The Starlight Distance Time Paradox
by Owen Borville
April 2, 2019
Astronomy
The starlight distance-time paradox has been mentioned in relation to the creationist versus evolutionist model. Today, stars can be measured observationally with good accuracy to be trillions of kilometers from earth. The nearest star to earth, Proxima Centauri, is 4.22 light years away or 40 trillion kilometers away. A light year is measured by the distance light travels from the stars to reach the earth in one year, measured at the speed of light to be approximately 9.5 trillion kilometers. Mainstream scientists calculate the speed of light to be a constant of 300,000 kilometers per second. The farthest stars have been measured to be over 13 billion light-years away from earth. So if the stars are so far away, how can the universe only be 6,000 years old and not billions of years old?
Suitable creationist explanations have been proposed that comply with the 6,000 year timeline within the creationist model. Some creationists have historically postulated that the universe and stars were created in place in a mature state on Day 4 of the creation week just as God created Adam as a full grown man. This theory is known as "mature creation" and is entirely possible. Therefore, creationists today look for new explanations for the starlight-time issue that fit the young universe model.
While the old-earth evolution model and the Big Bang Theory supports a continuously expanding universe from a central, single point, the Biblical scriptures contain some 17 verses that state that God expanded the universe from its original size at some time in the past, possibly during the creation week. Dr. Russell Humphreys explains in his book Starlight and Time that this expansion may have given the universe an older look. The Book of Isaiah 40:22 refers to the heavens being “stretched out as a curtain” and “spread out as a tent to dwell in,” in addition to Isaiah verse 42:5 and Psalm 104:2. Dr. John Hartnett's book, Starlight, Time, and the New Physics also presents some strong explanations for the starlight and time phenomena within the young universe model.
There are many creationist explanations for the starlight time phenomena that could accommodate the incredible distances observed within a creationist young universe time frame. Some propose that the speed of light was faster during the creation week and that this faster speed enabled light to reach Earth from distant stars and galaxies within a shorter time frame. Others propose explanations that involve time being faster in distant regions of the universe to accommodate the large distances for light to travel or that time is slower on Earth than in the distant universe.
One concept that should be considered is that if God created the universe and that if God created time and light, God is not bound by the laws of time and light. Therefore, God could have created the universe in six days without needing billions of years. Just because we humans observe billions of miles between the Earth and distant stars does not conclude that light needed billions of years to travel or that God could not have created the stars and the universe in a matter of hours or one day. Human frame of reference may not be God's frame of reference. God, therefore is not bound by the laws of time.
Despite commonly accepting the old universe model of billions of years, evolutionists and mainstream scientists have their own problems with the Big Bang and the starlight distance issue. The “Horizon Problem” is an issue that puzzles old-earth advocates. In 1964, Penzias and Wilson discovered microwave radiation surrounding earth which originated from distant regions of the universe. This radiation has a constant temperature throughout the universe, while the Big Bang theorizes that different points in the universe had different temperatures and light could not have enough time to reach from one part of the universe to the other using the time scale of the Big Bang Theory.
Humphreys, Russell. Starlight and Time: Solving the Puzzle of Distant Starlight in a Young Universe. 1994.
Hartnett, John. Starlight, Time and the New Physics: How Can We See Starlight in Our Young Universe. 2007.
Albrecht, A. and Magueijo, J., Time varying speed of light as a solution to cosmological puzzles, Phys. Rev. D 59(4):043513–16, 1999.
Clayton, M. and Moffat, J., Dynamical mechanism for varying light velocity as a solution to cosmological problems, Phys. Lett. B 460(3–4):263–270, 1999.
by Owen Borville
April 2, 2019
Astronomy
The starlight distance-time paradox has been mentioned in relation to the creationist versus evolutionist model. Today, stars can be measured observationally with good accuracy to be trillions of kilometers from earth. The nearest star to earth, Proxima Centauri, is 4.22 light years away or 40 trillion kilometers away. A light year is measured by the distance light travels from the stars to reach the earth in one year, measured at the speed of light to be approximately 9.5 trillion kilometers. Mainstream scientists calculate the speed of light to be a constant of 300,000 kilometers per second. The farthest stars have been measured to be over 13 billion light-years away from earth. So if the stars are so far away, how can the universe only be 6,000 years old and not billions of years old?
Suitable creationist explanations have been proposed that comply with the 6,000 year timeline within the creationist model. Some creationists have historically postulated that the universe and stars were created in place in a mature state on Day 4 of the creation week just as God created Adam as a full grown man. This theory is known as "mature creation" and is entirely possible. Therefore, creationists today look for new explanations for the starlight-time issue that fit the young universe model.
While the old-earth evolution model and the Big Bang Theory supports a continuously expanding universe from a central, single point, the Biblical scriptures contain some 17 verses that state that God expanded the universe from its original size at some time in the past, possibly during the creation week. Dr. Russell Humphreys explains in his book Starlight and Time that this expansion may have given the universe an older look. The Book of Isaiah 40:22 refers to the heavens being “stretched out as a curtain” and “spread out as a tent to dwell in,” in addition to Isaiah verse 42:5 and Psalm 104:2. Dr. John Hartnett's book, Starlight, Time, and the New Physics also presents some strong explanations for the starlight and time phenomena within the young universe model.
There are many creationist explanations for the starlight time phenomena that could accommodate the incredible distances observed within a creationist young universe time frame. Some propose that the speed of light was faster during the creation week and that this faster speed enabled light to reach Earth from distant stars and galaxies within a shorter time frame. Others propose explanations that involve time being faster in distant regions of the universe to accommodate the large distances for light to travel or that time is slower on Earth than in the distant universe.
One concept that should be considered is that if God created the universe and that if God created time and light, God is not bound by the laws of time and light. Therefore, God could have created the universe in six days without needing billions of years. Just because we humans observe billions of miles between the Earth and distant stars does not conclude that light needed billions of years to travel or that God could not have created the stars and the universe in a matter of hours or one day. Human frame of reference may not be God's frame of reference. God, therefore is not bound by the laws of time.
Despite commonly accepting the old universe model of billions of years, evolutionists and mainstream scientists have their own problems with the Big Bang and the starlight distance issue. The “Horizon Problem” is an issue that puzzles old-earth advocates. In 1964, Penzias and Wilson discovered microwave radiation surrounding earth which originated from distant regions of the universe. This radiation has a constant temperature throughout the universe, while the Big Bang theorizes that different points in the universe had different temperatures and light could not have enough time to reach from one part of the universe to the other using the time scale of the Big Bang Theory.
Humphreys, Russell. Starlight and Time: Solving the Puzzle of Distant Starlight in a Young Universe. 1994.
Hartnett, John. Starlight, Time and the New Physics: How Can We See Starlight in Our Young Universe. 2007.
Albrecht, A. and Magueijo, J., Time varying speed of light as a solution to cosmological puzzles, Phys. Rev. D 59(4):043513–16, 1999.
Clayton, M. and Moffat, J., Dynamical mechanism for varying light velocity as a solution to cosmological problems, Phys. Lett. B 460(3–4):263–270, 1999.
