Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from ...

196 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Ironically, this catastrophic view of planetary dynamics is more
biblical than classically scientific. For many years, scientists
avoided using catastrophes to explain events, since they were hard
to reproduce, difficult to analyze statistically, and smacked of biblical
events. In the end, though, science learned that catastrophes
do happen, which is its strength. When presented with evidence
contrary to the theory, science learns and grows.
All 63 moons in the solar system should orbit their planets in the
same sense, but at least six have backward orbits. Furthermore,
Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune have moons orbiting in both directions.
This one is really easy to explain. Some of the moons of the
planets formed at the same time as the planets and orbit their parent
bodies in the “correct” sense, that is, in the same direction that
the planet spins and orbits the Sun. However, it’s possible, although
generally not easy, for a planet to capture moon-sized objects. If
the conditions are just right, it’s not only possible but rather common
that such a captured moon would orbit the planet in the
opposite direction. Jupiter and Saturn both have moons that orbit
backwards, or retrograde. All of these moons orbit at large distances
from their planet, as is expected in a capture event as well.
Again, using this as a creationist argument is disingenuous on
their part. Retrograde moons have been known about and explained
for many decades.
The sun turns the slowest, the planets the next slowest, and the
moons the fastest. But according to evolutionary theories, the
opposite should be true. The sun should have 700 times more
angular momentum than all the planets combined. Instead, the
planets have 50 times more angular momentum than the sun.
The sun has 99.9% of the total mass of the solar system, but
99% of the total angular momentum is concentrated in the larger
planets.
According to the cloud-collapse theory, the Sun should indeed
be spinning faster than any solar-system body. When a figure skater
draws in her arms during a spin, she spins faster and faster. The