a . “There is much doubt, however, that galaxies evolve from one type to another at all.” George Abell, Exploration of the Universe, 2nd edition (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1969), p. 629.
u “Our conclusions, then, are that the sequence of the classification of galaxies is not an evolutionary sequence ...” Paul W. Hodge, The Physics and Astronomy of Galaxies and Cosmology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966), p. 122.
b . “The problem of explaining the existence of galaxies has proved to be one of the thorniest in cosmology. By all rights, they just shouldn’t be there, yet there they sit. It’s hard to convey the depth of frustration that this simple fact induces among scientists.” Trefil, p. 55.
Trefil explains the basis for this frustration in his fourth chapter, titled, “Five Reasons Why Galaxies Can’t Exist.”
u “We cannot even show convincingly how galaxies, stars, planets, and life arose in the present universe.” Michael Rowan-Robinson, “Review of the Accidental Universe,” New Scientist, Vol. 97, 20 January 1983, p. 186.
u “A completely satisfactory theory of galaxy formation remains to be formulated.” Silk, The Big Bang, p. 22.
u “The theory of the formation of galaxies is one of the great outstanding problems of astrophysics, a problem that today seems far from solution.” Weinberg, p. 68.
u Fifty cosmologists attended a conference on galaxy formation. After summarizing much observational data, two of the most respected authorities optimistically estimated the probability that any existing theory on galaxy formation is correct is about 1 out of 100. [See P. J. E. Peebles and Joseph Silk, “A Cosmic Book,” Nature, Vol. 335, 13 October 1988, pp. 601–606.]
c . Hodge, p. 123.
d . Harold S. Slusher, “Clues Regarding the Age of the Universe,” ICR Impact, No. 19, January 1975, pp. 2–3.
u Steidl, pp. 161–187.
e . “In its simplest form, the Big Bang scenario doesn’t look like a good way to make galaxies. It allows too little time for the force of gravity by itself to gather ordinary matter—neutrons, protons and electrons—into the patterns of galaxies seen today. Yet the theory survives for want of a better idea.” Peterson, “Seeding the Universe,” p. 184.
u “It [the Great Wall, composed of tens of thousands of galaxies] is far too large and too massive to have formed by the mutual gravitational attraction of its member galaxies.” M. Mitchell Waldrop, “Astronomers Go Up Against the Great Wall,” Science, Vol. 246, 17 November 1989, p. 885. [See also Margaret J. Geller and John P. Huchra, “Mapping the Universe,” Science, Vol. 246, 17 November 1989, pp. 897–903.]