NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared view of interacting galaxies Arp 142 seems to sing in primary colors. The Egg shows up as a tiny, teal-colored oval, because it is made up of old stars and has lost or used up most of its gas and dust. At right, the Penguin’s star-forming regions are represented in pink and purple, and contain smoke-like material known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
It takes a special skill to read the description of the universe in the Bible - a single, small flat planet with a dome over it to which the sun, moon and stars are fixed - compared that with what science shows the universe is really like, and conclude that the Bible must have been written by an omniscient, creator god.
And yet grifters like Ken Ham regularly reassure their followers and source of income, that the Bible is their god's inerrant word and god never lies so it must be the science that's wrong. Of course, since it's his source of excuses that he uses to justify fleecing his flock, what he can never afford for them to realise is that we can tell the Bible could not possibly have been written by the god described in it because it differs so widely from reality.
God has always existed, knows all things, and cannot lie.
— Answers in Genesis (@AiG) August 5, 2024
Of course, their description was childishly naive because the authors were childishly naïve. It would have been impossible for them to have stood on a Canaanite hill, look up and grasp the true majesty of the Universe - that each tiny point of light could be one of half a trillion stars in a vast galaxy or that other points of light could be one of maybe a trillion other galaxies each with half a trillion stars around which there could be other planets.
At what speed through space would a person standing on a hill in Canaan in 3000 BCE have been travelling? To calculate the speed through space of a person standing on a hill in Canaan in 3000 BCE, we need to consider three main components of motion:They couldn't even conceive of the idea that Earth could be a spinning spheroid with several continents, held in orbit around the sun by gravity or that they could actually be travelling through space at almost 500,000 mph. Even a sizable proportion of Americans find that hard to understand and still believe the sun orbits Earth, which is at the center of the Universe, so what chance did uneducated Bronze Age pastoralists have?
- The rotation of the Earth on its axis.
- The Earth's orbital motion around the Sun.
- The Sun's orbital motion around the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
We'll break down the calculations for each component and then combine them.
Total Speed
- Earth's Rotational Speed
The Earth's rotational speed at the equator can be calculated using the circumference of the Earth and the period of rotation (24 hours).
\[\small C = 2 \pi \times 6371 \, \text{km} \approx 40,075 \, \text{km} \] \[\small\begin{flalign*} &\text{Rotational speed at the equator}\\ &= \frac{40,075 \, \text{km}}{24 \, \text{hours}} \approx 1670 \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \]
- Radius of the Earth (r): approximately 6,371 km
- Circumference at the equator (C): \(2 \pi \times 6371 \, \text{km}\)
- Rotation period (T): 24 hours
Since Canaan is not on the equator, we need to account for its latitude. Let's approximate the latitude of Canaan (modern-day Israel) as about 32°N.
\[\small\begin{flalign*} &\text{Rotational speed at latitude}\\ &= 1670 \, \text{km/h} \times \cos(32°)\end{flalign*} \]
- Earth's Orbital Speed Around the Sun
The Earth's average orbital speed around the Sun can be calculated using the circumference of its orbit and the period of revolution (1 year).
\[\small C = 2 \pi \times 149.6 \times 10^6 \, \text{km} \approx 940 \times 10^6 \, \text{km} \] \[\small\begin{flalign*} &\text{Orbital speed}\\ &= \frac{940 \times 10^6 \, \text{km}}{365.25 \times 24 \, \text{hours}} \approx 107,000 \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \]
- Average distance from the Sun (r): approximately 149.6 million km
- Orbital circumference (C): \(2 \pi \times 149.6 \times 10^6 \, \text{km}\)
- Orbital period (T): 1 year (365.25 days)
- Sun's Orbital Speed Around the Milky Way
The Sun's orbital speed around the center of the Milky Way galaxy is approximately 220 km/s.
\[\small \begin{flalign*} &\text{Orbital speed}\\ &= 220 \, \text{km/s} \times 3600 \, \text{s/hour} = 792,000 \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \]
To find the total speed, we can combine these three components as vectors. Since the directions are not perfectly aligned, we'll consider a simplified approach by summing the magnitudes approximately, assuming they are roughly perpendicular.
Calculation:
- Earth's rotational speed at 32°N:
\[\small\begin{flalign*} & 1670 \, \text{km/h} \times \cos(32°)\\ &\approx 1670 \, \text{km/h} \times 0.848 \approx 1417 \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \]- Earth's orbital speed around the Sun:
\[\small 107,000 \, \text{km/h} \]- Sun's orbital speed around the Milky Way:
\[\small 792,000 \, \text{km/h} \]
Since these velocities are mostly perpendicular to each other, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to approximate the total speed:
\[\small\begin{flalign*} &\text{Total speed}\\ &\approx \sqrt{(1417^2 + 107,000^2 + 792,000^2)} \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \]
Let's compute this:
\[\small\begin{flalign*} &\text{Total speed}\\ &\approx \sqrt{(1417^2 + 107,000^2 + 792,000^2)} \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \] \[\small\begin{flalign*} &\text{Total speed}\\ &\approx \sqrt{(2,007,489 + 11,449,000,000 + 627,264,000,000)} \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \] \[\small\begin{flalign*} &\text{Total speed}\\ &\approx \sqrt{638,713,007,489} \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \] \[\small\begin{flalign*} &\text{Total speed}\\ &\approx 799,195 \, \text{km/h}\end{flalign*} \]
Thus, a person standing on a hill in Canaan in 3000 BCE would be travelling through space at approximately 799,195 km/h (496596.75 mph)
And, as though to rub salt in creationists wounds, although that was far from their reason, NASA has just released stunning photos of a tiny fragment of the night sky that could be hidden behind a grain of rice held up between thumb and fore-finger, in which two galaxies are interacting.
Vivid Portrait of Interacting Galaxies Marks Webb’s Second Anniversary
Two for two! A duo of interacting galaxies commemorates the second science anniversary of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which takes constant observations, including images and highly detailed data known as spectra. Its operations have led to a “parade” of discoveries by astronomers around the world.
Since President Biden and Vice President Harris unveiled the first image from the James Webb Space Telescope two years ago, Webb has continued to unlock the mysteries of the universe. With remarkable images from the corners of the cosmos, going back nearly to the beginning of time, Webb’s capabilities are shedding new light on our celestial surroundings and inspiring future generations of scientists, astronomers, and explorers.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.In just two years, Webb has transformed our view of the universe, enabling the kind of world-class science that drove NASA to make this mission a reality. Webb is providing insights into longstanding mysteries about the early universe and ushering in a new era of studying distant worlds, while returning images that inspire people around the world and posing exciting new questions to answer. It has never been more possible to explore every facet of the universe.
Mark Clampin
Director of the Astrophysics Division
NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The telescope’s specialization in capturing infrared light — which is beyond what our own eyes can detect — shows these galaxies, collectively known as Arp 142, locked in a slow cosmic dance. Webb’s observations, which combine near- and mid-infrared light from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), respectively, clearly show that they are joined by a haze represented in blue that is a mix of stars and gas, a result of their mingling.
Their ongoing interaction was set in motion between 25 and 75 million years ago, when the Penguin (individually cataloged as NGC 2936) and the Egg (NGC 2937) completed their first pass. They will go on to shimmy and sway, completing several additional loops before merging into a single galaxy hundreds of millions of years from now.
Let’s Dance!
Before their first approach, the Penguin held the shape of a spiral. Today, its galactic center gleams like an eye, its unwound arms now shaping a beak, head, backbone, and fanned-out tail.
Like all spiral galaxies, the Penguin is still very rich in gas and dust. The galaxies’ “dance” gravitationally pulled on the Penguin’s thinner areas of gas and dust, causing them to crash in waves and form stars. Look for those areas in two places: what looks like a fish in its “beak” and the “feathers” in its “tail.”
Surrounding these newer stars is smoke-like material that includes carbon-containing molecules, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which Webb is exceptional at detecting. Dust, seen as fainter, deeper orange arcs also swoops from its beak to tail feathers.
In contrast, the Egg’s compact shape remains largely unchanged. As an elliptical galaxy, it is filled with aging stars, and has a lot less gas and dust that can be pulled away to form new stars. If both were spiral galaxies, each would end the first “twist” with new star formation and twirling curls, known as tidal tails.
Another reason for the Egg’s undisturbed appearance: These galaxies have approximately the same mass or heft, which is why the smaller-looking elliptical wasn’t consumed or distorted by the Penguin.
It is estimated that the Penguin and the Egg are about 100,000 light-years apart — quite close in astronomical terms. For context, the Milky Way galaxy and our nearest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, are about 2.5 million light-years apart. They too will interact, but not for about 4 billion years.
Now, look to the top right to spot a galaxy that is not at this party. This edge-on galaxy, cataloged PGC 1237172, is 100 million light-years closer to Earth. It’s also quite young, teeming with new, blue stars.
Want one more party trick? Switch to Webb’s mid-infrared-only image to see PGC 1237172 practically disappear. Mid-infrared light largely captures cooler, older stars and an incredible amount of dust. Since the galaxy’s stellar population is so young, it “vanishes” in mid-infrared light.
Also take a moment to scan the background. Webb’s image is overflowing with distant galaxies. Some take spiral and oval shapes, like those threaded throughout the Penguin’s “tail feathers,” while others scattered throughout are shapeless dots. This is a testament to the sensitivity and resolution of the telescope’s infrared instruments. (Compare Webb’s view to the 2018 observation that combines infrared light from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope and near-infrared and visible light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.) Even though these observations only took a few hours, Webb revealed far more distant, redder, and dustier galaxies than previous telescopes – one more reason to expect Webb to continue to expand our understanding of everything in the universe.
Want more? Take a tour to the image, “fly through” it in a visualization, and compare Webb’s image to the Hubble Space Telescope’s.
Arp 142 lies 326 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra.
Video: Tour the Arp 142 Image
Video: Arp 142 Visualization
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Christian Nieves (STScI), Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI), Greg Bacon (STScI)
Hover over the dividing line then click to move and compare the two images
Hubble Space Telescope
Webb Space Telescope
A selection of images from the James Webb Space Telescope in 2024
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It defies belief that there are adults, mostly in the USA, who believe that description in the Bible far surpasses for accuracy and reliability anything that science can reveal, and that this 'amazing accuracy' is proof that it was written by an inerrant god who created it all.
You might expect the fact that the Bible's description is so hilariously naïve would be taken as evidence that the description is proof of exactly the opposite: that the Bible could not have been written by an omniscient god who created the Universe it so inaccurately describes, but there is something about religion that seems to prevent intellectual honesty and the humility to allow evidence to inform opinion. Religion seems to produce the delusion that opinion informs the evidence and if they conflict, then opinion trumps evidence.
The same people also claim to worship a god who told them that vanity is a mortal sin, and a terrible fate awaits those who transgress.
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