbling thought. You will one day stand before the God who created Canis Majoris and you will give an account of the life you lived on this tiny, little speck of real estate.

On that day, God will judge you according to the perfect, moral standard of His Law. See how you will do.

Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever taken God’s name in vain? Have you ever murdered in your heart by hating another person or by being angry without cause? Then, according to God’s perfect and holy standard, you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous, murderer at heart. You're not a big dog. You're a big sinner.

If God finds you guilty of breaking His Law, then He must punish you. And the punishment for your sins against God is eternity in hell. Although this is tragic, there is good news!

God the Father sent His sinless Son, Jesus Christ (God in the flesh), to take upon Himself the punishment you rightly deserve for your sins against God when He shed His innocent blood and died on the cross. Three days later he forever defeated death when He rose from the grave. So, what must you do to be saved from God’s wrath and judgment? Recognize that you cannot save yourself. Repent (turn away from your sins) and put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. You will pass from death into life and receive the free gift of eternal life.

The God who created you; the God who created Canis Majoris is the only God who can save you. Please consider these things carefully. Repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Read the Bible every day and obey what it says.