Claim CE101:
Based on measured rates of planetary dust accumulation, there is too
little moon dust for an old moon. Before the moon landings, there was
considerable fear that astronauts would sink in the dust.
Source:
Morris, Henry M., 1974. Scientific Creationism, Green Forest, AR: Master
Books, p. 152.
Response:
- The high number for dust accumulation (14 million tons per year on
earth) comes from the high end of a single preliminary measurement
that has long been obsolete. Other higher estimates come from even
more obsolete sources, although they are sometimes incorrectly cited as
being more recent. The actual influx is about 22,000 to 44,000 tons
per year on earth and around 840 tons per year on the moon.
The story that scientists worried about astronauts sinking in moon dust
is a total fabrication. As early as 1965, scientists were confident,
based on optical properties of the moon's surface, that dust was not
extensive. Surveyor I, in May 1966, confirmed this.
Links:
Thompson, Tim, 1996. Meteorite dust and the age of the earth.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/moon-dust.html
Matson, Dave E., 1994. How good are those young-earth arguments?
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hovind/howgood-yea.html#proof2
Further Reading:
Thompson, Tim, n.d. Is the Earth young?,
http://www.tim-thompson.com/young-earth.html
created 2000-7-29
