the Talmudic estimate of the number and distribution of stars in the universe.

[Maccabi]

the Talmudic estimate of the number and distribution of stars in the universe.

I found some info on an interesting topic that I brought up a few months ago. I find this pretty fascinating.

"What did these ancient rabbis say about the number of stars? Page 32b of the Tractate Berachot records a tradition, in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Lakish, that there are roughly 10^18 stars in the universe.

To appreciate this passage, bear in mind: the telescope was invented in the 16th century C.E.; and the number of stars visible to the naked eye is approximately 9,000. That’s not an outrageous number and perfectly within the vocabulary of classical Hebrew.

However, the Talmud relates more than a raw number. The passage explains that the distribution of stars throughout the cosmos is neither even nor random. Rather, they cluster in groups of billions of stars (galaxies), which themselves cluster into groups (galactic clusters), which in turn are in mega-groups (superclusters).

To describe the stars as clustered together, both locally and in clusters of clusters, was far beyond the imagination and the telescopes of scientists until Edwin Hubble’s famous photographs of Andromeda in the 1920s. Galactic clusters and superclusters have been described only in the past decade or so. Moreover, the Talmud states categorically that the number of galaxies in a cluster is about 30. Astronomers say that our own local cluster contains 30 galaxies!...

In fact, the Talmud adds that the superclusters consist of about 30 clusters each, and that superclusters are themselves grouped into a bigger pattern of about 30 (mega-superclusters?) of which the universe has a total of about 360. Thus, the Talmud appears consistent with the theory that the universe’s overall structure is shaped by the rules of fractal mathematics.

This passage about the stars is a mere five Talmudic lines, itself about as significant as a puff of star dust in the galaxy. Imagine the universe available for exploration. Shavuot is a great time to begin.

From:

http://rabbiseinfeld.blogspot.com/2007/05/summer-blockbuster.html


This ancient passage is close to the current best estimates of stars by the most modern science!