Claim CE302:
The sun has 99 percent of the mass of the solar system, but less than 1
percent of the angular momentum. It is spinning too slowly to have formed
naturally.
Source:
Brown, Walt, 1995. In the Beginning: Compelling evidence for creation
and the Flood. Phoenix, AZ: Center for Scientific Creation, p. 19.
Response:
- Among solar-type stars, there is a strong correlation between age and
rotation rate; the younger stars spin more rapidly (Baliunas et
al. 1995). This implies some kind of braking mechanism that slows a
star's rotation. A likely candidate is an interaction between the
star's magnetic field and its solar wind (Parker 1965).
References:
- Baliunas, S. L. et al., 1995. Chromospheric variations in
main-sequence stars. Astrophysical Journal 438: 269-287.
- Parker, E. N., 1965. Dynamical theory of the solar wind. Space
Science Reviews 4: 666-708.
created 2004-3-25
