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A podcast about astronomy and faith with Wayne and Dan. Making astronomy relevant and understandable.
Episodes
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
In case you have not been following the news in the recent months, there has been a resurgence of interest in UFOs, UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), and advanced intelligent beings from other dimensions or worlds visiting us. There has also been talk of "non-human biologics", allegedly the remains of the "pilots" of crashed UFOs and UAPs being secretly held by our government.
What are these things? How as Christians can we make sense of the claims being made once more by ufologists and those convinced aliens are among us? What is the evidence?
On the next two episodes of this special combined Good Heavens! and Apologetics Profile we sit down with astrophysicist and author Dr. Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe to talk about his biblically informative 2002 co-authored book on UFOs, UAPs, and aliens Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men.
Astrophysicist and author Hugh Ross is founder and senior scholar of Reasons to Believe, an organization that researches and communicates how discoveries about nature harmonize with the words of the Bible. His books include The Creator and the Cosmos, Why the Universe Is the Way It Is, Improbable Planet, and Designed to the Core.
Be sure to check out our other podcast episodes and helpful resources on aliens!
Podcast episode on ancient aliens: Good Heavens! Ancient Aliens? No.
Watchman Fellowship https://www.watchman.org
Wayne article on ancient aliens:
https://creationanswers.net/reviews/ancientaliens_pseudoarch.htm
Dan's article about "Alien Theology":
https://thestoryofthecosmos.substack.com/p/alien-theology
Watchman Fellowship profiles on alien cults:
Heaven's Gate
https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/heavensgateprofile.pdf
Raelians
https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/raelianprofile.pdf
Urantia Book
https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/urantiaprofile.pdf
Previous Good Heavens! episodes with Gary Bates on UFOs
Part One: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-1-with-gary-bates/
Part Two: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-2-with-gary-bates/
Daniel’s interview with Sasha Sagan, the daughter of the late planetary astronomer Carl Sagan
A Conversation with Sasha Sagan
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Friday Aug 11, 2023
Friday Aug 11, 2023
Be sure to catch the Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend (Aug. 12-13, 2023) , weather permitting! If the weather is bad or you can't see them, however, hopefully this episode will be the next best thing!
What is a meteor shower, anyway? What do they mean? Where can you see them? Wayne and Dan attempt to answer these and other burning questions about this weekend's Perseid fireworks! Come and see!
Dan's article on the Perseids.
Previous Good Heavens! Episodes on Meteors and Comets
Meteors (Sept. 2021)
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
If extraterrestrial life existed, how would it impact our faith in Christ? What would it look like? Would it be something like bacteria, plants or animals, or something more resembling intelligent agents like ourselves? Is the Earth specially designed to host biological life or are there other "Earth-like" planets in the universe today? This is part two of our special combined broadcast of Apologetics Profile and Good Heavens! with cosmologist and author Dr. Jeff Zweerink of Reasons to Believe. If you have friends or family interested in the question of extraterrestrial life, you don't want to miss this episode.
Show Notes
Jeff's book "Is There Life Out There?"
https://www.amazon.com/There-Life-Out/dp/1886653003
Previous interview with Jeff on Is There Life Out There?
https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-life-out-there-interview-with-jeff-zweerink/
Good Heavens Podcast episode (Feb. 2022):
https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/chariots-of-the-gods-no/
Watchman Fellowship https://www.watchman.org
Wayne's article on ancient aliens:
https://creationanswers.net/reviews/ancientaliens_pseudoarch.htm
Ancient Aliens Debunked (Video by Chris White. 3 hrs, 10 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9w-i5oZqaQ
Website by Chris White. Has some references related to topics in the video above.
https://www.ancientaliensdebunked.com
Bible scholar Michael Heiser - Ancient Aliens Debunked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5dER45rkGk
See also this website by Michael Heiser.
http://SitchinIsWrong.com
Watchman Fellowship profiles on alien cults:
Heaven's Gate
https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/heavensgateprofile.pdf
Raelians
https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/raelianprofile.pdf
Previous Good Heavens! episodes with Gary Bates on UFOs
Part One: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-1-with-gary-bates/
Part Two: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-2-with-gary-bates/
Daniel’s interview with Sasha Sagan
A Conversation with Sasha Sagan
https://youtu.be/0vQYDLeecN8
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Monday Jul 17, 2023
We have been asking the question as long as we have been able to look up at the stars. Is there life out there in the cosmos? What would it be like? What are the implications for us if there is? And especially, how might extraterrestrial life impact our understanding of the Bible and of the Christian faith? What might extraterrestrial life have to do with Jesus of Nazareth? There is presently no evidence for ET. So why are we talking about it? Find out from an expert cosmologist who has asked this question himself. Dr. Jeff Zweerink of Reasons to Believe joins us to talk with us about his 2017 book Is There Life Out There? The answer may surprise you.
Show Notes
Jeff's book "Is There Life Out There?"
https://www.amazon.com/There-Life-Out/dp/1886653003
Previous interview with Jeff on Is There Life Out There?
https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-life-out-there-interview-with-jeff-zweerink/
Good Heavens Podcast episode (Feb. 2022):
https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/chariots-of-the-gods-no/
Watchman Fellowship https://www.watchman.org
Wayne's article on ancient aliens:
https://creationanswers.net/reviews/ancientaliens_pseudoarch.htm
Ancient Aliens Debunked (Video by Chris White. 3 hrs, 10 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9w-i5oZqaQ
Website by Chris White. Has some references related to topics in the video above.
https://www.ancientaliensdebunked.com
Bible scholar Michael Heiser - Ancient Aliens Debunked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5dER45rkGk
See also this website by Michael Heiser.
http://SitchinIsWrong.com
Watchman Fellowship profiles on alien cults:
Heaven's Gate
https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/heavensgateprofile.pdf
Raelians
https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/raelianprofile.pdf
Previous Good Heavens! episodes with Gary Bates on UFOs
Part One: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-1-with-gary-bates/
Part Two: https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/aliens-ufos-and-the-bible-part-2-with-gary-bates/
Daniel’s interview with Sasha Sagan
A Conversation with Sasha Sagan
https://youtu.be/0vQYDLeecN8
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
This is part two of our two-part episode on the wondrous world of exoplanets. On this episode Wayne and Dan explore a "super Saturn" with a ring system of over 110,000,000 million miles in diameter. If this planet were where our Saturn is located, we could easily see the rings with the naked eye. They would appear four to five times larger than the full moon!
We'll also be looking at the darkest, blackest exoplanet discovered to date. Just a tad larger than our own Jupiter, It has baffled astronomers ever since its discovery. No one really knows why it's so dark.
How do these marvels help us to better appreciate and marvel at what God has done? Come and see as we explore these wondrous worlds on this episode of Good Heavens!
Links for more information:
Alien world is blacker than coal (TrES-2b)
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/08/alien-world-is-blacker-than-coal/
Super-Saturn: astronomers find a massive ring system around an exoplanet
https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/184/super-saturn-astronomers-find-a-massive-ring-system-around-an-exoplanet/
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Thursday Jun 29, 2023
Thursday Jun 29, 2023
For the next two episodes of Good Heavens! Wayne and Dan will be exploring four fantastic worlds outside of our solar system. For the most part, there have been over 5,000 newly-discovered planets outside our own solar system since the 1990s, with thousands more "candidates" that need further exploration and confirmation.
Astronomers call these planets outside of our solar system "exoplanets."
On this episode we'll marvel at the mathematical majesty of TESS Object of Interest #178 or TOI-178 for short and we'll try to stay upright as we have a look at the wobbly but wondrous world of Kepler 413b which orbits two stars, just like Tatooine of Star Wars fame!
Fascinating worlds that further show us God's glory, majesty, creativity, and many other of His invisible attributes. So come and see!
Kepler Finds a Very Wobbly Planet
https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2014/news-2014-12.html
The TOI-178 System
https://www.planetary.org/space-images/the-toi-178-system
Dance of Harmony in Intriguing TOI-178 Multi-planetary System (more detailed)
https://astrobites.org/2022/02/26/dance-of-harmony-in-intriguing-toi-178-multi-planetary-system/
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
The James Webb Space Telescope continues to make headlines with its marvelous head-scratching discoveries. On this episode, Wayne and Dan explore a recent JWST unexpected discovery of a disc and multiple rings around the star Fomalhaut. This discovery promises to challenge current theories about how stars and planets form.
Wayne and Dan not only discuss the science, but also how we see the star pointing to our unique and special place in the cosmos, all for the glory of God in Christ.
Dan's article on fish, faith, and the fantastic findings of Fomalhaut.
Wayne's article on the mysteries of Fomalhaut.
More on the science of Fomalhaut
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/webb-looks-for-fomalhaut-s-asteroid-belt-and-finds-much-more
https://earthsky.org/space/fomalhaut-b-not-an-exoplanet-instead-a-dust-cloud/
Astronomer Paul Kalas explains why he still thinks there is an exoplanet at Fomalhaut.
https://w.astro.berkeley.edu/~kalas/index.php/fomalhaut/
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
(Galactic image in the thumbnail - NASA - the James Webb Space Telescope Cartwheel galaxy, previously imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope).
Galaxies, we might say, are kings of the cosmos. Their splendor and size has really only come to be known in the last 100 years, since Edwin Hubble finally determined that Andromeda, and many other galaxies just like it, were not just nebulae in our own universe.
Hubble's telescope, the Hooker Telescope atop Mt. Wilson in California, was the largest of its day. But it's main mirror was only 100 inches. We say "only" because the collective surface area of the new James Webb Space Telescope, made up of 18 individual mirrors, is 21 feet, four inches!
And what it has thus far captured is nothing short of astonishing, like being in the presence of royalty.
On this episode, Wayne and Dan discuss some unsolved mysteries of star and galaxy formation and just how Webb's new galactic discoveries only serve to deepen the mystery and threaten to make scientists completely rewrite their assumptions about how stars and galaxies form!
Come and see!
Some stuff we talked about during the episode.
Geraint Lewis's work on stellar streams
New JWST discoveries of distant galaxies.
Dan's article on galaxies and our place in the cosmos.
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Good Heavens! Dwarfs (not dwarves) have stolen Pluto's planetary status! Who are these mischievous entities? Why did they steal from Pluto? Where are they, exactly? And what do dwarfs, dancing, and astronomy have to do with each other?
Join Wayne and Dan for this educational adventure in exploring these recently discovered miscreants of the solar system! Hopefully they've answered all of the perplexing questions on this episode. If not, it's still a fun chat about what's out there and how it all points to the glory of God in Christ.
Easter episodes mentioned at the end of the broadcast:
https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/for-signs-and-for-seasons-calendars-of-the-ancient-world/
https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/the-sun-moon-and-time-calendars-part-2/
https://goodheavens.podbean.com/e/the-lamb-of-god-the-passover-in-the-gospels/
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Friday Mar 31, 2023
Friday Mar 31, 2023
Dan summarizes four fantastical new images from the James Webb Space Telescope and how he believes they reveal the glory of God.
Objects discussed you can see for yourself!
VHS 1256 b (only an artist's conception)
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Friday Mar 17, 2023
Friday Mar 17, 2023
Did dragons ever really exist? Why is there a constellation of a dragon? Where'd it come from?
On this episode of Good Heavens! Dan breaks down the myths and legends behind Draco the Dragon, the 8th largest constellation in the night sky, Find out about its brightest stars and some of the deep sky objects within and about what Scripture has to say about the dragon of old.
Don't miss this fascinating episode. Sit back, close your eyes, and imagine you're in a state-of-the-art planetarium. If you have some booming home audio surround sound or good car speakers, they will certainly enhance this one-of-a-kind audio theater for the mind's eye!
DISCLAIMER: In our series on the constellations, we are not condoning, endorsing, or encouraging any astrology or horoscope related practices. Stars do not determine one's future or personality. We simply provide a history and overview of the constellations and how they can remind us as Christians of God's glory in Christ. Please see our Watchman four-page profile on the spurious practices and assumptions of astrology written by a former astrologer now Christian.
https://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/astrologyprofile.pdf
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
See a wondrous alignment of planets at the end of March! Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Mars, and the Moon!
What does it all mean for us? Find out on this special episode!
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
What made Alice swim in a puddle of tears?
Mathematics!
As long division did for Dan in 4th grade. Math can bring tears, both of frustration and joy. What exactly is math? Why does it work so well in describing our universe? How can people explain mathematics apart from mind? And what's it all have to do with a grin without a cat?
Come and see (or in this case, listen)!
For more grinning from the heavens, see Wayne's article!
https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2023/01/27/the-grin-from-space/
Dan's full interview with Apollo 16 Astronaut Charlie Duke.
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.
Friday Feb 03, 2023
Friday Feb 03, 2023
A special edition of Good Heaven! A heavenly event you don't want to miss! Mark your calendars for a special sight in the heavens coming soon. And you won't need a telescope or binoculars. You'll even be able to see it from a big city if your western horizon is clear and the weather is good.
Come and see!
Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
Have you ever seen a grin without a cat? Come and see, or at least listen to the story about a fascinating object in the deepest recesses of Ursa Major, the Great Bear!
Alice in Wonderland, Charlie Chaplain, Albert Einstein, invisible space-time fabric, and a grin that is kinda out of this world.
For more grinning from the heavens, see Wayne's article!
The Grin from Space
https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2023/01/27/the-grin-from-space/
Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.