Posted by
ValiantForTruth on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 1:05:12 AM
An Introduction to Halton Arp the Astronomer
- Quasars, Redshifts and Controversies 1987
- Seeing Red: Redshifts, Cosmology and Academic Science 1999
In these two books, Halton Arp elaborates his contention that since 1966, observations have been accumulating which contradict the generally accepted big bang cosmology. The key issue is the interpretation of redshift, the fractional increase in the wavelengths of lines in an astronomical spectrum when compared with laboratory wavelengths. Arp puts together a substantial body of observations to produce a very different picture of the universe from that envisaged in big bang cosmology. Since the big bang is the current astronomical orthodoxy, it is no surprise that Arp and others with similar views have encountered unrelenting, often unreasonable, opposition in publishing their findings.
Arp is certainly no creationist, but we have no problem associating him with the great scientists and astronomers like Galileo and Kepler. His books illustrate how a scientific establishment, wedded to a particular paradigm, reacts to an unorthodox interpretation. A sympathetic reviewer of Arp’s work describes the politics of science as greater than the science:
"...the important factors for a successful career are your sponsors (where and with whom did you get your PhD); field of research (popular or unpopular); and diplomatic skills (always speak quietly with great conviction, and, when in doubt, agree with the wisest person present, who by definition must come from one of the very few recognized institutions). Look upon new ideas with great disapproval and never discover a phenomenon for which no explanation exists, and certainly not one for which an explanation within the framework of known physics does not appear to be possible."
Arp played this game for 29 years at the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories. He compiled the marvelous Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, and was once rated among the top 20 astronomers. But he kept finding anomalies, apparently-associated celestial objects with different redshifts. More and more he began to believe and assert that some redshifts are not cosmological; that is, a measure of recessional velocity and distance per Hubble’s Law. Soon, his rating dropped from the "upper 20" to "under 200". The final (and disgraceful) blow came in the mid 80s, when he received an unsigned letter stating that his work was without value and that he could have no more telescope time! Arp now lives and continues his work in West Germany. [Burbidge, Geoffrey; "Quasars, Redshifts, and Controversies," Sky and Telescope, 75:38, 1988.]
What shall we say of a community of scientists that must run-off one of its own in order to guard against preceived threats to the accepted orthodoxy? Arp’s observations are data and just like the fossils, the data is independent of observer bias. Depending on the world-view of the interpreter, the data can speak truth or be made to lie. We will review the data and begin to associate it with the white hole cosmologies. We recognize that any scientific description of origins is at best incomplete. It is wise to recall God’s salutary words to Job...
‘Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? … Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?’ [Job 38:2-4]
Autonomous science is arrogantly pursuing a path of dogmatic assertions contrary to the biblical framework while its collective head is buried in the sand.