GEOSCIENCE REPORTS

Fall 1994, No. 18

WHERE DID THE MOON COME FROM? PART I
Wayne Slattery, Los Alamos National Laboratory

This article is a synopsis of the scientific theories regarding the origin of our solar system and Earth's moon. We hope teachers will be able to use the information as resource material for their classes. Ed.

Introduction

    Why do we care about where the Moon came from? Isn't it enough just to say that God created it, and that's the end of the story? Well, yes and no. It isn't obvious from the Bible that the world and everything else that we know about was created during the Genesis "creation." One can read that everything was created at that time, and then the answer to our question is "yes, that is the end of the story"; or one could just as easily read that life was created at "creation" and that some of the rocks and gases for the Earth and the Solar System (and the Stars) were here much earlier. If this is the case, then I would like to know where the parts of the Solar System came from. This paper asks the question (and proposes one possible answer), "Where did the Moon come from?"

FIGURE. Storm systems on Jupiter the fifth planet from the sun in our Solar System. Photo courtesy NASA, JPL Education Division.

Scientific Theories About the Origin of the Solar System

    I would like to briefly mention how many scientists think the Solar System got started. Starting from an immense gob of gas and dust in space an instability develops, perhaps from a passing density wave — like the spiral arms of a galaxy or from a nearby supernova explosion. Once an instability is present, the gas cloud starts to collapse. Because there is always some random angular motion present ; the cloud, which has been roughly spherical, becomes a disk. The central part of the cloud, upon further collapse, becomes a proto-sun. The outer part, because of known gravitational instabilities, starts to coagulate, the small pieces of dust cling together, and these larger pieces to each other, making still larger pieces, etc., until you have small proto-planets or planetesimals. Further collisions formed the planets.
    The above scenario is partially observational and partially theoretical. Astronomers have evidence of planetary systems in the making, and they also have evidence of more mature systems with what might be leftover gas and dust orbiting a central star. And of course, we have our Solar System, which could be a very mature product of the same scenario. Except for occasional meteorites, most of the rocks in orbit about the Sun have been swept up by the planets. To look at the most recent past in our Solar System, we can look at the other terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars). They are covered by craters formed by impacts of large bodies. Even the Moon is covered by craters. Many collisions had to occur in the early Solar System. The Earth itself has over a hundred large impact craters identified; many more are thought to have been obliterated by erosion.
    The theoretical part comes in as follows. We look and see how planetary systems start, use our knowledge of physics to find a route to more mature systems, and then again use physics to go to an older planetary system, like our own.

FIGURE. Close-up of Tycho crater on Earth's moon. Photo courtesy NASA, Houston Education Division.

Physical and Chemical Constraints on the Origin of the Moon

    To begin to understand where the Moon came from, we need to know what it is made of (chemical constraints) and something about how big the Moon is and how it orbits the Earth (physical constraints). Any theory on the origin of the Moon must be able to satisfy these constraints.
    The Apollo astronauts gave us most of the information that we have about the composition of the rocks in the Moon. We need only to consider how an average Moon rock differs from an average Earth rock. The most glaring difference is that the Moon is very low in iron when compared to the Earth. If the Moon has an iron core, then this iron core comprises 5% or less of the mass of the Moon, compared to about one third the Earth (and Venus and Mars) being composed of iron. The Moon also is deficient in volatile elements (the elements that evaporate easily) and it is most deficient in extremely volatile elements.
    On the other hand, the physical constraints, such as the density of the Moon, its distance from the Earth, and its angular momentum have been known for a long time. The angular momentum of the Moon is a measure of its tendency to keep going around the Earth, just as a bicycle wheel tends to keep going once it starts to rotate (friction slows it down). When compared to the other satellites of the other planets in our Solar System, the Moon has a very high angular momentum. The ratio of the Moon's mass to that of the Earth, when compared to the other planets and their satellites is the highest in the Solar System (with the exception of Pluto and its satellite Charon which are sometimes considered to be a double planet). One interesting thing about the distance of the Moon from the Earth is that the Moon is thought to have been closer to the Earth in the past, and in fact the Moon is about three centimeters farther away from the Earth every year. The Moon's movement away from the Earth is caused by tides in the Earth. (Curiously, because the response of the Earth to the pull of the Moon is not instantaneous and because the Earth is also rotating, the tidal bulge actually points ahead of the Moon by a few degrees. This in turn adds energy to the Moon in its orbit, which moves farther away and slows down [the orbit paradox]. The rotation of the Earth is slowed by the transfer of angular momentum to the Moon.)

Past Ideas on the Origin of the Moon

    With the preceding information, we now have sufficient knowledge to discuss the origin of the Moon. We will consider some older ideas first.
    One of the first ideas on the origin of the Moon was proposed by Sir George Darwin (son of the naturalist, Charles Darwin) in the 1880's. He postulated that the proto-earth had been spinning enough to split (fission) into two parts, one part becoming the Earth and the other becoming the Moon. Since the Pacific Ocean is extremely large, it was thought that the Moon had come from there. There are a number of problems associated with this hypothesis. First, theoretical calculations show that in order for fission to work, the angular momentum has to be about four times that currently present in the Earth-Moon system. So, you have the question, where did the angular momentum go? (Frictional energy losses, which are large, are still negligible when compared with the total energy of the system.) Furthermore, if the Moon came from the Earth, why are the rocks so chemically different?

FIGURE. Composite photo of the south pole of Earth's moon. Photo courtesy NASA, Houston Education Center.

    Another idea says that the Moon and the Earth formed at the same time, i.e., as the Earth was accumulating material in its orbit about the Sun, the Moon was also accumulating material in its orbit about the Earth. This hypothesis goes by the name simultaneous formation or binary accretion. Since this origin of the Moon seems to naturally flow from ideas of the origin of the Solar System, it is very attractive. However, remember the chemical constraints. Moon rocks are different from Earth rocks. If the Moon got its rocks essentially from the same rocks that orbited the Sun and accreted onto the Earth, then the Moon should be about the same composition, but it isn't. In addition, you have to wonder why Venus and Mars didn't get large moons also.
    A way to eliminate the problems associated with the chemical differences between the Moon and the Earth is to postulate that the Moon formed elsewhere in the Solar System and then was captured by the Earth when it passed too close to the Earth. However, the process of going from an orbit about the Sun to a much smaller orbit about the Earth requires the dissipation of energy and we need to find a plausible place for this energy to go. One place for the energy to go is to heating up the Moon as it first passes close to the Earth because of tidal friction. Despite the attractiveness of this hypothesis, theoretical calculations show that there simply isn't enough time, while the Moon is swinging around the Earth, for enough energy dissipation to occur to let this hypothesis actually work.

[Part II will appear in Issue #19]

FOR FURTHER READING

 

EDITOR'S CORNER

    We want to share a concern with you. Frequently on our travels, we encounter Academy science teachers who are not receiving Geoscience Reports. We are not certain where the breakdown occurs, but we are doing our best to distribute this newsletter to Academy science teachers worldwide. Copies also go to the Academy libraries and the principals. We trust that they are making all of their science teachers and Bible teachers aware of the availability of this resource.

PLEASE HELP US!

    If you receive Geoscience Reports, please check with the science teachers at your school and find out whether they are receiving copies. For those who do not receive Geoscience Reports, a letter from them, posted to GRI on school letterhead, will qualify them for a free subscription. We have not yet been authorized to send free copies of Geoscience Reports to Bible teachers, so your willingness to share your copy with them would be appreciated.
    We are committed to keeping you informed about issues related to origins and the Noachian flood. The scientific database and their interpretations of that evidence are sometimes overwhelming. We hope that Geoscience Reports helps you present these materials to your students in a Christian context. Thank you for your help in sharing the information. And please continue to communicate your concerns to us.

 

SCATTERED NOTES FROM THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

GEOLOGY

Friedman GM. 1994. Great Bahama Bank aragonitic muds: mostly inorganically precipitated, mostly exported — discussion. Journal of Sedimentary Research A64:921.
And,
Milliman JD. 1994. Great Bahama Bank aragonitic muds: mostly inorganically precipitated, mostly exported — reply. Journal of Sedimentary Research A64:922.

    According to the discussion paper by Friedman: "Hypotheses relating to the origin of lime mud [limestones or carbonate rocks] have been discussed for more than a century. Some authors have argued that organic processes were responsible for the generation of limestone deposits and others argued for inorganic processes. Friedman says, "This topic is important because the majority of carbonate rocks [limestones] covering the surface of Earth originally formed as lime mud." After comparing Bahama Banks organic processes with the inorganic processes at work in the Dead Sea, he asks, "The question is: which processes formed the bulk of the micrites [limestones] in the rock record?" Milliman responded that it really doesn't matter. What does matter is that even in the Bahama Banks (with lower salinity than the Dead Sea) where organic contributions to the lime muds can be documented, inorganic processes also have a significant input.
    We think Friedman's question does matter. Inorganic precipitation depends more on water chemistry than time. Preflood conditions may have been more conducive to both organic and inorganic precipitation. Inorganic precipitation that is not associated with evaporative, high-salinity conditions could produce significant amounts of lime mud that is now preserved in the rock record as non-fossiliferous limestone.

Grammer GM, Ginsburg RN, Swart PK, McNeill DF, Jull AJT, Prezbindowski DR. 1993. Rapid growth rates of syndepositional marine aragonite cements in steep marginal slope deposits, Bahamas and Belize. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 63:983-989.

    Radiocarbon dating was utilized to determine rates of cementation for marginal slope deposits in the marine environment in the Bahamas and Belize, Central America. Rates of cementation indicate lithification of the deposits within tens of years rather than hundreds or thousands of years. Such rapid cementation is an important factor for stabilizing steep carbonate slopes and is described as syndepositional, i.e., cementation occurs as the skeletal carbonate particles are deposited.

PALEONTOLOGY

Knauth LP, Horodyski RJ. 1993. Evidence for and implications of life on land in the Proterozoic. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program A-80.

    Recently identified microfossils from nonmarine sediments, considered by paleontologists to be 1,200 million years old, have been interpreted to support evolutionary origins in lakes and streams rather than solely marine environments. [The origin of life in diverse environments poses similar problems for an evolutionary origin of life as the sudden appearance of life forms. Ed.]

Noreli MA, Chiappe L, Clark JM. 1993. Mononykus olecranus, an unusual new bird from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (Supplement Abstract) 13:51A.

    Four uncrushed specimens of the bird Mononykus have been recovered and studied from comparison of similar structures that are then used to infer the relatedness of species. Noreli et al. interpret five characteristics of the fossils as more bird-like than similar structures in Archaeopteryx. Because Mononykus is considered a link between the theropod (carnivorous dinosaur) ancestors and birds, its flightless condition necessitates the separate evolution of flight in Archaeopteryx (still considered by many to be an ancestor of modern birds) and in all other birds. The authors consider this "equally as plausible as the traditional interpretation, that flight arose once in the common ancestor of all birds." However, it should be noted that Mononykus has a bizarre front claw that precludes it from being a direct ancestor of birds (Altangerel P et al. 1993. Flightless bird from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. Nature 362:623-627).

Ostrom JH. 1994. Deinonychus, the Ultimate Killing Machine: Dino Fest. In: Rosenberg and Wolberg, editors. Paleontological Society Special Publication No. 7. Knoxville, TN: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Tennessee, p. 127-137.

FIGURE. Deinonychus (terrible claw) was 8-11 ft (2.4-3.4 m) long. Photo courtesy of the Royal Tyrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada.

    The discovery of fragments from several Deinonychus skeletons (identified as Velociraptor in "Jurassic Park") associated with Tenontosaurus (a 21' herbivore) fragments provides new evidence that suggests the predators were pack-hunting animals. The author also noted that "Nearly every specimen of Tenontosaurus that we found was associated with isolated shed teeth of Deinonychus. In many cases, this was an exclusive association — only Deinonychus teeth were found in association!" [For paleontologists, pack behavior and selective diet indicate higher intelligence than has been previously ascribed to dinosaurs. Ed.]

Schweitzer MH. 1993. Biomolecule preservation in Tyrannosaurus rex. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Abstracts 13(3):28A.

    Microstructure of the bone material from a Tyrannosaurus rex included vascular canal spaces and analyses indicate possible presence of nucleic acids and peptides or proteins. The bone consists of calcium and phosphorus with vascular canal structures containing iron. According to the researcher, "Trabecular bone taken from within the marrow cavities of the long bones shows no infilling with sediment, and the bone itself is light-weight and appears unreplaced." [The survival of unreplaced bone material in the ground for more than 65 million years seems incredible. Perhaps the bone is not that old. Ed.]

FIGURE. Evidence continues to mount, indicating T. rex was a scavenger

    FYI: A park ranger at Dinosaur National Monument informed participants on a recent GRI Field Conference (see GRI News on p. 7 of this issue) that more than 400 researchable sites have now been documented within the Monument. Two years ago the count was just over 100. Since most of our knowledge of Jurassic dinosaurs has come from the excavation of the one wall at Dinosaur National Monument, our understanding of these dinosaurs will probably change significantly over the next few years.

ZOOLOGY

Dawson A, McNaughton FJ, Goldsmith AR, Degen AA. 1994. Ratite-like neoteny induced by neonatal thyroidectomy of European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris. Journal of Zoology, London 232:633-639.

    Ostriches and several other types of large flightless birds are collectively known as "ratites." Certain morphological traits, such as features of the palate, unfused skull sutures, persistence of downy, juvenile type feathers, and unkeeled sternum, are similar to those seen in juvenile birds. There has been discussion/disagreement as to whether the ratites are related by common ancestry or whether they are similar because they retained the juvenile features.
    This research studied the effects of removing the thyroid gland on maturation of starlings. The affected birds showed delayed maturation, stunted growth, and accelerated sexual maturation resulting in neoteny (production of offspring by a juvenile).
    Currently, ratites are confined to the southern continents. This has often been interpreted as support for the plate tectonics model of biogeography. However, if the ratites are simply neotonous forms, and if they lack a common ancestry (as has been suggested), the biogeographical argument is invalid.

 

GEOSCIENCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE NEWS

Korean Union Conference Educators Study in Western U.S.

    Thirty-seven South Korean educators and administrators joined Drs. Gibson, Kennedy and Roth during the latter part of August for a Geoscience field conference. Lectures were given on topics from biology, geology, theology and philosophy of science. Although translation of technical terms from English to Korean was sometimes difficult, communication improved as the trip progressed.
    The field conference began at Big Sky, Montana, near Yellowstone National Park, where Dr. Harold Coffin (retired from GRI) joined the group to lecture on Mount St. Helens and the Yellowstone fossil forests, as well as the Hebgen earthquake area. Dr. Richard Davidson, an Old Testament scholar from Andrews University, spoke to the conference on the first Sabbath. Dr. Arthur Chadwick from Southwestern Adventist College joined the group in Tempe, Arizona, on the final morning of the conference to lecture on the Grand Canyon and paleocurrents.

FIGURE. Educators and administrators from the GRI field conference pose in front of the carbonate mound in Thermopolis, Wyoming. Photo courtesy Elaine Kennedy.

    Highlights of the field localities included: studying the rapidly deposited carbonate mound in Thermopolis, the lecture by the park ranger at Dinosaur National Monument, study of the worm tubes near Price, Utah, study of the Triassic/Jurassic deposits at Capitol Reef National Park, the erosion in Bryce Canyon National Park, the Bristlecone pine, the clastic pipes in the Kodachrome Basin, the worship service in Zion National Park and hike to Angels Landing. The group displayed amazing energy in the Grand Canyon. (Almost everyone hiked to Roaring Springs.)
    The formal lectures presented on this trip upheld the historicity of scripture and supported the validity of the creation/flood accounts of Genesis. We trust the information imparted will prove a blessing to these educators.

GRI Scientists Lecture in the Euro-Asia Division

    This past fall, two GRI scientists lectured in the former Soviet Union. From August 18 to September 13, Ben Clausen, nuclear physicist, presented lectures at Bible Conferences held in three cities in the former Soviet Union. These Bible conferences were sponsored by the Biblical Research Institute (BRI), and other lecturers included Bill Shea and Herbert Kiesler from the BRI, along with John Scharffenberg, a physician and health instructor from California. Dr. Clausen delivered five lectures on Christianity and science, the new physics, evolution, catastrophism, and radiometric dating.
    The first Conference was held in Riga, Latvia. The economy is based on hard currency and is experiencing little inflation. Goods are available, but as might be expected in a newly independent country, unemployment is a serious problem. The people are friendly, and the church is growing. One day the men drove to Lithuania to hear two speakers from the radio program The Quiet Hour who were conducting an evangelistic series. On Sabbath Dr. Clausen preached in a Riga church.

FIGURE. The Zaoski Theological Seminary in Russia.

    The second week of meetings was located in the Ukraine at Kiev. The Ukraine is part of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the meetings were translated into Russian. A major concern of the people centered around the aftermath of the Chernobyl tragedy. The conference was strongly supported with 240 pastors in attendance.
    From Kiev the conference lecturers traveled by train to Kishinev, Moldova. Lectures were translated into Russian, and Dr. Clausen's sermon on Sabbath was translated into both Russian and Romanian. In Riga and Kiev, Dr. Clausen discovered that there are very few trained scientists in the church.
    Similar Bible Conferences were also held in other cities in the Euro-Asia Division. From August 17 to September 21 Clyde Webster, geochemist, presented a series of lectures concerning the interface with science and religion. Other lecturers from the United States included BRI's Director George Reid, Angel Rodriguez (also from BRI), and Gary Strunk from the Pacific Health Education Center in Bakersfield, California. They were joined by H.A. Silvet from the Ministerial Department of the Euro-Asia Division and Elena Kozlova from the Music Department of Zaokski Theological Seminary. Among the topics covered in Dr. Webster's presentations were the importance of the seven-day creation week, the worldwide flood as a salvation issue, and discussions on data, assumptions and interpretations.
    Dr. Webster spent ten days in Moscow, seven days in Novosibirsk or New Siberia, seven days at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and eight days in Yessintuki, Russia. He reports that Siberia was lush and green with stunning white birch forests. At each session, the lectures were well received and the Russian Seventh-day Adventists were very warm and friendly. There were lots of good questions, and the youth asked particularly penetrating questions. Throughout his travels he found the people are very musically talented, sharing both vocal and instumental classical pieces.
    One of the most awesome moments for him occurred in Red Square as he walked over the ground to the Kremlin. As he thought about the changes that have occurred in his lifetime, he realized that the Russian peoples' needs are the same as ours.

Goescience Reports
Fall 1994 No. 18

Editor - M. Elaine Kennedy
Associate Editor - Katherine Ching

Subscription requests, correspondence, and notices of change of address should be sent to: Geoscience Reports, Geoscience Research Institute, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350 USA. Annual subscription rate is $3.00 (U.S. currency).

Geoscience Reports is a newsletter published by the Geoscience Research Institute to present current happenings at the Institute as well as general-interest articles that deal with creation/evolution issues for elementary/secondary-school and college science classes. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Institute.

Staff of the Institute: L Jim Gibson, Director (PhD, biology); Ben L Clausen (PhD, nuclear physics); M Elaine Kennedy (PhD, geology); Ariel A Roth (PhD, zoology); Clyde L Webster (PhD, chemistry); Katherine Ching, Editor (MA, history); and Janet Williams, Administrative Secretary.