Distant Dust Disk Mixes Fact with Fiction | The Institute for Creation Research

Distant Dust Disk Mixes Fact with Fiction

Sometimes, separating observation from speculation presents a challenge. For example, a recent news report of a possible planet in outer space mixed an observation with ideas of distant planet formation. Does this news coverage provide enough detail to help tease apart what is seen from what was unseen?

Astronomers used the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer on the Hubble telescope to image what they called a "protoplanetary disk" in infrared light.1 The TW Hydrae Disk consists of fine particles in a flat, round plane, with a small red-dwarf star in its center. Scientists find fascination in an apparent gap in the distant disk. They propose a planet-like object could be plowing up the debris as it slowly revolves around its star.

Is a gap in a dust disk enough evidence to assert a "protoplanet?" The very name means that planets are forming there, but the mere act of naming is not the same as evidence.

Even if an exoplanet orbits out there, no scientific rationale suggests that the planet is actually forming, and there are several reasons to think otherwise. In fact, the very NASA news release itself seems to contradict the secular claim of planet formation by a slow and gradual accretion of debris.

First, evolution-based speculations about the timing of planet formation conflict with speculations about when the red dwarf star formed. The red dwarf is supposedly "only 8 million years old, making it an unlikely star to host a planet, according to this theory. There has not been enough time for a planet to grow through the slow accumulation of smaller debris."1 When accounting for its great distance from its star—and that star's tiny size—the possible planet would supposedly have needed two billion years to form!

In contrast to a planet existing for millions of years before its star supposedly evolved, naturalistic planet formation stories tell of stars forming first, so that their gravity could then help planet formation.

In addition, evolutionary models require pebble-sized debris to seed a protoplanet, but the observed gap lies in an area of the disk populated by tiny dust-sized grains.

All things considered, if this distant dust disk does hold an exoplanet, supernatural creation would account for it most sensibly.

From observations in our own solar system, we know that worlds can create gaps in orbiting disks. Saturn's rings, for example, contain several gaps due to the gravitational influence of Saturn's orbiting moons. "It is very feasible that a planet may be the cause of the gap in the disk of TW Hydrae,” said astronomer and Institute for Creation Research Director of Physical Sciences Jason Lisle. “But the notion that such a planet has formed from such material is merely a story."

References

  1. Harrington, J. D. and D. Weaver. NASA's Hubble Uncovers Evidence of Farthest Planet Forming from its Star. NASA press release, June 13, 2013.

Image credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on June 21, 2013.

The Latest
CREATION PODCAST
Water vs. Wind: The Controversial Coconino | The Creation Podcast:...
Welcome to the sixth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Fossil Fish Finally Filmed
The bizarre lobe-finned coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) “that flourished some 350 million years ago”1 continues to be a thorn...

NEWS
The Mosasaur: A Giant Sea Dragon
Mosasaurs (order Squamata) were massive marine lizards that were common in the pre-Flood oceans. Therefore, it is not surprising that their fossils...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Summer 2025
...

NEWS
Was Life Detected on a Distant Planet?
There was celebration, albeit briefly, for the discovery of potential life on a planet called K2-18b, which is 124 lightyears away from Earth. The...

NEWS
Ichthyosaur Graveyard Explained by the Flood
Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that occur globally in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. Specimens with babies support the idea that they gave live...

CREATION PODCAST
What Do We Do With Geology's Unconforming Features? | The Creation...
Welcome to the fifth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Freshwater Fish Fossil in Australia
Yet another fish fossil has been discovered. This one was found in the Australian desert and was dated by evolutionists to be “15 million years...

NEWS
May 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans...

NEWS
Acoustic Communication in Animals
We are all familiar with vocalizations in the animal world. For example, dogs bark, birds sing, frogs croak, and whales send forth their own distinct...