We are imaginative creatures. Before science explained many aspects of our Earth and Moon, we had already come up with creative theories regarding both. As time passed, these imaginative theories evolved and incorporated as much science into them as they could. Many of these theories are easily disproven by modern science, which is not to say that these theories do not have any believers. Despite their ridiculousness, you will find a significant number of believers for each of the Earth-Moon theories listed below. Check them out.
1. Flood Geology
Flood Geology is based on the events described in Genesis 6-9 in which the Bible describes a great flood that covered the entire earth. Young Earth creationists consider this to be the stop-all end of any arguments and this is the perfect stand for them to take because it means that they do not have to look at the indisputable evidence of an ancient earth, including the science of geology, chemistry, molecular genetics, evolutionary biology, archaeology, paleontology, and physics.
The great flood they put so much stock into would not hold up under current scientific knowledge, which is indisputable. It cannot explain erosion where sedimentary rocks have layer upon layer of deposits. Geochronology alone puts the earth’s age at 4.5 billion years old and the strata laid down by layer has been aged since well before the great flood would have taken place.
Finally, Flood Geology loyalists point to fossils found on mountaintops that should not be there. However, the rock in which the fossils themselves are found is not consistent with the timing of the flood itself. The findings of the fossils that they say prove the flood actually do just the opposite.
2. Expanding Earth
There is a hypothesis that theorizes the mass of the earth is increasing due to new material forming on the ocean floor. The earth is getting bigger, they say, pushing the continents further apart. The idea of this theory is that the earth was once about half of its present size and over time the earth has expanded its diameter. It states the continents were initially joined as a supercontinent with no surrounding water.
When plate tectonics came along disproving the theory, it was then put forth that the extra material is being added to the plates, which does account for recent late movement called plate accretion. It is the accrual plates that are increasing in size. The balsic material of the ocean floor has been found in plates where it should not be. In the two methods this can happen, one show that these tectonic plates, when forced together will actually add to a coastline bringing alluvium, which contains many precious materials. However, scientific equipment shows that there has been no significant increase in the earth’s radius for over 620 million years. The question is, is the theory wrong, or is the equipment wrong?
This was an acceptable theory to explain the reason for the radial nature of continental drift, were it not for the fact that this theory does not explain where the extra material needed to expand the earth comes from.
3. Hollow Moon
While it makes for interesting fiction, or science fiction pseudoscientific hypothesis that the moon is hollow, there is no evidence to suggest it is even remotely possible, although it is an interesting theory and has served well the science fiction writers who use it. One author, David Icke was even taken seriously until he also suggested that reptilian aliens used it to take the place of world leaders.
There is a seismic apparatus on the moon that has measured and analyzed the moons crust and core. Scientific data place the moons core as a solid one, with values close to that of the Earth, relative to its size. The Moon’s crust would have to be incredibly dense if it were in fact hollow, to match the gravitational pull (determined by the mass).
4. Flat Earth
People assumed the earth was flat for a long time. Even after it was proven to be (mostly) round, many believed it was round like a disc and not round like a ball and that you could still sail off the edge. The belief, in one form or the other was held until as late as the 17th century in China and until the days of European transatlantic contact in what was then considered the New World. However, the spherical Earth idea was developed by the ancient Greeks and their popular astronomy theories starting with Pythagoras in the 6th century. The theory was listed as number two in a reputed British publication of top 20 commons errors in history.
The Bizarre part is that, to this day there is still a group that fights to change the publics view and maintains that if the earth was round like a ball instead of round like a disc, large bodies of water would have a slight curvature on the surface, which they do not. The movement, started in 1956 by Samuel Shenton began life as the International Flat Earth Research Society. And is a direct descendent of the Universal Zetetic Society. Even after the first Russian satellite orbited the earth, his response was, “Would sailing around the Isle of Wight prove that it were spherical?” The movement still lives on in the form of this website.
5. Global Cooling or Contracting Earth
This theory, called Geophysical Global Cooling was a large part of the Contracting Earth theory and stated simply that as the earth shrank, it released matter it no longer had room for in the form of molten lava from volcanoes. The Earth was compared to a cooling ball of iron or a steam boiler. Earthquakes were attributed to the superheated steam that would cause the rocks to melt and crumble.
It predicted that as the earth cooled and shrank, more and more of these events would take place and its creator, James Dwight Dana even knew where it would occur, having mapped out the most likely places and naming zones of which the Aeolian Islands near Italy are the center of.
The theory was disproved in the early 1900′s with the introduction of plate tectonics, the knowledge that temperature increased with depth and that some large features of the Earth are the product of extension rather than shortening.
6. Shock Dynamics
With all the theories involved in the creation and evolution of the world around us, few attempt to explain all the questions that scientists pose on continental movement. This new kid on the block, Shock Dynamics, is another attempt to mix creationism with evolution, but this one actually makes some sense.
The theory of Shock dynamics almost too neatly describes how all the features of our planet can be prescribed to two separate events 300 years apart. According to this theory, the first wave of an asteroid field fling through space hit the earth causing the great flood that Noah witnessed by collapsing the water canopy that then surrounded the earth. About 300 years later, larger asteroids in this shower hit the earth causing the craters that are found on only one side of the moon. On earth, a large asteroid impact divided our one landmass (a Pangea at the time) into the continents we love today. The theory proposes that the continental movement measured today is the reminiscent effect of this impact. The aftermaths of these catastrophic events are then described in a way that proves or disproves every theory pretty much known to man about how we find ourselves in our current condition.
7. Tectonic Strain Theory
In 1975, University professor and cognitive neuroscience researcher Michael Persinger came up with a theory to explain how geophysical phenomenon could correlate with UFO sightings all over the World. This theory, called the Tectonic Strain Theory (TST), is centered on the strains within the Earth’s crust that are near seismic faults. These faults, according to the theory produce such intense electromagnetic fields that it creates bright bodies of light, interpreted by some as UFOs. Persinger also argues that these electromagnetic fields can generate hallucinations, explaining the innumerous alien craft and strange luminous objects seen around the globe are all a product of a deceived mind.
Another researcher, by the name Paul Devereux proposes a similar model and even goes further by claiming that these bodies of light may possess intelligence of their own and even have the ability to read people’s minds.
While this theory seems a product of a lunatic mind at first, it has at least a few points and truths in it. UFO researchers that are critics of the TST admit that, while observations of diffuse lights during severe earthquakes (Earthquake lights) may give some support to this theory, they also argue that fault lines do not hold enough electromagnetic energy to support the claim. Nevertheless, some researchers feel that the theory may account for a small proportion of UFO reports.
8. Spaceship Moon Theory
Also known as the Vasin-Shcherbakov, the theory was debunked when we learned how to ascertain a planet or moons density but for a long time, many believed that the moon was put there by an alien race a long time ago for the purposes of monitoring us.
There were also some who believe we are the direct descendents of the moon, which is a craft or spaceship, cleverly disguised. A third theory and one that makes more sense has been brought forward recently. The earth used to be a rogue planet that acted more like an asteroid. It moved awkwardly through space. The only thing that stabilizes us is a give and take gravitational partnership with the moon. The new theory states that the moon was placed here to stabilize the earth so that life could be grown here.
9. Hollow Earth
There was a hypothesis on the table as recently as the late 18th century that the earth could be hollow or at least have a substantial amount of space deep within. However, Sir Isaac Newton, born on Christmas day 1642, knew better and had already disproved the idea with his theory of gravity (along with the three laws of motion) which he describes in what many consider the most important book the scientific community has ever embraced, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. Translated from Latin, the book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy pretty much proved beyond all doubt that Sir Newton was one of the smartest persons on the planet at the time.The gravity of the Earth, which is strong enough to hold a moon in orbit, could never correspond to a Hollow Planet. This is because there is no way to create hydrostatic equilibrium, which is basically the balance between atmospheric pressure and gravity, without it the Hollow Earth would certainly implode.
The Soviet Kola super deep Borehole project has drilled the deepest hole on the planet extending 12.3 km or 7.6 miles deep and the samples extracted are evidence enough to tell us that this theory is just that, a theory.
10. Moon Conspiracy Theory
The conspiracy theory that the United States faked the moon landings just to beat the Russians to the moon has been around as long as the day of the actually landing. Naysayers have screamed it from the rooftops. They claim that the moon landings could have been created on a Hollywood sound stage. There was a Fox special that actually provided evidence that the moon landing never took place.
It is, of course, easy enough to convince the general, starry-eyed public of almost anything. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on which side of the argument you are on, it is much harder to fool a scientist. The moon rocks that were recovered from the sky lighting hitchhiker were loaned to scientists from all over the world and every single one of them, submitting thousands of reports; agree that the rocks could only have come from the moon.
The funniest part about the whole conspiracy idea is in the technology. It seems that while we did possess the technology to travel through space, land on the moon, and come back with moon rocks existed back then but the technology to fake such a landing did not, and still does not exist. It seems that Hollywood still has not figured out how to fake a moon rock.
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