On Earth we are obviously bound spatially by the laws which govern our three-dimensional world. We utilize the natural stability of this perspective to pray facing east because this is from where our light source arises each and every morning. In essence, the same God-created sun that provides our physical light also becomes a ready-made symbol of Christ, Who is the Light of the world. In fact, the troparion of Christmas even refers to Christ as the “Sun of Righteousness.”
In space, however, our experience would be severely altered because we would no longer be within our normal purview. There would not be a clear, two-dimensional plane upon which to necessarily calculate direction as we are used to. You might certainly be able to find our sun, but your orientation would only be relative to your position in space.
However, here are my Top 10 answers to “How Do You Find East in Space?”
10) In space East is spelled “Tsae”
9) It’s by that big Throne – the one with the Cherubim and Seraphim around it
8) Just to the yaw of pitch
7) You can’t, it’s swallowed up by the vacuum of time
6) East is opposite of, and behind West
5) It’s in the direction you used to be traveling in a minute before you got there
4) East is hiding from Orion behind the Big Dipper
3) It was irreparably punctured by satellites and pinched by the Crab Nebula
2) Go through the Milky Way and then ask the cow as he’s jumping over the moon.
1) Space takes East and “Bends it Like Beckham!”
