The Solar System Archives - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

April 24, 2025April 22, 2025

Martian Surface Is Inhospitable for Life

As we have reported on this website, the Martian surface is inhospitable for life. New discoveries show that no life exists there now, and the chemistry of material reached by drilling into Mars’ surface does not show that life has ever existed on that planet.

The media suggest that life on Earth is not exceptional while the scientific data shows that our planet is the only place in the solar system where life can exist. Skeptics would like to find life beyond Earth because they feel it would show that God did not create and design Earth for the existence of humans. Unfortunately, the media often cherry-picks previous data while ignoring more recent findings.

In a USA Today article, Erik Lagatta reported that the Curiosity rover detected some strange spheres in the past. At that time the media claimed that biological processes could have produced these spheres. Further tests showed they were mineral deposits that had nothing to do with life. They were probably formed by groundwater circulating through rock pores.

NASA is interested in the rocks on Mars because they can tell us much about the planet’s geological history. Taking a fresh look at a previously collected sample, NASA scientists found fragments of fatty acids, the largest organic molecules so far discovered on Mars. However, fatty acids do not necessarily indicate life because they can be generated by chemical reactions related to geological processes.

The Martian surface is inhospitable for life, but as we have pointed out before, whether life exists elsewhere in the cosmos is not an issue for the biblical account of life on Earth. If there is life elsewhere, God created it. However, we will probably never know because the distances to other galaxies are so vast that we can never travel there to find out.

First Peter 3:15 tells us to be ready to “give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope that we have.” There is vast evidence for the existence of God, and it is essential to know why we believe what we believe so we can answer our children’s questions.

Reference: Eric Lagatta in USA Today, April 1, 2025

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March 14, 2025March 14, 2025

Learn From a Lunar Eclipse

Yesterday, we told you that the total lunar eclipse visible in the Western Hemisphere last night was connected to the eclipse of 1504, which Christopher Columbus used to get the supplies he needed from the people of Jamaica. It’s an interesting story that you can read HERE. What can we learn from a lunar eclipse, and what is the connection between the eclipse of March 13-14, 2025, and the eclipse of March 1, 1504?

Eclipses come in groups or families called saros. One saros is approximately 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours, slightly varying depending on the number of leap years. The end of each saros has an eclipse similar to the one at the beginning. Astronomers use saros to predict when an eclipse will occur.

A hypersaros consists of multiple saros cycles and lasts for 521 years. Eclipses separated by one hypersaros will appear very close to the same location in the sky and occur at nearly the same time of year. How far apart are 1504 and 2025? They are separated by 521 years, and both eclipses occurred in March about two weeks apart.

This means the eclipse of 1504 would have appeared in the same location in the sky. If you saw last night’s eclipse, you would have seen the same stars surrounding the blood moon as the natives of Jamaica saw 521 years ago. You had a chance to learn from a lunar eclipse by reliving the historical event of 1504.

Chances are you didn’t watch last night’s eclipse for the full length of totality—about an hour. However, I am sure the Jamaicans continued to watch it as they agonized in fear. Meanwhile, Columbus sat smugly in his quarters, watching his hourglass to know when the eclipse would end. Then, he could emerge to tell the natives that God accepted their apology and would restore the Moon.

You can certainly question Columbus’s tactics and his deception of the Jamaicans, but we can learn from a lunar eclipse. The pagan islanders were fooled because they were ignorant of science. Knowledge of science gave Columbus the edge. Knowing that God has designed an orderly and predictable solar system and universe frees us from the ignorance of worshiping His creation. It also frees us from believing that so-called “blood moons” are some special sign. They are part of the system God designed, making them predictable.

We can see God’s eternal power and divine nature by the things and systems He has made (Romans 1:20). The laws that govern the universe show fine-tuned design. The cosmos is not chaotic. It is the work of a God who has a plan and purpose for each of the human creatures He created in His image.

P.S. As I watched the total eclipse at about 3:15 a.m. my time, a meteorite appeared just below it. I suspect that did not happen to the Jamaicans, but it could have. For more about “blood moons” and “shooting stars,” read THIS POST. R.E.

References: iopscience.iop.org and Wikipedia

March 13, 2025March 13, 2025

Christopher Columbus’s Blood Moon

On the night of Thursday March 13 to Friday March 14, 2025, the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, will experience a total lunar eclipse. This eclipse has a connection to Christopher Columbus’s blood moon of 1504. Let me tell the story.

Of course, we know that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. That’s when he “discovered” the new world. However, Columbus made three more journeys across the Atlantic, with the last one from 1502 to 1504. On that visit to Jamaica, he ran into difficulty. He was stranded as his ships were crawling with marine worms. He sent a small party in canoes to get help from the Spanish-occupied island of Hispaniola, a hundred miles away.

While waiting for rescue, the crew’s food supply ran out, and the indigenous Arawak people grew tired of supplying provisions for the small trinkets the Spaniards offered in exchange. As his crew members were starving, Columbus had to devise a plan.

Fortunately, Columbus had astronomical tables indicating that a full lunar eclipse would occur on March 1, 1504. He called the local chiefs together and told them that the all-powerful Christian God was displeased with their refusal to help him. He told them that as a sign of God’s wrath, on that night, the Moon would turn dark and become the color of blood.

At first, the natives laughed at Christopher Columbus’s blood moon threats. The laughter stopped when the eclipse began. Columbus told them he would ask God to restore the Moon if they would meet his demands. Then he withdrew and watched his hourglass to time the eclipse. As the eclipse ended, he returned to the Jamaicans, who were pleading for his forgiveness. Columbus and his crew had everything they needed until the rescue ships arrived six months later.

So, what does Christopher Columbus’s blood moon have to do with the one you can see a few hours from now? I invite you to observe the one that will occur tonight. In the Eastern time zone, the eclipse will begin shortly before midnight. The Moon will become gradually darker until it becomes blood red during totality from 2:26 a.m. to 3:31 a.m. Just subtract one hour from those times for each time zone going westward. I’m sure you want to know the connection of this eclipse to Christopher Columbus’s blood moon. That will be the subject tomorrow.

January 24, 2025January 20, 2025

Possible Astronomical Catastrophes

The media often fills a void in natural disasters on Earth by headlining possible astronomical catastrophes. A recent example was a headline in USA Today stating that a “Rare but extreme solar event could disrupt life on earth.”

The article tells us that a solar superflare would fry communications satellites and produce electric currents strong enough to paralyze the power grid. The article tells us that in 1859, a violent solar storm knocked out the telegraph network in large parts of northern Europe and North America. It said if a solar superflare happened today, it would knock out phone services, GPS, credit card authorization, and weather and climate monitoring. The USA Today report is taken from the peer-reviewed journal Science, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

So, what is the danger of a solar superflare to you and me? The answer to that question is “virtually none.” The point is that solar superflares occur in stars like our Sun roughly once every 10,000 years. The flare in 1859 was not a solar superflare but merely a flare for which the nascent electric industry was unprepared. Today, such a flare would not significantly affect today’s telegraph or phone service.

The lack of possible astronomical catastrophes shows the intelligence and design built into our planet and solar system. A G-2-type star, like our Sun, has infrequent occurrences of solar superflare. Other spectral classes of stars can have solar superflares every 1000 years. That means the occurrence of life on a planet around another star is highly unlikely, if not impossible.

In his 1956 CBS television program “Our Mister Sun,” the late Dr. Frank Baxter said, “The more we know of the creation, the closer we get to the Creator.” The lack of solar superflares is another example of the truth of his statement.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: “Rare but extreme solar event could disrupt life on earth” on USA Today December 6, 2024

January 16, 2025January 12, 2025

Life on Mars in Fiction and Fact

Our fascination with Mars goes back to American sci-fi, with War of the Worlds, written by H. G. Wells and published in 1898. It was recreated as a radio drama by Orson Welles on Halloween in 1938, causing panic in America. In 1950, Ray Bradbury released a novel called The Martian Chronicles, which ended with the Earth destroyed by nuclear war. In 2005, Steven Spielberg directed a movie based on the Wells novel starring Tom Cruise. In 2015, The Martian was a science fiction movie starring Matt Damon. We have now scientifically investigated the red planet, resolving the question of life on Mars.

Measurements made by NASA’s Curiosity Rover from four Gale crater sites show that there is no life on Mars and that there has never been life on Mars’ surface. The ratios of carbon and oxygen isotopes indicate that no biosphere existed on the planet. Rock samples show extreme rates of evaporation and carbon flowing into the atmosphere like bubbles from a pressurized can of soda.

Previous measurements on Mars have been made in ice, which forms and melts there with some degree of regularity. For the first time, science has isotopic readings from rock samples. One can argue that there has been life on Mars in the distant past preserved many feet below ground, but drill cores have not backed up that theory.

The more we learn from scientific data gathered in space, the more we realize how extraordinary life is on Earth. Mars is NOT our twin planet, and no planet in our solar system is. Travel to another star and another solar system would not be within human capacity at any time during the lives of those living today. Humans may destroy Earth by nuclear war, but Bradbury’s story of The Martian Chronicles is not a predictor of how that might happen.

The Bible says God created time, space, matter-energy, and life. It doesn’t tell us when or how many steps were involved in creating the planet on which we live. The Bible does tell us how to live and avoid the things that can destroy this planet. Albert Einstein is purported to have said that if nuclear war is used in World War III, World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. Moving to Mars is not an option. We can avoid wars by following the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5-7.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: American Scientist magazine for January/February 2025 (page 10)

November 25, 2024November 20, 2024

Fine-Tuning the Universe

I recently attempted to bake some pumpkin bread. It was a disaster because I failed to use the proper proportion of one ingredient. When baking any pastry, having all the right ingredients in the right proportions is essential. Equally important is having the correct oven temperature for the right amount of time. Every factor must be just right. This is a simple illustration of fine-tuning the recipe. Far more complicated than baking any pastry is fine-tuning the universe.

Scientists have realized that the universe requires fine-tuning to make the existence of complex life possible. The number of factors that must be fine-tuned is vast, but five significant ones are these:

Gravitational Force Constant – This is the force that pulls us toward Earth. More than that, it holds the planet together and makes it round. It also holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth and the planets in orbit around the Sun. It holds together the Milky Way and all other galaxies. This force has to be strong enough to form stars and planets, but if it were too strong, stars would quickly burn up, and no planets would form.

Electromagnetic Force Constant – This force holds atoms together. It must be just right for chemical bonds to form, creating molecules that everything is made of, including our bodies.

Strong Nuclear Force Constant – This force holds together the protons and neutrons in the nuclei of atoms. It must be just right to form stable atoms.

Weak Nuclear Force Constant – This force regulates radioactive decay and must be precisely correct to form stars such as our Sun.

Cosmological Constant – This force controls the universe’s expansion speed, balancing the attractive force of gravity with the repulsive force causing space to expand. It must be extremely precise to prevent the universe from flying apart or collapsing on itself.

A properly “baked” universe requires that all of these constants and many more parameters be just right. The chance of all of them coming together by accident is beyond impossible. Fine-tuning the universe requires intelligent planning far beyond that of any human baker, and it could not have happened by accident. It is evidence of an intelligent creator God.

November 11, 2024November 7, 2024

Saturn Launched a Comet

Among the many evidences for design in our solar system are the outer gas-giant planets that protect Earth from comets. We have seen Jupiter draw in a comet, break it into multiple pieces, and then swallow it. If Jupiter had not stopped that comet in the outer reaches of our solar system, it could have been catastrophic to our planet. Astronomers have recently learned that Saturn launched a comet out of the solar system.

In June 2014, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) discovered a comet they call A117uUD. Looking through previous images of the comet, they were able to “wind back” the history of its solar orbit. They found that in 2022, it came close enough to our second-largest planet (the one with the famous rings) that Saturn’s gravity grabbed it and flung it away from us. Now, it’s traveling out of the solar system at 6,710 miles per hour (10,800 km/hr).

A117uUD is the second comet astronomers have seen a gas-giant planet launch into deep space. In 1980, Jupiter sent comet C/1980 E1 (Boswell) on a path out of the solar system. What would happen if a comet invaded our solar system and the outer planets, with their massive gravity, were not there to send it on a detour? How long would our planet survive? What if Jupiter and Saturn were not available to swallow, destroy, or re-route a destructive comet?

When Saturn launched a comet into the wild black yonder, it caused no danger to Earth’s inhabitants. We can be thankful that the solar system is well-designed for us to survive. Does design indicate an accident or a Designer?

Reference: space.com

September 23, 2024September 22, 2024

Creation and Evolution Are Not the Same

Creation and evolution are two different things. Evolution does not attempt to answer creation. Evolution assumes creation. Evolution assumes that time, space, and matter/energy have been created. It assumes that matter/energy has formed galaxies, stars, planets, moons, comets, asteroids, etc. It assumes that in the Milky Way galaxy, a G-2 star came into existence with a planet that had water and all the parameters needed for life. Evolution then assumes a set of chemical reactions occurred that produced the precursors of life and that life itself came into existence. Once all of this has been assumed, evolution attempts to explain how that life may have changed into what we see on Earth today.

Both atheists and denominational writers confuse creation and evolution. The problem is that many religious people believe that God created all living things precisely as they are today, even though we can see evolution happening in our lifetime. Meanwhile, many atheists assume that if you believe in creation, you are a follower of several highly publicized denominational programs involving creation museums and carnival-like entertainment venues.

Many churches take busloads of young people to those creationist venues, assuming it will build their faith. For a large percentage of the young people, the reverse is happening. We get letters, emails, and phone calls from teenagers who are struggling with their faith and leaving the church of their parents because they see the bad science and poor Bible understanding associated with the creationist materials. This confusion becomes even more destructive when the church they attend takes a dispensational approach to the return of Jesus involving conflict, war, politics, and a restoration of David’s throne on Earth.

Creation and evolution must not be confused. Genesis 1:1 uses the Hebrew word “bara” to describe creation. Bara refers to something that only God can do. Genesis begins with: “Reshith Elohim bara shamayim erets.” The Hebrew words simply mean that God created time, space, and matter/energy. Quantum mechanics has verified that time itself is a created thing. Colossians 1:16 and John 1:3 show why “Elohim” is plural in the Hebrew of Genesis 1. This is actual creation. You can argue about current evolutionary theories, but that is not creation. Our ministry work involves the creation, but we do not espouse the “creationist” position or support the denominational teachings associated with it.

July 22, 2024September 5, 2024

Solar Storm Affected Mars

A massive solar storm affected Mars on May 20, 2024, shortly after it caused impressive auroras on Earth. This latest storm is part of the normal eleven-year cycle of solar maximums, but it is the first time such a storm has occurred while astronomers have the equipment to record its effect.

Xrays and gamma rays, which travel at the speed of light, reached Mars first and were followed minutes later by charged particles. According to NASA, the Curiosity rover at Gale Crater near the Martian equator took pictures showing white streaks resembling snow but were actually charged particles. The radiation from the solar particles was so intense that the star camera aboard the Mars Odyssey orbiter temporarily shut down.

Curiosity rover’s measurements of the radiation reaching Mars’ surface show that an astronaut standing next to the detector would get radiation equal to 30 chest X-rays. Earth has a strong magnetic field to shield it from energized solar particles, but Mars does not. At the same time, the thin Martian atmosphere could not give protection as the solar storm affected Mars.

Planets with a functional atmosphere and located in the Goldilocks Zone, where liquid water on the surface is possible, are rare. All stars go through cycles that pose threats to life on their orbital planets. Mars, a potential target for human visitation and a place where people speculated that life might exist, has received significant attention. This new data from a common solar event suggests that conditions for life to exist are even more challenging than previously thought.

The fact that a solar storm affected Mars is important. It tells us that Earth’s creation and the life on it are the product of intelligence and design, not opportunistic chance. They also tell us we must take care of the Earth because, in reality, there is no other place to go if we mess up this planet.

Reference: CNN Reports on Space Science for June 14, 2024.

July 8, 2024July 7, 2024

Just Right for Life to Exist

Since astronomers have discovered more than 5,000 exoplanets orbiting stars other than our Sun, many insist there must be life elsewhere in the cosmos. For those of us who believe in God, that isn’t really an issue. If there is life out there, God created it, but the Bible only speaks to our planet. However, the evidence is growing that our planet is more unique than most people realize. A “Goldilocks” planet is at the proper distance from its star so that the temperature is “just right” for liquid water to exist on the surface. Some exoplanets appear to be in the habitable zones of their stars, but many other factors must also be just right for life to exist there.

Most known exoplanets are like Jupiter, having no terrestrial surface. To support life, a planet must be the right size, have a stable orbit inside the habitable zone of a stable star, and have the right atmosphere. It must also have working plate tectonics and a large moon to maintain a stable axis tilt. To be just right for life to exist, a planet must also be in the habitable zone of its galaxy – not near the center, exposing it to lethal gamma-ray bursts.

Our Sun is a G spectral star, but only 9% of the stars in our galaxy are that type. M-class dwarf stars are the most common and long-lived stars, but they emit large amounts of radiation that would cook any life on their planets. Also, planets around such a star would become tidal-locked, with one side facing the star being excessively hot while the other remains cold.

Another star system requirement for life would be having outer planets large enough and in the correct position to sweep away asteroids and comets that would bombard an inner planet. To support life, a planet also needs a strong magnetic field to shield the surface from the star’s radiation and cosmic rays.

Our Earth is just right for life to exist. We are defining life as the biology books do: being able to move, breathe, respond to outside stimuli, and reproduce. Any conjecture about fire people or rock people is in science fiction – not scientific fact. The bottom line is that Earth is a special place created by God for a special purpose and is unique among all other objects in the cosmos.

Reference: “Is Earth the Only Goldilocks Panet?” in Discover magazine, July/August 2024, pages 54 -57.