Gravitational Impossibility
The Galaxy Rotation Problem
Our knowledge of gravity in space derives from Newton’s “law of gravity” and his laws of motion: We observe that:
– The inner planets (like Mercury) feel a strong gravitational from the Sun which constitutes 99% of the mass of the whole solar system. So they whip around the Sun quickly to avoid being pulled in.
– The outer planets (like Neptune) feel a much weaker gravitational pull and orbit much more slowly.
This is referred to as Keplerian motion. If you were to graph the orbital speed of objects versus their distance from the center, you’d get a curve that drops sharply.
So we expect the same kind of motion for a galaxy. Stars and gas clouds close to the dense galactic center should move fast, and those in the sparse outer arms should move much more slowly. But they don’t.
In the 1970s, astronomers Vera Rubin and Kent Ford did detailed studies of the rotation speeds of spiral galaxies (like Andromeda). They measured the speed of stars and gas on one side of the galaxy (moving towards us) and the other side (moving away from us) using the Doppler effect. What they found was completely unexpected:
– Instead of dropping off, the orbital speeds of stars and gas in the outer regions of galaxies remained flat.
– In many cases, the outer stars were moving just as fast, or even faster, than the inner stars.
If gravity is the only force in play then this makes no sense under the laws of gravity. Those fast-moving outer stars should have been flung out into intergalactic space long ago. There is not enough visible mass to produce the gravity needed to hold onto them.
This is where the bizarre idea of “dark matter” emerged. The proposed idea: something you cannot see (dark matter) is providing the necessary force. We should note here that the “something you cannot detect” idea allows for many possible solutions. For example angels (something you cannot see”) are riding on the back of suns and steering them. God has placed invisible black holes (something else you cannot see) in specific locations to reins those pesky solar systems in.
In other words, fabricate anything to explain the problem, rather than pursue a scientific approach.
What is completely missing from any consideration is, as you might expect, any reference to electromagnetic forces which are vastly vastly more powerful than the force of gravity and are in abundant supply throughout the universe. All the data confirms that.
C’est la vie.