Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q.) Why did Astronomy2 choose to use so much Red, Green, Black, and Gray?

A.) There have been numerous studies conducted regarding the energy efficiency of specific color palettes used on the web. The colors used here started with the EnergyStar wattage ratings for different colors. We have used several of the colors that came out on top. On average, this palette uses only about 3 or 4 watts more than a completely black screen. White and yellow are included as an accent colors. Our colors are loosely based on the Emergy-C palette.

 

 

Q.) I thought the "Big Bang" was just a theory. Why do you call it a fact?

A.) The Big Bang is the cosmological model of the initial conditions and subsequent development of the universe supported by the most comprehensive and accurate explanations from current scientific evidence and observation. As used by cosmologists, the term Big Bang generally refers to the idea that the universe has expanded from a primordial hot and dense initial condition at some finite time in the past, and continues to expand to this day.

 

 

Q.) Don't you have to be an Atheist to accept the "Big Bang"?

A.) No. Many people of Christian and other faiths accept the "Big Bang" as the scientific explanation for the creation of the universe.

 

 

Q.) How do you know the earth is really old? Lots of evidence says it's young.

A.) According to numerous, independent dating methods, the earth is known to be approximately 4.5 billion years old. Most young-earth arguments rely on inappropriate extrapolations from a few carefully selected and often erroneous data points. See the Age of the Earth FAQ and the Talk.Origins Archive's Young Earth FAQs.

 

 

Q.) But radiometric dating methods rely on the assumptions of non-contamination and constant rates of decay. What if these assumptions are wrong?

A.) Radiometric isochron dating techniques reveal whether contamination has occurred, while numerous theoretical calculations, experiments, and astronomical observations support the notion that decay rates are constant. See the Isochron Dating FAQ and the Age of the Earth FAQ.

 

 

Q.) I heard that the speed of light has changed a lot. This means that light from galaxies billions of light years away might not really be billions of years old. Is this true?

A.) Barry Setterfield's hypothesis of a decay in the speed of light was based on flawed extrapolations from inaccurate measurements, many of which were taken hundreds of years ago. See the C-Decay FAQ.

 

 

Q.) If Earth is so old, doesn't that mean Earth's decaying magnetic field would have been unacceptably high at one time?

A.) No. The Earth's magnetic field is known to have varied in intensity and reversed in polarity numerous times throughout the planet's history.

 

 

Q.) Isn't Astronomy2 just some website that has no particular credibility? Those FAQs and essays aren't peer-reviewed, and many are written by interested laymen rather than specialists, so they can be ignored, right?

A.) We encourage readers not to take our word on the issues, but rather to look at the primary literature and evaluate the evidence. While materials on the Astronomy2 website have not necessarily been subjected to formal peer-review, many have been subjected to several cycles of commentary in the newsgroup prior to being added to the website. Most of our materials provide links and/or bibliographic references to enable the reader to evaluate the evidence for themselves. While anyone can decide to ignore our materials, the information on this website has been recognized as a valuable online resource by many well-known groups, magazines, and individuals. Further, a number of college courses have chosen to use materials from the very same material in their coursework.

 

 

CLAIM: The earth is fixed at (or near) the center of the universe. The sun and other planets travel around it. That is what the Bible plainly says (Ps. 93:1; Ps. 19:1-6; Josh. 10:12-14) and what the evidence indicates.

 

RESPONSE:

  1. A rotating earth produces observable, and observed, effects:
    • The most noticeable is the Coriolis effect, the apparent deflection of the path of an object that moves in a rotating coordinate system. This affects ocean currents, wind patterns (including the path and direction of the spin of hurricanes), and iceberg drift. It must be taken into account when aiming long-range missiles.
    • The rotation of the earth is also demonstrated by a Foucault pendulum, the swing of which rotates in relation to the earth's surface as the earth rotates beneath it. (The rate of rotation equals the rate of earth's rotation times the sine of the latitude.)
     
  2. The orbit of the earth around the sun is also observable:
    • The nearest stars show a parallax. Their apparent position shifts relative to more distant stars as the earth moves from one side of its orbit to the other. (The effect is the same as the apparent movement of a nearby telephone pole relative to distant mountains as you move a few feet to the side.)
    • Stellar aberration shows up as the need to point the telescope slightly ahead of the star's true position, due to the earth's motion perpendicular to the star. It was first measured by James Bradley in 1728.
    • Stars near the plane of the earth's orbit show a radial velocity, a slight red shift as the earth moves away from them in its orbit, and six months later, a slight blue shift (Herrick 1935).
    • Related to radial velocity, the "light time" effect affects the timing of pulsars and short-term variable stars. General relativistic calculations are needed to correct for it.
    • Since the earth's orbit is elliptical, it is closer to the sun in January than in June. The difference in the apparent size of the sun can be observed.

    If the earth were stationary, these effects could only be explained if every star in the universe were moving in unison relative to the earth with a periodic variation that matched the earth's year.
     
  3. Heliocentrism falls out naturally from the law of universal gravitation.
     
  4. Heliocentrism is useful. As implied above, it is used for predicting hurricane and iceberg paths and for aiming missiles. The space program would be impossible without it. (The Cassini probe, for example, used the earth's motion around the sun to slingshot the probe to Jupiter.) As with all of creationism, strict geocentrism is useless.
     

  5. To the vast majority of Christians, the Bible is not plainly saying that the earth is stationary. They have accepted that reality is more important than their interpretation of what is "plainly" said.

 

See for Yourself: You can make your own Foucault pendulum with a weight on a long, thin cable in a room with a high ceiling. It must be long enough so that air resistance does not stop it before the rotation is evident, and it should be sheltered from winds and drafts.

 

References:
1. Herrick, Samuel, Jr., 1935. Tables for the reduction of radial velocities to the Sun. Lick Observatory Bulletin 470: 85-90.
 

 

CLAIM: The universe was created mature, with apparent age. Light from the sun and stars fell on the earth from its beginning. This is sometimes called the omphalos argument after the title of an early book expounding it (Gosse 1857).
 

RESPONSE:

  1. Apparent age is indistinguishable from real age. Why not forget the distinction and just call it age?
     
  2. The universe has an appearance of history as well as an appearance of age. Stars of all ages are seen, including the supernovas of dying stars. Geological evidence shows that the early earth went through millions of years with little oxygen in the atmosphere. Many other examples could be added. The appearance of age asks us to accept that light from supernovas came from stars that never actually existed, and that the evidence for low oxygen was also faked. This makes God into a deceiver, since he created an appearance different from reality. Romans 1:20 says that God is to be "understood from what has been made." The apparent age claim says we cannot trust what has been made.