background preloader

Science and Theology

Facebook Twitter

TNRTB Classic: Solar System Designed for Humans. Explaining the Mass-Period Relations of Exoplanets. Computer modeling of the formation and subsequent history of planetary system formation—which now takes into account changes in protoplanetary disk viscosity and tracks the movement of disk inhomogeneities (irregularities)—reveals several additional factors that make our solar system’s array of planets so special. It adds substantially to the accumulating evidence explaining why Earth may be alone in manifesting all the attributes necessary for sustaining advanced life. The first extrasolar planet discovered was found in 1995 orbiting the star 51 Pegasi.1 At that time, most astronomers presumed we would eventually discover many planets manifesting characteristics virtually identical those in our solar system.

To date, astronomers have discovered 854 planets outside the solar system for which they have also measured orbital and physical parameters. Not even one of these planets matches the characteristics of any of the solar system’s planets. Sun’s Rare Birth. When Kathy and I were expecting our first child, our obstetrician sized up our small frames and confidently predicted that our baby would be no more than 7 pounds and no longer than 20 inches. On that basis we purchased standard, newborn-size baby clothes. The day Joel was born I witnessed the shocked look on our obstetrician’s face, which revealed his prediction was wrong. Joel weighed in at 9 pounds 2 ounces. The obstetrician declared that Joel was the thinnest 9+ pound baby he had ever delivered. Not fully stretched out, Joel still measured 23.5 inches long. Joel’s birth was extraordinary, but not impossible. For the last two decades astronomers have been struck by an apparent contradiction in the Sun’s birth.

The Young Open Star Cluster IC 2944Research demonstrates that the solar system originated in a star cluster like the one above containing many thousands of stars. Reasons To Believe : Where Modern Science & Faith Converge. New Evidence for Solar System Design: Fine-Tuning the Late Veneer. The more we learn, the more its features appear fine-tuned to enable the eventual existence of advanced life on Earth. A recent study, for example, shows a residual population of planetesimals (small, primordial solar system bodies, in this case measuring no larger than 20 meters across) with a total mass just-right for life’s sake. This total mass played an essential role in dampening the eccentricities and inclinations of Venus, Earth, and Mars from their initially high values to their current near zero values, as well as in sufficiently enriching Earth’s crust with siderophile (iron/arsenic/sulfur-loving) elements so that advanced life eventually would be possible on Earth.

Good mental health critically depends on the recognition of self-worth. Self-worth comes from the discovery that one is uniquely designed to fulfill a specific and valuable purpose. Not one of the 777 planets in the Exoplanet Encyclopedia matches the characteristics of any one of our solar system’s planets.