Creation Spotlight
The Earth - God's Goldilocks Planet
We
have all heard the story of Goldilocks and the three Bears. About how
Goldilocks went into the Bears' house and looked for
things that were neither too hot or too cold nor too
hard or too soft. When God created our Solar System He
created it to be perfectly balanced, not too much or
too little in its ability to support life on Earth.
There are seven major features in our Solar System and Earth that are
so important and precisely designed that if even one
of these features were significantly different than
God designed them to be, life on Earth would be impossible.
- The Sun's energy output is consistent - among many stars there is
significant fluctuations in how much
energy they produce.
- The Sun is singular - a great many stars are binary. That is a
situation where two stars orbit around
each other creating a situation in which
there is a massive variation in energy
output and gravitational force.
- The Earth's orbit - although the Earth's orbit is technically an
ellipse, oval shaped, it is so close to a
true circle that there is no significant
difference in the amount of energy received from the Sun throughout the
year.
- The Earth's distance from the Sun - if the Earth were even a fraction
of its orbit closer to or farther away
from the Sun than it is, the temperature
would be outside of that which is tolerable for life. Venus, the second
planet from the Sun, has a surface
temperature of 900 degrees, Mars, the fourth
planet from the Sun, has a surface
temperature that is generally between 100 to
200 degrees below zero.
- The size of the Earth - the Earth has exactly the right amount of mass
and gravity to hold a gaseous atmosphere.
If the Earth were as small as Mars it
would lose its atmosphere. If it were as large as Jupiter. its
atmosphere would be too dense to be
usable for life. Venus, the only other planet
that is the same size as the Earth, is
the only other planet with a similar type
of gaseous atmosphere, although its atmosphere is poisonous.
- The amount of water on Earth - 70% of the Earth's surface is covered
with water. If the Earth were mostly land
there would be extreme temperature
fluctuations between day and night as
well as between the seasons.
- The Moon - the Moon has two separate but vitally important functions.
Its gravity is the primary reason for the
tides of the oceans, God's provision for
keeping the oceans clean. The orbit of the Moon around the Earth
also has a gyroscopic effect on the
Earth, keeping the Earth's rotation from wobbling.
The Earth, God's Goldilocks planet, is another example of the revelation of God's design and in His Creation, as well as showing His provision those He created.
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."
Psalm 24:1
