Around 4–5 billion years ago (bya) my formation began from the remaining matter after the creation of the sun. In time, this matter accumulated and formed the small planetary objects (planetesimals) which were the earlier forms of future’s giant planets. Our collisions continued with the planetesimals that orbited the sun. As a result of these continuous collisions and bombardments, my surface temperature raised to almost 6,000oC. What I am trying to say is that I was an enormous globe consisting mainly of metallic substances that were melted in boiling lava and showered by thousands of meteoroids and comets. God the Creator has hidden many messages of mystery regarding the entire process I endeavored for humans to discover.

When I began to cool down, my surface hardened like a shell, and because I was not yet sufficiently protected by the gaseous shield known to us today as the atmosphere, my shell was destroyed by the ceaseless continuation of the meteoroid bombardment as soon as it began to form. This transformation continued for billions of years. At last when the invasion of the meteoroids began to ease, I started to mature and slowly began the process of cooling down.

4.4 billion years ago

The creation of pieces of land that looked somewhat different than the seven continents at the present began. They were just sections of land floating on my coat of crust. The formation of crust around my surface was subjected to rupture due to the high pressure caused by the intense heat deep down inside me. Over a period of time this crust, which separated into a number of huge fragments (plates), experienced various deformations that resulted in the formation of mountains. This is how the basins of the ocean and the contours of the continents began to emerge. This was the period during which new specimens of rock (granite) and the floor of the ocean (basaltic), consisting of rising magma, formed the core of the continents. Today scientists are studying the oldest granites (billions of years old) that have managed to survive natural disasters and destruction to discover how the first continents were actually formed.

Granite is the rock that forms the cores of the continents (cratons). Cratons are produced by the primary component of the oldest crust. Cratons are light enough to float on my coat of crust; they are a system created in a way that enables the development of continents. These cratons are found especially in central parts of Africa and also in South America, Australia, North America, and Scandinavia.

My surface is made up of integrated fragments called tectonic plates. Even though my crust was created by rock, it was created flexible enough to allow the plates to move a few centimeters every year caused by the intense heat from beneath my surface.

Continents

Ground movement and various changes have occurred over time due to the dynamic structure of the continents and plates attached to the mantle. Discoveries of exactly the same fossils and identical fresh water organisms in two completely different continents far from each other have proved this. The actual reason for the plate’s activity is that my core is much higher in temperature than my surface. The core deep inside me is around 5,500oC. The greater portion of this intense heat occurred in my early days as a result of the collisions and bombardments I faced, and the remaining is related to the disintegration of the radioactive elements which settled particularly in my mantle section. The heat waves which spread from my core were passed on to the next layer of the mantle. The heat melted a section of my mantle layer and magma forced my molten rocks to the surface. The molten rock, which fills the spaces between the cracked plates, enables new rock to develop, and then the plates separate from one another.

Around the same period of the formation of new rocks, my plates and the continents found on them separated. The formation of rocks deep within ocean continues the creation of the range of volcanic mountains even today. The range of under-water mountains continues for about 12,000 miles between the Antarctic and the North Pole and rises above sea level in some places.

The region called Iceland between the North American and Eurasian plates was formed as a result of an enormous volcanic eruption. This is one of the few places where the separation of the continents is clearly visible. The crevasse of Iceland, surrounded by the American plates on one side and the other European plates on the other, is around 3 miles in width. This crevasse is increasing with the formation of new rocks and is expanding the distance between America and Europe. Scientists say that the distance between the continents is increasing by around 1 inch every year, so within a hundred years the distance between America and Europe is expected to increase another 8 feet.

3.4 billion years ago

The main continents were forced together by movement of the tectonic plates forming new continents, and there are still remaining pieces of these continents inside the cratons of Australia and Africa.

2.7 billion years ago

My first super continent is still the ruling territory. But due to the power built up by heat emerging from my core, the tectonic plates are on the verge of separating this continent. Because of the heat from my core, the main land has separated and oceans were formed in my surface. Today these oceans do not exist on my surface anymore; but you can still find their pieces in the continents by a careful look.

1.1 billion years ago

The supercontinent called Rodinia, a continent which contains most of the earth’s landmass, was created. Seven hundred and fifty million years ago (mya), the heat from my core began to break down this supercontinent, and as a result Rodinia was destroyed and a new supercontinent called Pangaea, the origin of all the continents known in the present day, was created.

Two hundred million years later (or five hundred and sixty-five mya): I became acquainted with bacteria, funguses, poriferans (sponges), earthworms, mollusks, segmented worms, and arthropods.

During the time when these creatures lived on me, the climate was moderate. Major volcanic activities occurred during this period when most of the land was covered by shallow seas. The sudden outbreak of the thousands of species of living creatures during this period may seem amazing to you; in fact, this was actually the first period in which complex structural vertebrates were created.

495–435 million years ago

I first became associated with the red and green sea algae. This was also the period in which various fish and sea creatures were created. The enormous landmass of this period called Pangaea gave me a totally different appearance and had a huge impact on the climate. The reason for this was that a large section of the land was so distant from the sea. The climate of the inland regions was showing deep scale signs of change with every season-certain periods of the year were very hot and others considerably cold. During this time, the ocean did not have the effect on the climate like it does today. This is why the climates varied to such an extent. The change of climate played a huge role in the extinction of many species of that period and destroyed almost 90% of the living creatures.

Creation has continued at a distinct magnitude during the millions of years that have passed, and between 270–340 mya larger proportioned variations of vegetation were created. In a short space of time, this vegetation formed into giant trees that covered huge areas of land. The largest deposits of coal were created from the fossilization of these trees, an example of creation that would make your life a little easier in the years to follow.

On the other hand, the territories began to gather together close to the planes of the equator, and this vast land was covered with rain forests resembling the Amazon. These immense lands of greenery were the marshy forests that were home to extinct ferns and the first seeds of the various groups of plant life. The inhabitants of this intense vegetation were mainly insects, centipedes, and scorpions, but much larger than the ones we know today. The plants and forests disappeared suddenly at the end of this period, and towards the end of the same period when the vast lands of Pangaea began to take form, the glaciers expanded, the sea water receded, and the arid climate changed dramatically along with the forestry structure and vegetation. Then the creation of many new creatures occurred.

250 million years ago

The supercontinent Pangaea began to break up, and this separation caused the formation of Gondwana in the northern hemisphere and Eurasia in the south. Throughout the millions of years, South America began to recede from Africa while North America receded from Europe, resulting in the formation of the continents as we know them today. Australia drifted from the Antarctic continent and moved slowly towards more moderate climates. The evolution of the continents continued to form the huge canyons and valleys in America, and the vast range of mountains, including the Himalayas and the Alps. Between 225–190 mya mammals were created, and between 190–135 mya, birds and alga were created, followed in the next period by plantation seeds which almost completed my preparation as a suitable place for you all to live.

100 million years ago

The plan of the present day continents became apparent. Sometimes my land masses would collide in the regions where the plates joined and caused activity like the formation of the mountains. Without this plate movement, there would have been no mountains created on the planet. During this period, the various species of dinosaurs and reptiles became extinct for reasons unknown to humans. Throughout the following 100 million years, the creation of the most significant mountain ranges, like the Himalayas, occurred along with the continuing collisions of the continents. These plates continue to move 5–10 cm every year and still cause collisions today.

Today I am the proud owner of seven continents. Africa-Eurasia is an enormous supercontinent which houses Africa, Europe, and Asia. Beginning from the plateau of Siberia in Russia, it reaches as far as Africa, but Africa-Eurasia is not my only supercontinent. North and South America joined by Panama also have vast territories. If the Bering Strait that separates Russia and Alaska were to freeze, a person who set out from South America could walk as far as South Africa covering a total distance of 25,000 miles.

Although you are may not realize it, the activity of the continents continues today, and my existence that began billions of years ago will continue in the future until the time comes for me to die (you call this doomsday).

There is another aspect of the continental activity that affects you. This occurs in the form of disasters, for instance the earthquake, an event of nature which has occurred for millions of years. This activity of creation occurs as a result of the intersection of the plates, the collision of continents, or the ocean plates submerging beneath the continent. The tsunami disaster in Indonesia in 2004 was the result of a catastrophic movement of these plates.

The exceptionally lengthy process of my creation explains the transformations and progress I have experienced until I reached the condition suitable for the most precious and honorable of all creation: human beings. I hope that every moment and every aspect of the manifestation of science, wisdom, power, and willpower of my life story and creation will be a guide for you in the future and will encourage you to be even more curious about my end and to bow to our Almighty creator in respect of all He created.

More than 99% of the matter in the universe is in a state of plasma. The energy that the Sun distributes comes from the core, which is like a blast furnace; here matter is pure energy or is converted to energy. In the core hydrogen atoms are combined and helium is created through nuclear fusion, which occurs at very high temperatures. During nuclear fusion, enormous amounts of energy are emitted. The total capacity of the Sun’s outer layer that emits energy is around 3.86 x 1,026 watts. However, only 1,368 watt per m² comes into the orbit of the Earth. This energy results in the light that we see when we look at the Sun. The core of the Sun is 160 times denser than water on Earth. The temperature in the core is about 15 million °C. If the Sun had not been created at this density and high temperature, such a great amount of energy could not be produced. The energy produced in the core is conveyed to the radiation zone, so called as energy here is conveyed by radiation. The energy produced in the core heats everything while moving to upwards and when it comes close to the outer layer, it loses heat and energy. For instance, there is 1-2 million °C of heat that is dissipated before the end of the radiation zone. At the point where the radiation zone ends, the density of the matter is equal to the density of water on Earth. The energy is conveyed by radiation in the interior part of the Sun, while being conveyed by convection in the outer layer. The source of energy that maintains the light and heat of the Sun is the furnaces at the core. The heat decreases in proportion to the distance from the core. Curiously enough, when moving away from the photosphere (radiation zone) towards the corona, one might think that the temperature in the solar atmosphere should decrease, but in fact it increases. The interior of the corona is almost as hot as the core of the Sun, but the temperature decreases in the outer part of the corona. The cooling process that begins when moving away from the core stops at the corona and the temperature rises from 100,000 °C to 1-5 million °C. Scientists have not yet resolved why the corona has this very high temperature.

The outer layer of the Sun is very stormy. We can compare the events in the outer layer to water boiling in a kettle. This layer is known as the convection zone, which is kept in place by the magnetic field in the corona. The gas pressure in this zone is relatively higher than the magnetic field pressure. Therefore the magnetic field retreats inward and is twisted as a result of the turbulent movements of gas. These movements fulfill the role of enlarging the magnetic field lines of the corona. In the corona, the magnetic field pressure is higher than the gas pressure. It is possible that the extra energy conveyed to the magnetic field is transferred to the plasma in the corona. The energy, in the state of hydromagnetic waves, is squeezed and converted into energy. But we do not know exactly how the energy in the magnetic field is converted to heat in the corona.

The most interesting research topics at the moment are the transfer of energy to the corona and the storage mechanisms for this energy. Matter is heated in the convection zone and expands and rises to the surface. It cools as it rises to the outer layer, becoming denser and then, in a plasma state, sinks down again. This cyclic movement, consisting of a rise and fall, is what is meant by the term “convection.” This movement is conducive to the conveyance of energy from the base of the convection zone to the top. The matter approaching the top cools down and becomes denser here, distributing its energy to the environment. The rising and falling movements of matter in this convection zone are similar to the circular movement observed in water boiling in a kettle. These movements cause the formation of strong magnetic fields in the outer layer of the Sun.
The extremely hot gas in the corona moves away from the Sun. When this hot gas mass heads to the planets it is known as “solar wind.” Solar winds are the officers in charge of changes in the climates of planets. This activity in the solar atmosphere causes atmospheric air currents that bring about snow and rain. There are relatively few magnetic fields in the outer layer of the Sun, while there are a number of magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere. The interplanetary magnetic field is formed as a result of the Sun’s magnetic field. Coronal mass ejections expand away from the Sun at speeds that measure as much as 1,250 miles per second. These blasts carry up to ten billion tons of plasma away from the Sun. It may take a few days for the matter, which covers distance at a speed of 60-600 miles per second, to reach the Earth. Solar flares move at the speed of light and can reach the Earth in eight minutes. If coronal mass ejections reach the atmosphere of the Earth, they can create geomagnetic storms. Auroras (radiation that can be observed in Polar zones) are the atmospheric events related to the coronal mass ejections. Large geomagnetic storms can cause electrical power outages and damage communication satellites.

Astronomers record the xrays that emanate from the Sun in the same way that a doctor records the occurrences of pain in patients. It has been discovered that there is a strong correlation between the density of solar flares and the pains of those who suffer migraines. Even if this correlation is statistically meaningful, more controlled research needs to be carried out to understand if there is any biological significance. The storage of magnetic energy in the solar atmosphere and the ejection of the same, like a sudden explosion, cause solar flares. A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. During such an explosion, radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The amount of energy released is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time. Considering how just one hydrogen bomb is enough to destroy the entire world, we must thank the All-Powerful God Who placed the Sun at an ideal distance, protecting us both from freezing and burning. The energy released during a flare is typically to the order of 1027 ergs per second. This energy is ten million times greater than the energy released by a volcanic explosion.

The system in which magnetic fields are produced in the Sun can be the cause of some changes on Earth. For example, between the years of 1600 and 1850s solar activities decreased and low temperatures (a minor ice age) were recorded on Earth, especially in much of Europe and North America. Therefore, solar activity carries out its duty on the order of God and works for the adjustment of climates on Earth. It was determined that the temperature differences measured at 6 miles above the North Pole (in the boundary of troposphere/stratosphere) were related to a eleven-year cycle of sunspot explosions. The stratosphere heat over the Polar zones is relatively less cold when the Sun is active, depending on the stratospheric winds. However, the physical mechanisms have not yet been determined.

How do the planets stay in orbit around the Sun?

There are two hypotheses on this matter: one of them says that the revolving of the planets around the Sun while they are in their or bit is dependent on the movement around the common mass instead of on the force of gravity. The other theory is that the magnetic field forces, which are created as cycles in the core of the Sun, play an important role in interplanetary gravity. The difference between the hypotheses stems from the structure of the orbits in terms of causes. Circular orbit is formed by the force of gravity, while elliptic orbits are the result of common mass movement. Therefore, it would be more sensible to say that while explaining the phenomenon of planets staying in their orbit around the Sun that a role is played by both common mass movement and matter cycles in the core, reminiscent of the oscillations in the core of the Sun, and the magnetic field that is produced. There are a number of verses in the Qur’an about the Sun and the sky. One of these is: “And the Sun runs the course appointed for it for a term to its resting-place for the stability of it(s system)” (Yasin 36:38). Bediüzzaman Said Nursi says, The Sun is a light-diffusing tree, and the planets are its moving fruits. But unlike trees, the Sun is shaken so that the fruits do not fall. If it were not shaken, they would fall and be scattered.¹

The period of the actual rotation of the Sun is approximately 27 days. The active zones of the sunspots can be observed on the side of the Sun that faces the Earth. The Sun’s movement forms an interesting orbit. Although it is not solid (being in a gas and plasma state), the outer layer of the Sun has different speeds of rotation at different latitudes. Scientists have lately started to use acoustic detectors to receive the signals that emanate from the Sun. The acoustic detectors are used to understand the rising and falling wave movements that this noise causes on the surface of the Sun. Scientists are trying to understand how the sound waves behave in an environment made up of other material, such as oil and vinegar, which form a layer in the water, and they then try to decipher the inner structure of the Sun by making analogies with the events that occur within the Sun. The sound waves that are related to events that occur at the center of the Sun vibrate like a spring. Measurements are made by special acoustic detectors and these reflect the cycles within the Sun. The sound that emanates from the interior parts of the Sun is converted into magnetic waves. These magnetic waves always move, in the form of oscillations that first rise above (to the solar atmosphere) then fall down (to the core of the Sun). The movements within the center of the Sun display rhythmic motions, like water in a pool that has been disturbed. Measuring the smallest sound waves that come from the very core of the Sun, Steven Tomczyk (1994) found that the core of the Sun rotates in a way that is similar to the rotation of the Earth. To put it another way, he found out that the rotation at the core of the Sun occurred independently of latitude and depth, unlike movement in the outer layer of the Sun. While explaining the meaning of the word “li mustaqar” (resting-place) in the Qur’an, Nursi refers to this rotation as follows:

Since the All-Wise Maker operates behind the veil of apparent causality, He has tied the planets to the Sun by His law of gravity and causes them to revolve with distinct but regular motions according to His universal wisdom. To produce gravity, He has made the Sun’s movement on its axis an apparent cause. Thus a resting place means that “the Sun moves in the place determined for it for the order and stability of its own (solar) system.” Like the Divine law, that motion produces heat, heat produces force, and force produces gravity.²

Some astronomers compare the Sun to a bell that is periodically struck. They also state that the cycles that occur within the Sun and at the outer layer of the Sun play a role in the formation of magnetic fields, gravity forces, and the common mass center of the Sun. As a result of the interconnectivity of all these factors, how the planets revolve around the Sun while staying firmly in their orbits (without being scattered in terms of causes) can be explained. The existence of this huge star and its continuity in a controlled way is a serious matter, which, even though we often take this miracle for granted, must be contemplated. The fact that the Sun is so vital for us, yet that we have no control over it shows us that this fire ball is in the service of humanity thanks to the order of the Divine Will.

References

• http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/sftheory/cme.htm
• http://www.ucar.edu/publications/lasers/sun/what-sun.html
• http://athena.wednet.edu/curric/space/sun/sunanat.html

Notes

1. Nursi, The Words, The Light, Inc., NJ: 2005, p. 413. 2. Ibid.

…And We sent down Iron, in which is great might, as well as many benefits for mankind… (Hadid 57:25)

The above verse in the holy Qur’an uses the Arabic expression “anzalna”which means “sent down” for iron. But why? Early commentators understood this as having a metaphorical meaning to explain that iron has been sent to benefit people. But after understanding the nature of one of the most powerful explosions in the universe, you realize that the direct meaning “being physically sent down from the sky” miraculously points out to a very important scientific fact that was discovered only very recently. To understand and appreciate this miracle of the Qur’an, we will first talk about the life and death of stars and then come back to this verse to describe its relevance in detail.

Just like human beings, stars are also born, live, and die. One big difference is that they can live billions of years compared to the less than 100 years of human life. Also, for us, there is no way of knowing how long we will live or how we will die. But for a star, given its mass, you can predict its lifetime and the way it will die. Stars about the size of our sun live for a long time (a couple of billion years) and die gradually. Whereas massive stars with a mass of about 8 times the mass of our sun or more have short lifetimes (tens of million years) and die in a quick and incredibly violent explosion known as a supernova.

Supernova explosions are one of the most spectacular astronomical events observable by human beings. Normally, in a typical galaxy there are about 10 billion stars. A supernova happens to be one of these ordinary stars until it explodes. During the explosion, the amount of energy released by the supernova can exceed the energy of all the other stars combined in its galaxy! The power of this explosion is far too big even to imagine. The energy released is even greater than the total energy our sun will put out during its 10 billion year life!

The brightest supernova of modern times was an extragalactic supernova recorded in 1987. Since it was the first supernova in 1987, it was labeled as “1987A.” This is by far the best studied supernova of all times. In Fig. 1, the left panel shows the region of the sky two weeks after the supernova exploded. The supernova is still very bright. The right panel shows the same region before the explosion, with the arrow indicating the star undergoing the supernova explosion. This particular supernova was 160,000 light years away from us. This means that the actual explosion happened 160,000 years ago, but because it was so far from us, it took 160,000 years for the light rays from the explosion to reach us.

Fig 1. After and before images of the 1987A supernova. The left panel shows the region of the sky two weeks after the 1987A supernova exploded. The supernova is still very bright. The right panel shows the same region before the explosion and the arrow indicates the star undergoing the supernova explosion.

Since the supernova becomes extremely bright, it is even sometimes possible to see it with the naked eye in daytime. In fact, there are historical reports from ancient times concerning supernova explosions. On July 4th, 1054 A.D., Chinese astronomers noticed a “guest star,” which was visible in daylight to the naked eye for 23 days. Its remnant was discovered by the British amateur astronomer John Bevis in 1731. We now know that this bright “guest star” was a supernova. Its remnants, known as the Crab Nebula, are shown in the left panel of Fig. 2. This supernova is one of the very few that have been observed in our Milky Way galaxy. The last supernova to explode in our galaxy was in 1607 (see Fig. 2 right panel).

Supernova explosions are one of the most violent events that happen in the universe. They release an unbelievable amount of energy. But why would a star explode anyway? If it has so much energy still, why does it not remain shining peacefully as it does for most of its lifetime? To answer these questions, we need to remember how stars work.

Figure 2 Supernovae remnants. The left panel shows remnant of the supernova that exploded in 1054. It is about 6,500 light years from earth. It consists of diffuse interstellar gas and dust (nebula) spread in a circular region of a diameter of 6 light years.(Image Credit: FORS Team, 8.2-meter VLT, ESO ). The right panel shows remnants of the last supernova, which exploded in our galaxy in 1604. This combined image — from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, and e Chandra X-ray Observatory — unveils a bubble-shaped shroud of gas and dust that is 14 light-years wide and is expanding at 4 million miles per hour (2,000 kilometers per second). It is about 20,000 light years away from us.(Image and caption credit: NASA )/

Let us start by answering a more basic question: What is the energy source of stars? Stars produce their energy through a process called nuclear fusion. The idea is very simple; you fuse together light nuclei, like hydrogen, to produce heavier nuclei, like helium. In this process, the combined mass of low-mass nuclei is more than the resulting fused massive nucleus. This difference in the masses is converted to energy through the Einstein’s famous E=mc2 equation, where E is the energy released, m is the mass difference that is released in the reaction, and c is the speed of light.

But since the nuclei are positively charged, they repel each other, so there must be extremely high densities and temperatures to overcome this barrier. The most common form of fusion that takes place in stars is the fusion of four hydrogen nuclei to produce one helium nucleus. The temperature needs to be about 8 million C0 for this reaction to occur. It requires higher temperatures to fuse nuclei that are heavier than hydrogen. For example, fusing helium requires temperatures higher than 100 million C0.

During most of their lifetime, stars produce energy by fusing hydrogen into helium. After they run out of hydrogen, if the temperatures in their cores are high enough, they start to fuse helium nuclei into carbon and oxygen. And when they run out of helium, they then start to fuse carbon and oxygen. As mentioned above, fusing heavier elements requires extremely high temperatures and high pressures, so it can only happen for massive stars in the late stages of their lives where such conditions are met. For lighter stars like our sun, temperatures are not enough for this.

Even for the massive stars, fusion reactions cannot continue forever. The game of building heavier and heavier elements stops when iron is produced in the core. Iron is a very special element. It has the highest binding energy per nucleon. This makes it the most stable element. You actually lose energy when you fuse iron nuclei together rather than gain energy, so elements heavier than iron cannot be made during these cycles. At this stage of its life, the star looks like an onion, in the sense that it has a layered structure. At the core there is iron, surrounding this core there are layers of lighter elements in the order of their atomic weights, with hydrogen being at the outermost layer (see Fig. 3).

At this point in time, a very delicate balance that holds the star steady becomes unstable. Normally, the gravitational attraction tries to compress everything together. Therefore, the star has a tendency to collapse onto itself due to gravity. This is balanced by the outward radiation and thermal pressure that are generated by intense fusion reactions that are occurring in the core. But when the core turns into iron, fusion can no longer take place. That means there is no longer a supporting outward force that prevents the star from collapsing.

Figure 3 The onion skin model of a supernova. As it gets close to its death, a pre-supernova star has a layered structure that resembles an onion. Heavy elements produced by nuclear fusion inside the star are concentrated toward the center of the star. Iron, being the most stable element, sits at the core.

After the iron core gets to a certain size, this iron core suddenly collapses onto itself. This collapse happens so fast that it takes only a fraction of a second for the initially earth-sized core to shrink to a radius of 60 km. As the core collapses, the outer layers of the star start to collapse and rush in to fill the gap created by the collapsing core. At this point, another drastic event occurs. The iron core cannot compress forever. When the density in the core reaches the nuclear density, it rebounds. This time the core starts to move outward. But wait, the outer layers are still collapsing! When the collapsing envelope of the star meets with the rebounding core, one of the most powerful explosions in the universe occurs. This is known as a supernova explosion, which can be seen millions of light years away!

This gigantic collision ejects the outer layers of the star into the interstellar medium. As a result of the extreme conditions generated by this, the fusion of heavier elements (heavier even than iron) occurs. As the material from the exploding star collides with the interstellar gas and dust, a whole range of light emissions (from visible to X-ray) occurs. Colorful nebulae (as seen in Fig 2.) that will glow for thousands of years are thus generated.

One of the most important outcomes of supernova explosions is that heavy elements, including iron, are ejected into the interstellar medium. In fact, the only source of heavy elements is such events. All the heavy elements that are found in our solar system are made in one of these violent explosions. They cannot be made in our solar system, as they require extremely high temperatures. That means, the carbon that makes our cells, the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in our blood, and basically almost everything in our body are all made of elements produced in these explosions. We are, in the most literate sense, stardust. It is estimated that on average each carbon atom in our body went through four of these cycles in the past.

It is very clear that these explosions are important for the existence of life on earth. But, understanding the mechanism of these events was only possible in recent years.

It is extremely surprising to hear that iron and almost every other element in our body were made during one of these explosions. Even more astonishing is when we look at what the Holy Qur’an says about iron.

In the Holy Qur’an, there is a special chapter about iron, known as “Hadid” or “Iron”. The first thing that surprises you about this chapter is its chapter number: 57. The interesting thing about this is that it matches the atomic weight of one of the isotopes of iron. Iron can have stable isotopes with atomic weights of 54, 56, 57, and 58. The most common form of iron is the one with atomic weight 56 (56Fe).

The reason why this chapter is called “Iron” is the fact that in one verse of this chapter, the Holy Qur’an talks about iron. The second thing that is surprising is the verse number of this particular verse: 25 (or if you count the basmala, it becomes 26). This number (26) is the number of protons in an iron nucleus. And the third numerical code is the total number of verses in this chapter and that is equal to 30. This is equal to the number of neutrons in the most common form of iron nuclei (56Fe). Additional numerical codes can be found through a more detailed inspection of this Qur’anic chapter. No one knew anything about the iron nuclei in the 7th century when the Qur’an was revealed in its present form. And the chance of these numbers being purely coincidental is less than one in a thousand.

After studying these numerical codes, the content of the verse is even more interesting and closely related to our topic. In this verse, the Almighty says: …And We sent down Iron, in which is great might, as well as many benefits for mankind … (57:25). The expression “sent down” used for iron in this verse is the English translation of the Arabic word “anzalna”. This can either be understood as having a metaphorical meaning to explain that iron was given for the benefit of people. But, if the literal meaning, “being physically sent down from the sky,” is considered, we realize that this verse miraculously indicates the scientific fact that all the iron in our solar system came from the sky from supernova explosions.

Another interesting aspect is the fact that the verse says “…in which is great might …” The Arabic word “shaded” used to describe this can also be translated as “in which is great power” or as “in which is great violence”. If you assume this phrase is referring to iron, you can understand it to mean that iron has a great strength. Or a deeper meaning would be to consider the fact that iron nuclei is the most stable nuclei, i.e. the fact that it has the highest binding energy per nucleon. If you consider this phrase as referring to the act of sending down, in that case it reminds you of the great violence in supernova explosions.

In summary, supernova explosions are the violent deaths of massive stars. The course of events that leads to these gigantic explosions, as well as their far reaching consequences, is very interesting. They are the only source of iron and other heavy metals found in our solar system. They show the mercy of God, as life on earth without them would not be possible. At the same time, they can be thought of as an incredible show of divine power. As the Holy Qur’an says at the end of the verse that mentions iron:

Surely God is the All-Strong, the All-Glorious with irresistible might. (Hadid 57:25)

The Anglo-Australian Observatory (http://www.aao.gov.au/)

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030914.html

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_219.html

For more detailed discussion, see for example: Adam Burrows, Nature 403 (6771), 727 (2000).

http://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/illustrations/superPre.html

For example, according to numerological (abjad) calculations, the abjad of the word “Al-Hadeed” in Arabic, when the numerological values of its letters are added up is also 57 and numerological value of the word “Hadid” alone is 26. ( http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_30.html )

Every soul shall have a taste of death (Quran 3:185). Like everything else, stars live and die. Would it make any difference if you knew that the iron in your blood and the calcium in your bones had been assembled inside stars? Atoms heavier than iron are formed by rapid nuclear reactions that can only occur when a massive star explodes. Gold, which is not crucial for our lives, and iodine, which is important for our health, are available, thanks to the violent deaths of massive stars.

The death of a star leads to one of three final states. Most stars, including our Sun, will become white dwarfs, stars about the size of the Earth, with no usable fuels. But the most massive stars explode and leave extraordinary objects behind; either a neutron star or a black hole.

The Sun resists its own gravity by generating energy through nuclear fusion. Under extreme conditions, four hydrogen atoms are combined to form a helium atom, and the mass difference between these atoms are converted to energy which can be calculated by Einsteins famous equation, E=mc², where m is the amount of mass converted to energy and c is the speed of light. In 4.5 billion years, the Sun will exhaust the fuel, hydrogen and helium stored in its core. This will start the chain of events that will result in its death. Since it will not be able to generate any energy to balance the huge weight of its outer layers, it will collapse. This will result in an increase in the temperature around its core. This temperature increase in the shell around the core will start new reactions which will produce excess amounts of energy. This extra energy will cause the Sun to expand and become a red giant. Its size will increase to such an extent that it will swallow Mercury and Venus, and maybe even our planet, Earth. As a giant star, it will have a strong solar wind that carries gas into space. Eventually, it will lose its outer layers, and produce a beautiful planetary nebula.¹ Soon the remains of the Sun will collapse and form a very compact object; a white dwarf. Imagine squeezing the Sun into a planet the size of the Earth. Gravity on a white dwarf is 10 million times greater than it is on Earth. Thus, a person weighing 150 pounds will weigh 1.5 billion pounds on a white dwarf. The white dwarf will burn 100 times fainter than our Sun; if the Earth survives the red giant phase, it will fall into a deadly deep freeze, and would not be a pleasant place to live.²

Medium mass stars, like the Sun, die relatively quietly as they exhaust their fuel and form white dwarfs. In contrast, massive stars live spectacular lives and destroy themselves in violent explosions. Massive stars have too great a mass to die as white dwarfs. They consume hydrogen and become red giants, but unlike the medium mass stars, their core temperature is high enough, about 1 billion degrees, to ignite carbon fusion. After they fuse carbon, they burn oxygen, neon, and magnesium to make silicon and sulfur, and then the silicon fuses to make iron. Iron is the most tightly bound of all atomic nuclei. Nuclear fusion is able to produce energy by combining less tightly bound nuclei into a more tightly bound nucleus, but iron is the limit. Once the core of the star has been converted to iron, there are no nuclear reactions that can burn iron and release the energy. Thus, the iron core is a dead end. The iron core sucks energy from the rest of the star. Since the star cannot produce any energy, it cannot resist its own gravity. In a fraction of a second, the star collapses in on itself. The collapsing core of the massive star quickly becomes a neutron star or a black hole. This collapse happens so rapidly that our most powerful computers are unable to predict the details. The envelope of the star collapses and bounces back off the dense core, which triggers a violent supernova explosion that expels the outer layers of the star to form an expanding supernova remnant. This explosion enriches the neighboring media with iron and other metals. If you throw a water balloon at your friend, your friend will get wet. Massive stars are not water balloons, but they are iron, silver, and metal balloons. When they explode, they seed the interstellar medium³ with metals. If there had not been a massive star death near our solar system when the Sun and the Earth were forming, our solar system would be iron-poor, and we would not be living today. Massive stars die so that we might live. The Quranic verse We have sent down iron, with its mighty strength and diverse uses for mankind (57:25) sheds light on this fact 14 centuries before it was discovered. Only in the past century, with the utilization of modern telescopes, have we had evidence of this. Nursi explained the above verse as iron is sent down together with the globe of the Earth from the Supreme Treasury, as a tremendous bounty. That is to say, the thing most necessary for the house of the Earth is iron, for when the All-Glorious Creator separated the Earth from the Sun and sent it down for mankind, He sent down iron together with it, and met most of mankinds needs with it. The All-Wise Quran decrees in a miraculous fashion: Use this iron in your works and try to excavate it and take advantage of it.⁴

A neutron star, on average, is 1.4 times more massive than the Sun, and is compressed to a radius of about 6 miles. Its density is so high that matter is stable only as a fluid of neutrons. An atom is mostly empty space. The nucleus of an atom is very small compared to the size of the atom. If we represent the nucleus of an atom with a blueberry, then the distance between the nucleus and the electrons would be as great as the height of the Empire State building. If you could eliminate the empty space in atoms, you would be able to squeeze stars larger than the Sun into a radius of about 6 miles (the radius of a neutron star). A neutron star spins several times a second, and has a magnetic field a trillion times stronger than that of the Earth. Observational evidence for neutron stars was first found in 1967 when astronomers found a neutron star (pulsar) rotating around itself in 1.3 seconds and sending radio pulses to Earth. If you have a large enough antenna, you can pick up periodic radio signals from pulsars. On Earth, a teaspoon of the material from a neutron star would weigh 100 million tons.

Another scenario for the end product of the death of a massive star is a black hole. When the core of a star contains more than 3 times the mass of the Sun no known force can stop it when it collapses. The object will not stop collapsing when it reaches the size of a white dwarf or a neutron star, because the electrons or neutrons cannot support the weight of the star. The object will collapse to zero radius (or almost zero radius) and form a black hole. Objects need high speeds to be able to leave another object, to be able to resist falling back due to the gravitational pull of the other object. For example, a space shuttle must reach a speed of 11.2 km/s to to be able to leave the gravitational pull of the Earth in order to go into space. Gravity is so strong near black holes that the escape speed from a black hole is greater than the speed of light. Thus, even light cannot escape; this is the reason why these phenomena are called black holes.

As an object collapses, its gravity increases. If it collapses to zero radius, its density and gravity become infinite. Such a point is called a singularity. Clocks slow down near a singularity. If we were able to watch a person falling into a black hole, we would see them moving more slowly as they came closer to the black hole. In fact, the person would never disappear from sight. From where we were standing, this person would fall more and more slowly, until finally they would hardly seem to move at all. Generations later, our grandchildren would be able to look at this friend approaching the black hole, but never crossing the event horizon (the boundary of the black hole). Black holes are not giant vacuum cleaners that will pull in everything in the universe. A black hole has a huge gravity pull, but its force is quite small if you are not near it. If the sun were replaced by a black hole of a similar mass, the orbits of the planets in our solar system would not change at all. The gravity of a black hole becomes extreme only when approached. There are many black holes in the universe, but they do not pose any threat for us as long as we stay away from them. Next time you advise your children to stay away from strangers, remember to tell them to stay away from black holes, as well.

Footnotes

1. A planetary nebula is an expanding shell of gas ejected from a star, and it has nothing to do with planets.
2. Seeds, M.A., Horizons: Exploring the Universe, 2002, Brooks/Cole
3. The gas and dust between stars.
4. Nursi, S., Flashes, Sozler Yayinevi, 28th Flash

Surely every person at some time looks up at the sun and moon and the brilliant stars and asks, who positioned all these so perfectly on the face of the sky’?

People have always marvelled at the stars and planets. But they have not always realized that there is a harmony in their positions and movements, a law and order, as indeed in the whole universe. For example, seen from the perspective of the ancient Greek astronomers, celestial bodies in the universe are aimless objects. That seems to be the implication of the term ‘planet’ which means ‘wandering’. The Greeks may have thought the ‘wandering stars’ or ‘planets’ moved in unstable orbits, more or less randomly.

The ancient astronomers’ judgement was not founded upon the Oneness of the Creator Who orders everything in the universe. Inevitably they did not have a clear grasp of the orderliness of the macro-cosmos and did not seek it.

The Qur’an revealed many centuries ago that it is Allah who created the heavenly bodies and put them into their peculiar orbits. There is nothing in the Islamic teachings that argues the view that phenomena or events are random.

Do they not look at the sky above them, how We have built it and adorned , and there are no flaws in it. (50.6)

We have built above you seven strong (heavens) and placed therein a blazing lamp. (78.12)

The ‘blazing lamp’ referred to is the sun.

People have always been fascinated by the thousands of gleaming lights sprinkled across the night sky. Today many enjoy looking into the heavens and learning about the patterns and positions of the stars, and discovering what stars can tell us about our universe as a whole. From our planet, if very high buildings and city lights permit, we can see about 6,000 stars with the naked eye. They change in colour, size, and brilliance.

We are near enough to one particular star, the sun, to find out many details about what these celestial bodies are made of and how they function. A star is composed of gases and other substances compressed together under the force of gravity. The pressure at the core of a forming star is sufficiently intense to initiate nuclear reactions that begin generating energy. During this process, matter is converted into energy, releasing large quantities of heat and light.

The sun may not catch up the moon, nor may the night outstrip the day. Each one is moving smoothly in its own orbit ( 36.40). Here an essential fact is clearly stated, namely the existence of the solar and lunar orbits. At the time of the Revelation, it was generally believed that the sun orbited a motionless earth. This, the geocentric system, had held sway from the early second century (the time of Ptolemy). It continued to do so until the sixteenth century. Fourteen centuries ago, the Qur’an directed the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula and, through them, all of mankind, towards the truth. The demonstration of the existence and details of the solar and lunar orbits is one of the recent achievements of modern astronomy.

Those who do not believe in One Creator maintain that everything comes about by chance. They do not realize that every creature in motion, from minute particles to the planets, displays on itself the stamp of the Eternal and of His Unity. Also, by reason of its movement, each of them, in some sense, takes possession of all the places in which it travels in the name of Unity, thus including them in the property of its Owner. As for those creatures not in motion, each of them, from plants to the fixed stars, is like a seal of Unity that shows the place in which it is situated to be the letter of its Maker. That is to say, each flower and fruit is a stamp and seal of unity that demonstrates, in the name of Unity, that its habitat and native place is the letter of its Maker. What all that inter-connectednes means is that one who does not have all the stars within his command does not have command over a single small particle either.

There are two other verses in the Qur’an about the sun and the moon and their usefulness to human beings, not only as light, but also as points of reference for space and time:

Allah subjected the night and the day for you, the sun and the moon. The stars are in subjection to His Command. Verily in this are signs for people who are wise. (16.12)

Allah is the One Who made the sun a lamp and the moon a light and ordained for it mansions, so that you might know the number of years and the reckoning (of the time).

Allah created this in truth. He explains the signs in detail for people who know (10.5)

The solar system comprises the sun and the nine planets that orbit it. The closest to the sun is the planet Mercury, at an average distance of 58 million km; the farthest, Pluto, is 5,900 million km from the sun. The closer a planet is to the sun, the shorter the time taken to complete its orbit. Thus, Mercury takes only 88 earth days to go round it, while Pluto orbits the sun only once in 248 earth years. Absolute time and distance are nowadays both measured in terms of light speed–a metre, for example, can be defined as the distance the light travels in a certain ‘space’ of time, in fact, 0.000000003335640952 seconds.

It is hard to think of the sun as a passing event. Nevertheless, its ‘term’ is fixed–the Qur’an is explicit on this point: And the sun runs its course for a period fixed for it (36.38). So, how long has the sun left to run? Astronomers nowadays calculate about 4.5 billion more years in its present state. It will still have nearly the same surface temperature (6.000 °C) and yellowish colour that it has now but it will appear about twice as bright because it will be about 60 percent bigger. Its next 4.5 billion years will have begun to take their toll on the sun’s nuclear fuel supply. What then? We don’t really know. Any calculations we make can only be made on the basis of theory.

The sun is full of gases composed of two thousand trillion tons (2×103 kg) of matter,

with the remains of other elements. For every million atoms of hydrogen there are about 85,000 helium atoms and only about 1,000 of any other kind. Pressure from all that mass compressing into the centre of the sun is high enough for the hydrogen atoms to fuse in the core to form helium. This simultaneously creates new energy which keeps the sun from collapsing further and provides the energy that allows it to (or makes it) shine. A series of nuclear fusion reactions, whose end result is the conversion of hydrogen to helium, happen on a vast scale and release very great amounts of energy in the form of heat, light, X-rays and so on. A part of this reaction must be the release of so-called neutrinos. Neutrinos are particles that interact so little with other matter that they can probably float through entire galaxies without being affected. They exist but have no mass nor any other physical property, which is like saying that they simultaneously exist and do not exist: we know they must be around by the way the movement of other (‘real’) particles is affected. If the theory about the way that the sun shines is correct, the sun should be producing about 180×1036 neutrinos each second. Obviously, only a small portion of these neutrinos will come in the earth’s direction.

The sun generates magnetic fields deep in its interior. Through mechanisms not yet fully understood, some of these fields erupt periodically through the sun’s surface, the photosphere. The high temperature and structure of the corona are produced by energy pumped from the photosphere up into the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere along these magnetic fields.

The sun has been fusing hydrogen into helium throughout its present lifetime of 4.5 billion years, using up less than half of the available hydrogen in its core. By another 4.5 billion years, 90 percent of the available hydrogen in the core will have been converted into helium. Serious questions about the fusion rate in the sun still remain, but according to one theory, the humans of the future will face a sun that is running out of core hydrogen.

When that happens, the gas temperature and pressure will drop and the interior of the sun will collapse under the weight of the surrounding mass. The pressure in the collapsing gas will build up sufficiently for a rind of hydrogen to start burning around the core, now helium. This fusion will provide an outward force on the outermost layers of the sun, pushing them farther out than they are now. The surface of the sun will expand outward until it reaches the orbit of Venus.

Finally, this hydrogen outside the core will run out. The core of the sun will continue to contract, trying to replace the heat no longer generated by hydrogen burning. When the internal temperatures reach 100 million Kelvins, the helium (generated by the hydrogen burning) will itself start to burn. This will happen quickly, forming a carbon-rich core. Around this burned-out core, helium burning will start, and then the rind of hydrogen also will start to burn. The vast energy released by both rinds will push the sun’s outer layers further out until they reach the orbit of Jupiter. Earth will then be ‘inside’ the sun. The temperature on the surface of earth, around 6.5 billion years from now, will be around 30,000 Kelvins, and everything organic will be burned to a crisp.

Intelligent beings on earth 5 or 6 billion years from now, if any, would face the pressure to leave earth and, indeed, the solar system. They would need to have colonized planets around younger (therefore more stable) stars in order to survive. It is likely that humans in the near future will move off the earth in search of mineralogical and economic gain, whereas the future beings of our speculation will move off in order to save the species. The ageing sun will give future life a focus and a goal. And then, if we may be permitted to use the expression, a sort of Doomsday will have happened: certainly, the sun will have run to the end of its appointed (muslaqarr) time.

SOURCES

• ASIMOV, I. (1993) Explorig the Earth and the Cosmos, Allen Lane.
• Astronomy January 1992: March 1993.
• BUCAILLE,M.(1987) TheBible, The Qur’an and Science. Taj Company, Delhi.
• GRIBBIN, M. & Gribbin J. (1992) Too Hot to Handle? Corgi, UK.
• JONES, B. (1991) Planets, Brian Trodd Publishing House Ltd.
• JONES, B. (1992) The Night Sky, Salamander Books Ltd.
• MATTHEWS, R. (1993) The Mind of God, Virgin Books.
• NURSI, S. (1987) The Thirty-Second Word from the Risale-Nur Collection.
• NURBAKI, H. (1989) Verses from the Glorious Qur’an and the Facts of Science T.D.V.. Ankara