Our Created Solar System - Mercury

Welcome to the first planet in our Solar System: tiny Mercury. Mercury is only 3,000 miles in diameter, making it about as wide as the continental United States. It is smaller than all of the other planets (except for Pluto and some of the other Dwarf Planets), and is even smaller than some of the larger moons in the Solar System, such as Ganymede or Titan. One Mercurian day lasts about as long as 58 days on Earth, and Mercury orbits the sun every 88 Earth days, giving it the shortest year in the Solar System. Mercury's gravity is also a little less than half that of Earth's. The little planet has no atmosphere, though, and endures drastic temperature extremes ranging from a high of 840F to a low of -280F (449C to -173C). As a result, Mercury would not be a very pleasant place to live or to visit. The little planet has almost no axial tilt, meaning it does not experience the lengthening and shortening of days that Earth does. It does, however, have one of the most elliptical orbits in the Solar System, giving it dramatic seasonal changes.

Mercury is also surprisingly dense; more dense than any planet in the Solar System save for Earth itself. There's only one problem with that. According to the Nebular Hypothesis, Mercury cannot be that dense. You see, Mercury has a very large iron core; up to 75% of the planet may in fact be nothing but an iron core. This is simply not possible according to Evolution. But don't take our word for it. Listen to the words of Evolutionist Dr. Stuart Ross Taylor, who says: 'It has become clear that none of these proposed models work, and the high density is conveniently accommodated by the large-impact hypothesis, which makes Mercury unique.' (Solar System Evolution: A New Perspective pg. 194)

What is the 'large-impact hypothesis' you ask? Well, we're glad you asked. You may remember in our last post on the Solar System that we discussed the need to rescue the Nebular Hypothesis from itself by invoking asteroid collisions? Well, there's a scientific name for that: The Large-Impact Hypothesis. And while Dr. Taylor tells us this hypothesis makes Mercury unique, we'll soon discover how very common it is that this hypothesis is invoked. So, in brief then, Evolution tells us that Mercury did indeed form according to the Nebular Hypothesis, but at some point in time in Mercury's history, a large asteroid struck it and stripped away all of the lighter material, leaving behind the second most dense planet in the Solar System, with the largest core (proportionally speaking) of them all. 'So what's the evidence for this collision?' Spike Psarris asks. 'Well, only that if it didn't occur Mercury would disprove Evolution!' That's right. There is absolutely no evidence that such an impact ever occurred. The only reason we have to assume it did is that no other possible explanation can be found for how Mercury formed according to the Nebular Hypothesis and yet exists in its current state.

But this isn't the only problem Mercury presents for Evolution. When Mariner 10 visited the planet in the 1970s, it detected a magnetic field, much like Earth's (though far weaker). However, according to Evolution, Mercury can't have a magnetic field. Magnetic fields are very volatile things, with rather short lifespans. Indeed, our own magnetic field has weakened considerably since we started measuring it a few centuries ago. The only means that modern science has come up with to explain magnetic fields that last for billions of years (as opposed to thousands) is what is called the Dynamo Theory. Simply put, according to Dynamo, if a planet has a molten core, the combination of the liquid metal in the core and the planet's rotation can create a long-lasting magnetic field.

Mercury compared to the Earth

Now that's all well and good, but if Mercury is 4.5 billion years old, it's also impossible. As Dr. Taylor tells us, 'Mercury is so small that the general opinion is that planet should have frozen solid eons ago' (Destiny or Chance: Our Solar System and Its Place in the Cosmos pg.163). Mercury's iron core, according to Evolution, ought to be one big solid chunk of iron, not the fluid, molten core that Earth has. Without a molten core, Dynamo cannot work. And after 4.5 billion years, a pure iron core cannot remain molten. How does Evolution rescue itself this time? Well, there are ways to keep Mercury's core molten for so long. If it were an iron-sulfide core, it could indeed still be molten and allow Dynamo to work. But that's also a problem. Sulfur is too volatile an element. It is impossible, according to the Nebular Hypothesis, for a planet to form as close to the Sun as Mercury did and possess an iron-sulfide core. Even in seeking to rescue their theory from itself, they undermine it.

Mercury's iron core and extant magnetic field present absolutely no problems for Creationists, however. There are multiple methods of short-term magnetic field generation, such as remnant magnetism. These methods would not allow for a billions of years old magnetic field like Dynamo does, but in a universe that is only 6,000 to 10,000 years old? No problem at all for remnant magnetism. Indeed, a belief that Mercury was created several thousand years ago fits the data much better than a belief that Mercury slowly accreted from swirling material 4.5 billion years ago. Mercury thus brings to mind the words of I Corinthians 1:27, 'But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.' Those that think themselves wise enough to discern how the universe formed are utterly baffled by tiny Mercury. Instead, we can stand in awe of the Creator's majesty as it is expressed by this little world.

Join us the first weekend in October as we continue our exploration of the Solar System with a trip to Venus, often called 'Earth's Twin'!