Posted on 09/13/2003 5:17:25 PM PDT by bondserv
Not Enough Comets in the Cupboard 09/03/2003
There’s a shortage of comets. The Hubble Space Telescope peered into the Kuiper Belt cupboard, and found it nearly empty – only 4% of the predicted supply was found.
Astronomers needed a bigger storehouse to explain the number of short-period comets now inhabiting the solar system. The Kuiper Belt, a region of small icy bodies beyond Neptune, has been the favored source of comets with orbital periods 200 years or less, but the new measurements, soon to be published in the Astrophysical Journal, are “wildly inconsistent” with the observed number of comets. Astronomers expected to find 85 trans-Neptunian objects in the cupboard, and found only three.
Science News1 calls this a riddle. For this region to be a viable source, there should be hundred or even thousands of times as many objects as were actually found. Perhaps the objects expected had been dashed into dust by collisions. The measurements indicate that another hoped-for source at the outer edge of the Kuiper Belt “might not be sufficiently massive to spawn the short-period comets.”
As quoted in the report in Science Now, how does one researcher describe the finding? “This is very exciting work.”
1Science News Week of Sept. 6, 2003 (164:10): Ron Cowen, “Hubble Highlights a Riddle: What's the source of quick-return comets?”
A true scientist should be excited that a hypothesis proves false, as much as when it proves true; what is undesirable in science is ambiguity. Unfortunately, no amount of evidence seems to ever cause naturalistic planetary scientists to falsify the idea that the solar system formed out of undirected, purposeless natural forces billions of years ago. “Exciting” becomes their euphemism for baffled, disappointed, and clueless. What would really be exciting would be to see a planetary scientist follow the data where it leads, and question the assumption that the solar system is so old.
This empirical measurement leaves planetary scientists in a quandary. Why do we still have comets after the assumed 4.5 billion years the solar system has existed, when we know they are burning out within just thousands of years? Several recent comet stories reported here are leaving them with diminishing options:There aren’t enough sources, and they are burning out too fast to last 4.5 billion years. This is very exciting work.
- Comets are not pristine objects (Aug. 12).
- Comets fizzle fast (March 27).
- Nanodiamond counts too low (Jul 12, 2002).
- Comet deficit puzzling (June 21, 2002).
- Comets commit suicide (Feb. 26, 2001).
- Oort cloud only 10% of theory (Jan 31, 2001).
Am I correct in assuming you are a YEC?
He provides enough material for all of us to enjoy our discoveries. Part of the box He created includes the creative, reasoning minds that we possess. Couple that with free-will and we are gorilla no more.
No wonder were a lot like Him.
For the vast majority, that is the case. There are a few who become celebrities who like to make philosophical conclusions. A big part of the problem is journalists who constantly goad famous people into saying something controversial.
I have leanings in that direction.
The eyewitness testimony that I trust says life began recently, and if I understand the straightforward meaning of the message correctly, the universe is recent as well. However explaining how God did it leaves room for us to discover.
For 150 yrs Christians have had to be dumbfounded by where the evidence appeared to point. (Evidence of our integrity regarding our intellectual honesty). This, in my opinion, is beginning to change. Scientists are starting to review the evidence, as well as consider new evidence, from a Biblical perspective, and with gathering success.
Translation: I've been handing out YEC leaflets for the past 2 or so years.
I think this is very suspicious! Those comets are our property!
We should immediately send a patrol to see if those sticky-gingered Proxima Centaurians are up to no good. Alpha Centauri ( A and B) and Barnard's star could use a "peaceful" visit too before they get any ideas about snatching our stuff.
I appreciate your honesty. I'm curious, is there any evidence out there that would make you change your interpretation, or is the words placed in the Bible irrevocable?
Thoughtful question. :-)
First, I would like to appologise for being gone so long. My poor computer's power supply died. (fixed now :-)) That is what you get when you run too low a wattage. I only had a 430 watt supply. Now its 560. :-)
While I was installling my new supply in my computer, I decided to rewatch tha old classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still. When Klaatu (the alien) explains how far he traveled I sat up and took notice. He said 250 million miles. I though for about 2 seconds and figured that the only planets (outside the Earth) that could be within that distance were Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
Then he said it took him about 5 months to travel that distance. Bells rang in my head. I thought for a second and started to laugh (I had never noticed this before). The Earth travels about 250 million miles in 5 months. Interesting huh! LOL
That is a fair statement :-)
Your reaction to the classic reminded me of a science project my daughter did back in 6th grade. We were driving along and she was fretting about what to tackle - the kids were allowed to choose a project but it was going to figure heavily in their grade.
A fly kept buzzing her and she made some remark about how fast the fly was moving. I added that however fast the fly was moving, he was also in a car moving at 60 mph.
She went "hmmm!" and began adding everything up, the fly, the car, the earth rotating, the earth’s orbit around the sun, the solar system in the Milky Way, the Milky Way through space. I forgot what number she came up with, but it was huge.
Anyway, she put it all together in a presentation and got an "A". I was a very proud mommy!
It's late tonight :-)
Whooohooo! :-)
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