Piltdown Superman

For a mighty long time, the rings of Saturn got the attention and made other planets envious. Did you know there are rings around Uranus? Jupiter? Neptune? It takes special telescopes to see them, though. Then there are other celestial objects with rings. Way out yonder orbiting between Jupiter are icy planetesimals known as centaurs . Some of these have rings as well. Denizens of the secular science industry think they know how rings form. Like other materials, Quaoar does not perform its cosmic dance according to secular expectations. Artist impression of Quaoar and its ring, WikiComm / ESA ( CC BY-SA IGO 3.0 ), modified at PhotoFunia Quaoar resides in the Kuiper Belt, a junkyard of rock and ice planetesimals beyond the orbit of Neptune. It was discovered in 2002 and its moon Weywot in 2007. The names come from deities of the Tongva people. Interesting that something smaller than Pluto could have a moon. It is also interesting that it has rings, the discoveries of which were announ...

There are many signs of youth in the solar system, relative compared to what believers in cosmic evolution expect. Mercury is cooling , the rings of Saturn are young , Jupiter's moon Ganymede looks young , and more places in our solar system do not cooperate with secular expectations. Ages are based on scientists using standard models and assumptions that are flawed. Instead of questioning their methods and even their own worldview, they are constantly surprised. It is no surprise that the northern ice cap on Mars is also surprising to them. Martian north polar cap in summer, NASA / JPL / MSSS (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Ice sheets grow and also get heavier. Then the weight pushes downward into the earth until things settle down. The same kind of thing is happening on Mars, where the ice does not seem to be growing, but still sinking at a calculated  (not measured), rate. Its age is far younger than would be expected by secular models. A team of German plan...

People who have been reading this weblog for a spell know that I emphasize definitions, as people can argue with each other about different subjects with the same name. Something that is strange to me is that metals mean something different to astronomers than to the rest of us: Anything heavier than an the atomic weight of helium is a metal. Now that we know, we can see something amazing. Most stars are overwhelmingly composed of hydrogen and helium. Secular cosmology has a story about the origins of metals that does not work. Nebula W51,  NASA  / JPL-Caltech (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) One of the latest threats to the Big Bang story is distant galaxies , and metals are also problematic. Metals are found in stars by using spectroscopes. Different elements have different signatures in the light. Our sun is like the other stars in the universe, and also nebulae, by having only trace amounts of those other elements. Earth, however, has numerous elements a...

Go out on some clear night and look up at the stars, realizing the beauty that the Creator has provided. Get away from city lights and see more stars. People have built telescopes to see even more. The Hubble space telescope provided amazing images, and the Webb has yielded truly amazing images. You probably know that one reason the James Webb Space Telescope was put up there in the first place was to support the Big Bang and cosmic evolution stories. Instead, it has caused consternation in the deep time camp. Big Wheel galaxy (cropped), Wikimedia Commons / Safiy14 (PD) Since galaxies have many stars, sometimes in the multiple millions, they are rather complex structures. Some formation stories (such as galaxies merging) would ruin their shapes. Cosmologists have their stories about how galaxies formed, but there is no observational evidence to back up the stories. The JWST was pointed at what was assumed to be the early universe...it did not go well. Creationist predictions were conf...

Every once in a while, Darwin's Flying Monkeys™ drop by The Question Evolution Project on Fakebook. Essentially, they tell us that they are smarter than creationists, we do not understand science, if God exists then he is bad, deep time is proved. and so on. Interesting how they do not follow the "science" they believe. Some evolutionists want it scrapped , soft tissues in dinosaurs  are a serious threat to evolution, the lunar formation story and the moon's recession contradict science, and many more problems for naturalism. Speaking of the moon, how about that volcanism, huh? Mare Crisium (modified at PhotoFunia ), NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University (usage does not imply endorsement) The prevailing Just-So Story about how the earth got its moon is that when the earth was still forming, the hot stuff was smashed into by a Mars-sized planet. Big hot splash. Then everything settled down into the earth and moon system with its amazing symmetry and beneficial aspe...

Some folks consider Elon Musk a visionary, making long-held hopes of going to Mars seem possible. It appears that he is not consulting with scientists about the journey. Radiation from the earth to the moon was bad enough, but traveling  farther away could be disastrous to travelers . Dust on earth gets unsightly and makes people sneeze. The dust on the moon was different than ours, causing problems for the Apollo astronauts. It could conceivably tear their suits, and it was a great concern for protecting their equipment. Then there is Mars dust. Curiosity rover takes pictures of Mars dust storm, NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS (usage does not imply endorsement) Aside from looking for life and trying to support dust-to-Darwin evolution, devices sent to Mars did some analysis of the land. That dust contains dangerous chemicals. It also has electrostatic charges. Also, some of it is so fine, particles cannot be coughed out of the lungs. To make things worse, it moves. There are huge dust ...

Riders for the Deep Time brand, promoting cosmic and other kinds of evolution along the trail, have a problem with Earth's magnetic field. That is because there are strong points about it that argue against an old earth and support recent creation. Secularists attempt to use rescuing devices that are...truly bizarre. Some even defy the laws of physics. Why? They have a commitment to their worldview of naturalism. This means accepting bad science rather than admitting that there is a Creator. The news gets worse. Earth's magnetosphere,  NASA  / Goddard / Aaron Kaase (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) The moon and other planets have magnetic fields as well. These are troubling to secular scientists because they believe plate tectonics are necessary for magnetic fields to form — but some places show no evidence of plate tectonics. Dr. Russell Humphreys is a biblical creationist who predicted the magnetic fields of several planets, then his work was verified whil...

Out yonder past Mars is the asteroid belt, followed by Jupiter, Saturn, surprising Uranus , and Neptune. Those last four planets are called gas giants . The average person may think they were put up there to look nice (which they do through telescopes and astrophotography), but they have purposes. In addition to the asteroid belt, there are rocks and things floating around up there. Those big boys have an influence on celestial rocks with their gravity. The largest is Jupiter, and it has been observed being a protector of Earth. Jupiter and a moon,  NASA  / JPL (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Outer planets protect Earth, but Jupiter has been seen doing so. F'rinstance, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was broken up by Jupiter's gravity and its pieces were drawn into the gas giant. It could have been a serious problem for Earth otherwise. Also, a meteor hit is in 2019 . (Interesting that news sources use phrases like "slammed into" Jupiter, but it is gas.) I...

Several years ago, astronomers thought exoplanet K2-18b would be a good candidate for life because of its atmosphere. Then the negative aspects were considered. One of these is that it has an orbit of thirty-three days around a red dwarf star. That makes for extreme temperature ranges. The James Webb Space Telescope was used to detect dimethyl sulfide. This is thought to only come from life, so it is labeled as a biosignature . It is an odoriferous gas produced on Earth by algae and by humans to some extent. Too much is dangerous to us. Artist concept, exoplanet K2-18 b, NASA, CSA, ESA, et al. (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) A problem for secularists is that dimethyl sulfide is not  only produced by living things. That means it's not necessarily a biosignature. There are numerous assumptions made about life on K2-18b, including abiogenesis and evolution. (Some reports that will probably be forgotten soon after their self-humiliation, lying  that ...

Astronomers and cosmologists have many planets in our solar system to examine, then along came the discovery of extrasolar planets. Plus all sorts of technology and physics to apply. They must be as happy as a toddler in a roomful of bouncy-balls. Finding and determining the characteristics of exoplanets takes a great deal of work. They hope for evidence supporting the Big Bang and to find signs of life out yonder, supporting evolution. But finding evidence of recent creation such as disintegrating planets probably gives them the sads. Top-down view of the simulated dust tail produced by BD+05 4868Ab, WikiComm / Marc Hon et al ( CC BY 4.0 ) More than one exoplanet is too close to its star, so it is burning away. There is a great deal of supposition going on and the complex scientific principle of Making Things Up™. Maybe something happened so the planets got moved into bad positions. Yee haw boy howdy are we lucky  to be here at this time with our technology to be able to see it! ...

It looks like requirements for habitability on extrasolar planets are getting more complicated, even mystical. The planetary habitable zone concept was simple, where water was a must , the right kind of star, proper distance from it, and a few others to make the Goldilocks Zone. Not only are hopes of finding lucky planets in that zone dimming , there is speculation that for a planet to be able to support life, it must have life. Sounds like the concept is folding in on itself, but it is being considered. HD 149026b (Smertrios),  NASA  / JPL-Caltech / T. Pyle (SSC) (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Study on it a spell: Living things have an impact on their environments. (For example, beavers help ecosystems and supposed climate change . Also, creatures under the ground have tremendous effects.) Researchers examined the energy that critters produce, which is significant — and it was from a limited number. Someone wondered if the need for an ecosystem is an ar...

No need to head for deep space to trouble believers in cosmic evolution, just look up about 238,800 miles (384,400 km). We saw how they have difficulties with the rate the moon recedes from the earth, and how it formed in the first place. There is also the moon's magnetic field. No, there is none there now. But those bags of nice expensive rocks that the Apollo astronauts (and other robotic missions) brought to Earth showed that there was a lunar magnetic field in the past. The secular science industry finds that troubling. Moon core cutaway (original image NASA, PD ) with folded generator (WikiComm /  Herbert Ortner ,  CC BY 4.0 )* Scientists have some guesses about what causes the magnetic fields of Earth and other planets, the most popular of which is a dynamo hypothesis. It is a case of, "We got nuffin, but this is better than admitting recent creation." Indeed, the dynamo (or generator) hypothesis even violates laws of physics  — yet secularists think the moon had o...

One of the staples of creation science presentations is how the moon is receding from the earth at a measurable rate, and calculating backward shows that the earth and moon cannot be billions of years old. Residents of the secular science industry dislike this fact. Another problem for secularists is the many speculations as to the moon's formation fall apart. (Since they are so bad, it has been sarcastically said that the moon does not exist.) The recession rate and the formation of the moon are tied together in rescuing devices. Moon from space, NASA / ISS / Col. Jeff Williams (usage does not imply endorsement of site's contents) One Just-So Story for how the earth got its moon is that a wandering big hunk of rock hit our planet when it was still molten, splattered up stuff that accreted into the moon with all of its amazing characteristics. Another story is that something was wandering around minding its own business and got captured by Earth's gravity and kept in orbi...

In their continuing mission to prop up Charlie's Victorian myth, Darwin's disciples are boldly dancing with space aliens in the pale moonlight. That may seem edgy and adventurous, but no aliens are available for dancing — or anything else. All the tax money spent in efforts to find intelligent life on strange new worlds... but none has been found. A survey taken of astrobiologists shows that most believe it must  exist. They have a vested interest, getting paid for studying nonexistent entities. Someone should tell  DOGE about this waste of money . Children watching alien spaceship, Pixabay /  Stefan Keller From a secular perspective, these astronomers and such don't know any better. Although abiogenesis (chemical evolution, life from non-life) is shown to be impossible , they presuppose that it happened anyway. Just not on Earth. Also, they play by numbers based on assumptions: So many stars that would have worlds, the odds are in favor of them having intelligent life. ...

It seems that theories of relativity are the domain of mathematical geniuses, but it is said that us reg'lar folk can get a handle on them. Uncle Albert Einstein had two theories, General and Special. When physicists study motion, that is mechanics . When the motions of objects in different locations are compared, that is relativity . People have studied motion and relative positions for millennia. Aristotle had some ideas, but got things wrong. Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei got on the prod about Aristotle's teachings and did his own studies. This brought changes in physics. Albert Einstein explaining relativity on chalkboard made at Hetemeel Then Isaac Newton got involved and further developed the relativity that Galileo had been working on. Great, Newtonian laws of motion were developed. Then came Albert Einstein and his theory of special relativity. Some folks say that his work replaced Newtonian physics, but that is not the case. He expanded on it. Interestin...

It is amazing how astronomers can use technology to find planets outside our solar system, even so much as to speculate on their size and composition. Pictures of exoplanets are only artist concepts; the planets cannot be seen. Continued observations of activity in their solar systems can raise questions. Transits in the Kepler-51 system caused some confusion, as they were not what was expected. While a number of large planets have been discovered, these seem to have a density comparable to cotton candy. Astronomers are looking for ways to explain what is happening. Bags of cotton candy, Pexels / Magda Ehlers These super-puff planets should not exist according to standard cosmology. Their cores lack density, which means they should not have atmospheres. How these puff daddies formed in the first place is a mystery, and one speculation about what's going on is that there is a great deal of dust kicked up by outflowing atmospheres — which should have dissipated millions of years ago ...

Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, so named because two observatories discovered it at almost the same time, dazzled the sky in late 2024. It has naturally prompted a great deal of discussion about orbits, eccentricities, and all that good stuff. Biblical creationists have pointed out that short-term comets would have ceased to exist if the solar system was billions of years old. Comets orbit, burn off some of their mass near the sun, repeat and fade. Also, some comets have collisions, get ejected from the solar system, and have their orbits changed, so those disappear as well. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, NASA / Eric Bordelon (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Of course, secular scientists are committed to a universe that is billions of years old and the solar system of about 4.5 billion years. One rescuing device for the problem of comets is the Kuiper Belt out yonder around Pluto. That has been disappointing them. Also to the rescue is the Oort Cloud, a huge collection of rock...

There have been numerous instances where secular scientists have been amazed when the facts do not fit their assumptions. This frequently happens in astronomy and cosmology. Conventional approaches of geologists and astronomers/cosmologists presuppose deep time, which often does not pan out. A big push has been on to find signs of life way out yonder in the universe, and that would prove evolution in their minds. Exoplanets have secularists excited, as do some of the moons and planets in our own solar system. Mars and the moon are comparatively close, but they still cause consternation. Moon and Mars, WikiComm / NASA (PD), usage does not imply endorsement of site contents A word about date ranges before we continue. When biblical creationists present evidence for a young earth, solar system, or universe, those dates are often upper limits. Remember when we touched on how misotheists criticize what they do not understand ? Those uninformed criticisms happen regarding age limits. For ex...

When I was in school, the solar system had nine planets. The Kuiper Belt was not mentioned, nor were dwarf planets or trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). Pluto lost its planethood status because of its size; there is a passel of TNOs with Pluto being the first. All of that stuff was expected to be geologically dead, but Pluto and its moons baffle deep time proponents with activity . There are volcanoes out yonder such as Jupiter's moon Io , and some that expel ice instead of lava. Pluto has some of these. Artist's concept of New Horizons visiting Pluto, with moon Charon in the distance, : NASA/JHU APL/SwRI/Steve Gribben Ice volcanoes throw out water ice as well as methane and others are more accurately called cryovolcanoes . Pluto has one named Kiladze, named after the Georgian astronomer Rolan I. Kiladze. This volcano shares its wealth abundantly, then its caldera collapses. Then erupts again and repeats the cycle. The energy necessary to do this should not exist according to deep...

While having breakfast with Hammond Suisse at the eatery in town, Russell Watchtower sauntered in. He is in charge of the Ministry of Truth at the Darwin Ranch and seemed unusually full of himself that day. He spotted us and we invited him to pull up a chair. Russell, like misotheists and other evolutionists, is fond of assertions. But those are neither evidence nor facts. With people like this, I tend to ask questions that make them uncomfortable. (Some get irate, others end the conversation. I hope they study on things later.) Watchtower gloated about life on other worlds. Space fantasy, Pixabay / gene1970 After warming up to his subject, he pushed back his chair and began slowly walking with a hand grasping his lapel. He gestured with the other hand, saying how moons of Uranus may support life. I asked him how he knows that, and he said that there may be water under the surface of some moons. That means life could evolve out yonder. Then I proceeded to ask if there is any actual evi...