The Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism (2018)

been delayed by several hundred million years by the migration being initially very slow. Simulations of the Nice migration show that Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune can migrate very slowly for some period of time, then as Neptune begins to penetrate into the outer disk of planetesimals the migration of Uranus and Neptune accelerates. In the Nice model as first proposed, the position of the inner and outer edges of this disk of solid objects affects the timing of when Saturn crosses the 2:1 resonance with Jupiter. So, if the inner edge of the planetesimal disk is farther from the Sun, the Saturn crossing of the 2:1 resonance would happen later (Gomes, et. al. 2005, p. 467). Once Saturn passes the 2:1 resonance, other resonances between Saturn and Uranus and Saturn and Neptune occur that alters their orbits and accelerate the outward migration. The resonances under migration cause an increase in the eccentricity of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The effect is to make resonances move across the outer solar system, causing the orbits of many planetesimals to destabilize and scatter in various directions. Computer simulations have been done that demonstrate these processes. These scattered planetesimals would cause many impacts in the outer solar system and some in the inner solar system. The planetesimals from the outer region could interact with objects in what is now the asteroid belt, so that asteroids interior to Jupiter’s orbit could also cause impacts. 3. Recent Extensions of the Models A number of variations on the Nice model have been attempted since it was originally published. The rate and timing of the outer planet migration has been the focus of much study. A number of possible initial conditions for the outer planets at the start of the Nice model have been examined in simulations. A consensus seems to be emerging that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were all in some combination of a chain of resonances at the time of the dissipation of the gas in the solar disk (Batygin and Brown 2010 p. 1331). Each of the outer planets would have resonances with their nearest neighbors. This multi-resonant migration has been referred to as the Nice II model (Levison, et. al. 2011 p. 153). The outer planet resonances and the initial outer planet positions have a significant effect on the timing of their migration. Some researchers have expressed doubts about the planetesimal scattering of the Nice model causing the Late Heavy Bombardment. The doubts have been raised because the migration of the outer planets could have ended before the time of the LHB. It has also been discovered that the resonances between the outer planets can have an effect of increasing the eccentricities of the inner planets and the asteroids. Another variation on the Nice model by some researchers is to include more than four outer planets, some of which were lost. The most common scenario examined has been to consider there being one additional outer planet similar to Uranus or Neptune in size that existed beyond Saturn. This “fifth” gas giant (similar to Uranus or Neptune) would interact with Saturn and then Jupiter so that Jupiter eventually ejects it out of the solar system (Nesvorny, 2011). The fifth gas giant would then become a rogue planet. The advantage of this additional outer planet is to cause Jupiter and Saturn to separate in a short time. This has been called the “Jumping Jupiter” scenario. Because the orbit changes undergone by this fifth planet would take it inside the orbit of Jupiter it could affect the inner solar system and interact chaotically with Jupiter and Saturn. TheGrandTackandNicemodels areconsidered tobeverysuccessful in explaining a number of important aspects of our solar system. The incorporation of planet orbit migration has revolutionized theories on the origin of our solar system. Though variations on these two models are still being explored, there is wide agreement among planetary scientists that these models are successful in their main aspects. Following are some of the characteristics of our solar system that are understood as successfully explained in these new models. • Orbital distances to the four outer planets as well as their masses • The low mass of Mars • The origin of the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter (and the other planets) • The composition distribution of the main asteroid belt • The cause of the Late Heavy Bombardment • The distribution of objects in the trans-Neptunian region • The current low total mass of the asteroid belt and the trans- Neptune belt • Orbits of the moons of Saturn • The resonance relationship of Pluto with Neptune DISCUSSION 1. Biblical Considerations The new Grand Tack and Nice models for the origin of our solar system are clearly in conflict with Scripture. First, the possibility of our solar system being intelligently designed is not considered. The goal seems to be to treat the origin of our solar system in the same manner as the origin of extrasolar planetary systems. But Isaiah 45:18 is clear that God created the Earth with the expressed purpose that it be inhabited. Isaiah 45:18 (NIV) states, “For this is what the LORD says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited . . . .” Secondly, both the Genesis creation account and Exodus 20:11 place the formation of all things within the six days of God’s creative activity. Both the Old and New Testaments reinforce the historicity of Genesis and rule out Earth being millions or billions of years old. The author would take the age of the Earth as in the range of 6,000 to 8,000 years. In this framework, there would not be time for the Grand Tack model or the Nice model to take place, even assuming the validity of it as a physical process. In addition, the Genesis creation account ends with the statement, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array (Genesis 2:1, NIV).” These passages seem to argue against there being a long period in which the Earth was uninhabitable. The creation account only has Earth uninhabited by humans for five days as the environment is being prepared by God. Then Genesis 2:1 indicates that not only was the Earth completed by the end of the creation week, but all of the physical creation was completed. Biblically, Earth was formed and prepared for habitation by supernatural processes in the creation week. The Bible does not describe the formation of solar system objects other than the Sun and Moon. However, it is reasonable to assume that they would have been formed on the fourth day of the creation week as was the Moon (Spencer 2014a). Therefore, we can say the Bible implies the formation of our solar system was extremely rapid and unlike all naturalistic theories, Earth formed Spencer ◀ Origin of our solar system with planet migration ▶ 2018 ICC 77