{"id":77292,"date":"2019-08-21T10:24:49","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T16:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=77292"},"modified":"2019-08-21T10:25:50","modified_gmt":"2019-08-21T16:25:50","slug":"the-thin-blue-line-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/08\/the-thin-blue-line-1.html","title":{"rendered":"The Thin Blue Line (1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NASA<\/a>
The thin line of Earth\u2019s atmosphere and the setting sun are featured in this NASA public domain photograph taken on 25 November 2009 by the crew of the International Space Station while space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-129 mission was docked with the station.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Are there other planets out there like Earth?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Very likely so. \u00a0Here\u2019s some recent research out of Brigham Young University, prominently featuring Professor Darin Raggozine<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many Earth-like planets exist in the universe?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As often happens, I can\u2019t help but think in this context of a passage from the Pearl of Great Price:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd\u00a0worlds\u00a0without number have I\u00a0created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the\u00a0Son\u00a0I\u00a0created\u00a0them, which is mine\u00a0Only Begotten. . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I\u00a0know\u00a0them.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and\u00a0tell\u00a0me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The\u00a0heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no\u00a0end\u00a0to my works, neither to my words.\u201d \u00a0 (Moses 1:33, 35-38)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vitally important for their habitability, though, that planets have atmospheres. \u00a0And not all do:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Weird, Rocky Planet Has No Atmosphere: The planet\u2019s lack of atmosphere could be because of its dwarf star.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What about ours?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our terrestrial atmosphere is an exceedingly thin envelope or film surrounding Earth. \u00a0Perhaps somewhat more than 99% of our air exists within a region no higher than thirty kilometers (or approximately eighteen miles) above sea level. \u00a0Earth\u2019s radius \u2014 the distance from its center to its surface or circumference \u2014 is 6400 kilometers (somewhat less than 4000 miles), which means that the thickness of that oxygenated region of our atmosphere is a bit less than 0.5% of earth\u2019s radius.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, though, humans can\u2019t survive beyond just a short distance above sea level. \u00a0Federal regulations\u00a0require the use of supplemental oxygen by pilots who fly more than 30 minutes at cabin pressure altitudes of 12,500 feet (roughly 3.8 kilometers) or higher. And at cabin altitudes above 14,000 feet (somewhat more than 4.25 kilometers), pilots must use oxygen at all times.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The phrase thin blue line\u00a0<\/em>is somtimes used to refer to the role of the police, who hold chaos at bay and thus permit order and civilization to flourish. \u00a0The term could perhaps be used even more appropriately to describe the function of our atmosphere, which allows not only civilization and order but sheer physical survival.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Are there other planets out there like Earth? \u00a0 Very likely so. \u00a0Here\u2019s some recent research out of Brigham Young University, prominently featuring Professor Darin Raggozine: \u00a0 \u201cHow many Earth-like planets exist in the universe?\u201d \u00a0 As often happens, I can\u2019t help but think in this context of a passage from the Pearl […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Thin Blue Line (1)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Are there other planets out there like Earth?   Very likely so. \u00a0Here's some recent research out of Brigham Young University,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/08\/the-thin-blue-line-1.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Thin Blue Line (1)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Are there other planets out there like Earth? 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