Claim CE310:
The sun is shrinking at such a rate that it would disappear completely in
100,000 years. This would make it impossibly large and hot in the distant
past if the sun is millions of years old.
Source:
Morris, Henry M. 1985. Scientific Creationism. Green Forest, AR: Master
Books, p. 169.
Response:
- This assumes that the rate of shrinkage is constant. That assumption
is baseless. (In fact, it is the uniformitarian assumption
that creationists themselves sometimes complain about.) Other stars
expand and contract cyclically. Our own sun might do the same on a
small scale.
- There is not even any good evidence of shrinkage. The claim is based
on a single report from 1980. Other measurements, from 1980 and later,
do not show any significant shrinkage. It is likely that the original
report showing shrinkage contained systematic errors due to different
measuring techniquies over the decades.
Links:
Johansson, Sverker, 1998. The solar FAQ.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-solar.html
Matson, Dave E., 1994. How good are those young-earth arguments?
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hovind/howgood-yea.html#proof1
Van Till, Howard J., 1986. The legend of the shrinking sun -- A case
study comparing professional science and "creation science" in action.
Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 38(3): 164-174.
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/topics/Astronomy-Cosmology/PSCF9-86VanTill.html
created 2003-4-22, modified 2004-12-19
