Starlight, Time and the New Physics



by John Hartnett

Published 2007

Creation Book Publishers

231 pages.

ISBN 9780949906687

In Starlight, Time and the New Physics Dr. Hartnett expands on Dr. Humphrey's work in Starlight and Time by using concepts from the theory of Cosmological relativity to derive a young earth cosmology. Like Humphrey's work it offers an explanation for seeing the light from distant stars in a young universe but does so in a manner that more readily fits our observations of the universe. The author compares his hypothesis to previous creationist explanations for seeing starlight that should have required millions of years to reach the earth including Humphrey's.

Dr. Hartnett also shows how Cosmological relativity explains the large scale structure of the universe without resorting to Dark matter and Dark energy.

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Review
This is an excellent book that can be understood by laymen while it also contains technical material for the scientifically minded. It truly represents a solution to distant starlight problem.

By applying Cosmological relativity to a bounded universe Dr.John Hartnett has developed a young Earth creation cosmology that readily fits and explains the large scale structure of the universe without resorting to either dark matter or dark energy. This actually places his Creation cosmology in better position than the Big bang which needs constant modifications to explain what Hartnett's cosmology explains naturally.

Review
The most vexing problem in creationist cosmology has always been the starlight-and-time problem, i.e. how could Adam, on the sixth day of creation, have possibly seen the stars in all their glory when they are four and a half billion light-years distant? Uniformitarian astronomers have habitually challenged creationists with this question, in the belief that no creationist could possibly answer it honestly.

However, the uniformitarians have a problem as well: the observed motions of the galaxies and their superclusters are not in accord with the total observed mass of the universe or of any galaxy within it. In some cases, gravitational forces imply far more mass than astronomers observe. In others, the light from galaxies and other large objects is redshifted far more severely than it ought to be and in a manner that bespeaks not only outward motion, but also acceleration. Unable to account for the observed gravitational forces or the acceleration, astronomers invent concepts like dark matter and dark energy to account for them, and even embark on vast and expensive projects to detect this dark matter.

John Hartnett explains that with a better, creation-oriented understanding of physics, neither dark matter nor dark energy is necessary to explain what we observe. Thus he not only solves the starlight-and-time problem but also vitiates old-universe cosmologies in the best way possible: by offering a simpler explanation that fits all the facts.

Hartnett begins by explaining the starlight-and-time problem in detail and in clear and forthright language. He offers five possible ways to reconcile the clear text of with current observation, and shows why only one of these five (namely, clocks ran slower on earth, especially during Creation Week, than in the rest of the cosmos) is satisfactory. He then reminds his readers of the problems that the uniformitarian/evolutionistic astronomers have, but don't like to admit: the apparent deficit in the observed total mass and energy in the universe.

Nor is this the first time that astronomers have invented a type of "dark matter" to explain an awkward observation. His history of the once-hypothesized planet Vulcan is particularly instructive, as much for historical perspective as for preparing the reader to accept a new physical paradigm that will resolve the paradoxes that have vexed astronomers for decades.

He then demonstrates the following propositions in order:


 * 1) Cosmological relativity, both special and general.
 * 2) Galactocentricity
 * 3) The continued expansion of space, consistent with God's description of the firmament of heaven on Day 2 of creation
 * 4) And finally, the massive time dilation that would allow distant starlight to reach the earth during Creation Week without having to slow itself down and create even worse problems.

The secret to the new cosmology is the treatment of the cosmos as having five dimensions instead of the usual four, with speed being the fifth dimension in addition to length, width, depth, and time.

After setting this new cosmology forth in layman's terms, he recapitulates it in a series of "appendices" that actually occupy half the work. These appendices give the detailed mathematical treatment of the concepts involved. Some working familiarity with cosmological mathematics (and of course a familiarity with differential and integral calculus) would be required for a complete synthesis of Hartnett's material.

Hartnett's work is not completely flawless. Some of his mathematical terminology is incorrect; for example he uses superscripts to designate different physical dimensions although superscripts normally represent exponents. This might make some of his equations hard to read. Furthermore, his treatment of the Vulcan controversy would have read better with a condensed version of Albert Einstein's solution; without this, the reader must simply accept Hartnett's word on the matter. (Einstein's solution is well-attested elsewhere, but a more detailed attestation in the present work would make it more complete.)

Nevertheless, this work represents a milestone in our understanding of the universe that ranks with Nicolaus Copernicus' heliocentricity and Einstein's general relativity in its importance. It is one of the most powerful pieces of young universe evidence adduced so far and also reminds us that Occam's razor will always be a powerful ally.