00:00:05 Our sun is considered an average star.
00:00:15 Yet, the energy from the sun
00:00:18 that reaches the earth is thousands of times
00:00:22 the world’s total energy use.
00:00:33 With our unaided eyes,
00:00:35 we might see about 3,000 stars
00:00:38 on a dark night
00:00:44 —many in a fuzzy band.
00:00:47 The Milky Way galaxy
00:00:52 is where our sun is just one of perhaps
00:00:55 200 to 400 billion stars.
00:01:03 Astronomers think the Milky Way galaxy
00:01:07 is clustered together with around 100,000 large galaxies
00:01:12 in a massive structure called a supercluster
00:01:17 that together with an estimated two trillion galaxies
00:01:22 make up the known physical universe.
00:01:31 Countless stars
00:01:33 spread over unfathomable distances,
00:01:36 releasing immense amounts of energy
00:01:39 may be impossible to grasp for us
00:01:42 —but not for Jehovah.
00:01:45 “He counts the number of the stars;
00:01:48 “he calls all of them by name.
00:01:51 Our Lord is great and is mighty in power.”
00:02:03 Millions of cubic meters of water
00:02:06 circulate continually around our planet.
00:02:33 Near the poles, water that is colder,
00:02:36 saltier, and denser sinks,
00:02:39 creating a flow almost 100 times
00:02:44 that of the Amazon River.
00:02:47 This drives a massive circulation of water
00:02:50 that may take 1,000 years to complete
00:02:54 —the global ocean conveyor belt.
00:02:59 This enormous system distributes heat,
00:03:05 which helps to stabilize the weather
00:03:15 and transport great quantities
00:03:18 of nutrients around the world
00:03:21 so that life
00:03:24 may flourish in abundance.
00:03:44 Jehovah set these mechanisms in motion
00:03:47 and understands them perfectly.
00:03:52 “You rule over the raging of the sea;
00:03:55 when its waves surge, you calm them.”
00:04:06 Trees can grow very strong
00:04:10 and withstand powerful forces.
00:04:20 But if they didn’t decompose after they die,
00:04:23 trees and leaves would pile up
00:04:26 with their nutrients locked away inside.
00:04:29 Yet, they do decompose.
00:04:31 How?
00:04:35 Most animals cannot eat fallen wood and leaves,
00:04:41 but fungi can.
00:04:45 They break down the dead plant tissues,
00:04:48 making them softer.
00:04:51 Beetles and termites
00:04:53 bore through the wood, exposing more surface area
00:04:57 and spreading the fungi inside,
00:05:00 which soften it further so that other insects
00:05:03 can enjoy the feast.
00:05:06 Earthworms aerate the soil
00:05:10 and pull nutrients down where they can be used by other plants.
00:05:18 Decomposers have been called
00:05:20 the unsung heroes of the natural world.
00:05:26 They recycle organic matter so that it is available
00:05:29 to support new life.
00:05:33 Through this process,
00:05:35 Jehovah made it possible for us to enjoy earth’s lush beauty
00:05:40 —generation after generation.
00:05:45 “Let the fields and everything in them rejoice.
00:05:49 “At the same time let all the trees
00:05:52 of the forest shout joyfully.”
00:06:14 Hail
00:06:17 —though it is made of ice, it is very different from snow.
00:06:27 Hail usually forms in warm weather
00:06:30 when turbulent air produces thunderstorms
00:06:33 with powerful updrafts.
00:06:37 Those updrafts can pull a piece of dust
00:06:41 or ice high into the cloud, where water freezes around it.
00:06:45 Each trip up into the cloud adds a layer of ice
00:06:49 and waits
00:06:51 until it becomes
00:06:53 a hailstone that is heavy enough to fall.
00:07:01 Hailstorms can be powerfully destructive.
00:07:09 One deadly storm dropped hailstones
00:07:12 weighing more than one kilogram (2 lbs) each.
00:07:18 Jehovah used hail to demonstrate his power
00:07:22 and defend his people,
00:07:24 such as during the seventh plague against Egypt.
00:07:29 When Joshua fought the Amorites,
00:07:31 Jehovah caused a great hailstorm,
00:07:34 and more Amorites died from the hailstones
00:07:37 than in battle.
00:07:41 Hail is also mentioned among the elements
00:07:44 that Jehovah will use in the future
00:07:47 against those who attack his people.
00:07:50 “Have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
00:07:54 “which I have reserved for the . . . day of battle and war?”
00:08:05 The largest animal alive on earth today
00:08:10 is also the largest that has ever lived
00:08:16 —the blue whale.
00:08:25 Blue whales can grow to be
00:08:27 over 30 meters (98 feet) long
00:08:30 and weigh up to 180 tons.
00:08:35 Its heart alone may weigh several hundred kilograms.
00:08:40 How does such a large creature find enough to eat?
00:08:47 The blue whale migrates great distances
00:08:50 to find tiny crustaceans
00:08:54 known as krill.
00:08:56 When a blue whale
00:08:58 finds a school of krill,
00:09:01 it accelerates toward the krill
00:09:03 and opens its giant mouth.
00:09:08 They may engulf hundreds of kilograms of krill
00:09:12 with each lunge
00:09:16 amounting to several tons per day.
00:09:21 Blue whales eat a lot.
00:09:26 Yet, Jehovah provides for them,
00:09:35 and he will provide for us.
00:09:47 “There is the sea, so great and wide,
00:09:50 “teeming with countless living things,
00:09:53 both small and great.”
00:10:06 Our bones
00:10:07 are amazing.
00:10:11 They support our bodies,
00:10:14 protect our organs,
00:10:19 and store almost all
00:10:21 of the body’s calcium
00:10:23 —a mineral essential for our health.
00:10:28 For their weight,
00:10:30 bones are very strong.
00:10:36 The feet of a track and field jumper
00:10:39 may experience forces of several times his body weight.
00:10:47 Bones can compress and bend,
00:10:52 but sometimes they break.
00:10:57 A fractured bone can heal well if properly set.
00:11:02 Inflammation brings organic building blocks to the area,
00:11:06 and soft tissue grows between the broken pieces.
00:11:13 The soft tissue is replaced with harder tissue.
00:11:19 The body replaces the harder tissue
00:11:22 with new bone until the repair is complete.
00:11:33 In children,
00:11:34 the break may heal without leaving a trace.
00:11:39 Jehovah gave every bone in our body
00:11:42 this incredible ability to heal.
00:11:47 “I praise you because in an awe-inspiring way
00:11:51 I am wonderfully made.”
