Ah-h-h can you believe it is already 2013? We have come the full cycle of another year. And speaking of full ycles, has anyone been viewingthe full moon? How beautiful it looks in this snowy wintery sky, and just as gorgeous, I am sure, in the warm skies of the southern hemisphere! What a familiar yet captivating presence the full moon gives us.
Speaking of
captivating, this brings us to another theory of the moon’s origin; the
capture-theory. You guessed it, the
theory states that at some point in time (it doesn’t even have to be the beginning)
the large celestial object we call the moon came too close to the earth as it
traveled through space (whether randomly or on a projected orbit, the theory
does not state).
Could this
be the way God brought the moon to be our celestial satellite? After all we see
God using natural process even today to build and form fossils, opals,
diamonds, gold etc. why not the moon? Well, again, there are several intrinsic
problems with this theory. Let’s dig a little deeper…
The first
most significant problem is the chance, the probability, that an object the
size of the moon would come close enough to any other large celestial object to
be captured by that object’s gravity. The distances in outer space are so
immense that such a scenario really doesn’t become a chance anymore, it is
virtually impossible. But let’s just say that the moon did pass very close to
the earth, could this capture-theory then be correct?
Well, we can
look to our space exploration for that answer. As our scientists sent space
probes to fly by close to other planets in our solar system, a unique thing
happens. Instead of being captured by the planet’s gravity, the probes get
flung outward (away). And with a tremendous built-in speed such as what happens
to the last person in a ‘crack-the-whip’ game. So instead of being captured,
any object traveling close to another larger object will be repelled. Therefore
this type of capture just couldn’t happen.
Well, you
may be asking, what if the moon was heading straight toward the earth instead
of flying close by it? Would it then be capture by earth’s gravity and placed
into orbit? We can get our answer to that by studying meteors. If they are
heading straight toward the earth, they can actually penetrate the earth’s
atmosphere and travel at great speeds toward our planets crust. If they are
small enough they burn up in the entry or shortly thereafter leaving the beautiful
tail of a shooting star. If the meteor is big enough, it will actually hit the
ground creating a crater. Now, if something the size of the moon was heading
straight toward the earth, it would certainly be large enough to break through
the planet’s atmosphere and travel all the way to the ground. But would there
be a planet left after that? I sincerely doubt it.
One hefty
problem remains…if the moon at some point in time, came close to the earth as
it traveled through space, as the capture- theory states, then it already
existed and does not answer or qualify as to the moon’s origin.
No, I don’t
believe God needed or would have used this theory to put our moon, or the moons
of other planets, into place. What then would have God used? For more answers
to our closest celestial object, tune in next time!
Until then,
take care and God bless!
Willow
Dressel
This week in
our night skies- “Watch Jupiter gradually creeping toward a better lineup
between Aldebaran and the Pleiades. It won't quite get there, however. Instead
it will gradually stop and reverse direction at the end of January, just short
of forming a straight line. (The 10° scale is about the width of your fist held
at arm's length.)” Also, The Quadrantid meteor shower (which can been seen from
both the northern and southern hemisphere) will give viewers looking looking to
the east a good show when it peaks in the early hours of Thursday morning (Jan.
3). The Quadrantids radiate from the constellation Boötes, but you do not need
to look for the constellation to see the meteor shower. “Meteors will come from
the radiant, but will appear anywhere in the whole sky at random.”
References:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/1997/11/05/astronomy-bible Astronomy
and the Bible Selected Questions and Answers Excerpted from the Book Astronomy and the Bible by Donald B.
DeYoung November 5, 1997
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