In the universe, all matter that matters consists of elemental atoms. We can "see" most elements, but not their atoms. All elements are different from one another as are their atoms. The intrinsic energy of each element decays as it ages, some of which is stored as potential energy by converting to additional mass within the existing element and the rest to entropy that heats the elemental mass. The same elements that form a celestial body grow and heat in situ. Growing matter expands volumes and orbits. The "mechanism" for growing matter is the identical mechanism found in Einstein's energy conversion equation E = mc^2 except on a micro scale.
The Ionization Potentials (IP) of NBS-34 provides the data for finding a rate of energy decay that determines when elements can potentially join other elements and when they are growing and when they are heating. A heating period is the anomaly where a small incremental jump between the IPs of an element suddenly becomes a large jump. Establishing a rate of decay for the earth, the sun, and the moon enables finding the time when accelerating expansion began on each.
The sun is currently growing three times faster than the Earth. When accelerating expansion started on Earth around 200 MYA, the sun was minimally growing between 203 and 112 million years ago. This unforeseen 91 million year minimal growing period indicates punctuated expansion amongst the stars.
The ability to detect elements at a distance diminishes with distance. One can detect what is in the sunlight of a star from breaking down its spectrum; however, we are not able to normally see light reflecting off a planet's atmosphere.
Growing Matter at different times on different celestial bodies presents a challenging problem for those trying to sort out how the universe works.
