Creationism in Crisis - The James Webb Space Telescope Reveals an Ancient Universe

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Webb Reveals New Structures Within Iconic Supernova | NASA

The age of the universe is guaranteed to get creationists tying themselves in knots while performing the most contorted mental gymnastics ad foaming at the mouth. Their problem is that they have been conditioned to dismiss scientific dating by chanting mindlessly about all radiometric dating methods being wrong because radioactive decay rates changed over time and dating the same sample by different methods gives different results.

The latter point, to a creationist, is the clincher because, to a simplistic, black vs white, thinker any discrepancy means the entire process is wrong and therefore its rational to argue that they can make 8,000 years look like several billion years.

But their problem is, dating the age of celestial objects such as the Ring Nebula does not rely on radiometric dating. Astronomers use a variety of methods to calculate the distance of the object from Earth, or in this case the JWST:

How is the distance of a body from Earth calculated? The distance to celestial bodies from Earth can be calculated using a variety of methods, depending on the type of object and its distance scale. Here are some common techniques for measuring astronomical distances:

1. Parallax: This is the most fundamental method for measuring distances to nearby stars. It relies on the apparent shift in the position of a star against the background of more distant stars as Earth orbits the Sun. Astronomers measure the angle of this shift, known as parallax angle, and use trigonometry to calculate the star's distance. The smaller the parallax angle, the farther away the star is.
2. Radial Velocity: By measuring the Doppler shift in the spectrum of a star, astronomers can determine whether it is moving toward or away from Earth. This method is used for stars that are too distant for accurate parallax measurements. By combining radial velocity measurements with other information, such as the star's spectral type, astronomers can estimate the star's distance.
3. Cepheid Variable Stars: Cepheid variables are a type of pulsating star with a period of brightness variation related to their intrinsic luminosity. Astronomers have discovered a relationship between a Cepheid star's period and its luminosity, making them standard candles for distance measurement. By observing the apparent brightness of a Cepheid variable, astronomers can calculate its distance.
4. Supernova Explosions: Type Ia supernovae are another type of standard candle used to measure cosmic distances. These supernovae have a consistent peak luminosity, making them valuable for measuring distances to distant galaxies. Astronomers compare the observed brightness of a Type Ia supernova to its known intrinsic brightness to determine its distance.
5. Redshift and Hubble's Law: For galaxies that are extremely distant, the expansion of the universe causes their light to be redshifted. By measuring the redshift of a galaxy's light spectrum, astronomers can determine its recessional velocity. Hubble's Law relates the velocity and distance of galaxies, allowing astronomers to calculate distances to very distant galaxies.
6. Luminosity and Inverse Square Law: For objects like planets, asteroids, and comets within our solar system, astronomers can use the inverse square law of brightness. By measuring the apparent brightness of the object and knowing its intrinsic brightness (which can be determined based on its composition and reflectivity), they can calculate the distance.
7. Transit and Occultation: For objects within our solar system, like moons of other planets or Kuiper Belt objects, astronomers can measure the time it takes for the object to pass in front of a background star (transit) or for a background star to be blocked by the object (occultation). These measurements, along with the known speed of light, can be used to calculate the object's distance.
8. Triangulation: This method involves using two or more telescopes separated by a known baseline to simultaneously observe an object. By measuring the angles to the object from each telescope, astronomers can calculate the object's distance using trigonometry.

These are just some of the many methods astronomers use to measure distances to celestial bodies. The choice of method depends on the specific object and its distance from Earth.

Using a combination of these techniques, cosmologists have calculated that the Ring Nebula is 168,000 light years away in the Large Megallanic Cloud. This means it must have been there at least 168,000 years ago because that is when the light that reaches Earth started out. Of course, this doesn't tell us when the star that exploded and went supernova was born but it does mean that it has been there for at least 160,000 years before creationists believe the Universe was created, and, if our average star, the sun, is anything to go by, it will be about 10 billion years old when it reaches the end of its life.

Explaining the importance of these images, the NASA news release says:

Webb Reveals New Structures Within Iconic Supernova

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has begun the study of one of the most renowned supernovae, SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). Located 168,000 light-years away in the Large Megallanic Cloud, SN 1987A has been a target of intense observations at wavelengths ranging from gamma rays to radio for nearly 40 years, since its discovery in February of 1987. New observations by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) provide a crucial clue to our understanding of how a supernova develops over time to shape its remnant.

Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this detailed image of SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Exterior to that is diffuse emission and two faint outer rings. In this image blue represents light at 1.5 microns (F150W), cyan 1.64 and 2.0 microns (F164N, F200W), yellow 3.23 microns (F323N), orange 4.05 microns (F405N), and red 4.44 microns (F444W).

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff University), R. Arendt (NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Baltimore County), C. Fransson

This image reveals a central structure like a keyhole. This center is packed with clumpy gas and dust ejected by the supernova explosion. The dust is so dense that even near-infrared light that Webb detects can’t penetrate it, shaping the dark “hole” in the keyhole.

A bright, equatorial ring surrounds the inner keyhole, forming a band around the waist that connects two faint arms of hourglass-shaped outer rings. The equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots, which appeared as the supernova’s shock wave hit the ring. Now spots are found even exterior to the ring, with diffuse emission surrounding it. These are the locations of supernova shocks hitting more exterior material.

While these structures have been observed to varying degrees by NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes and Chandra X-ray Observatory, the unparalleled sensitivity and spatial resolution of Webb revealed a new feature in this supernova remnant – small crescent-like structures. These crescents are thought to be a part of the outer layers of gas shot out from the supernova explosion. Their brightness may be an indication of limb brightening, an optical phenomenon that results from viewing the expanding material in three dimensions. In other words, our viewing angle makes it appear that there is more material in these two crescents than there actually may be.

The high resolution of these images is also noteworthy. Before Webb, the now-retired Spitzer telescope observed this supernova in infrared throughout its entire lifespan, yielding key data about how its emissions evolved over time. However, it was never able to observe the supernova with such clarity and detail.

Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this detailed image of SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A), which has been annotated to highlight key structures. At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Exterior to that is diffuse emission and two faint outer rings. In this image blue represents light at 1.5 microns (F150W), cyan 1.64 and 2.0 microns (F164N, F200W), yellow 3.23 microns (F323N), orange 4.05 microns (F405N), and red 4.44 microns (F444W).

Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff University), R. Arendt (NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Baltimore County), C. Fransson (Stockholm University), and J. Larsson (KTH Royal Institute of Technology). Image Processing: A. Pagan

Despite the decades of study since the supernova’s initial discovery, there are several mysteries that remain, particularly surrounding the neutron star that should have been formed in the aftermath of the supernova explosion. Like Spitzer, Webb will continue to observe the supernova over time. Its NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) instruments will offer astronomers the ability to capture new, high-fidelity infrared data over time and gain new insights into the newly identified crescent structures. Further, Webb will continue to collaborate with Hubble, Chandra, and other observatories to provide new insights into the past and future of this legendary supernova.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

And of course, the more of these distant objects the JWST discovers, the more ridiculous creationists claims that the universe was created out of nothing just 8,000 years ago becomes. No wonder it's creationism which is in crisis as it is increasingly rejected not only by almost the entire body of science, but even by religious fundamentalists as it makes them look more and more like superstitious, scientifically and theologically bankrupted idiots.

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