He characterizes the aether as being made up of Planck size (1.616 X 10 to the negative 35 meters) particles.  This is the shortest length theorized in physics and thus the state in which matter becomes indivisible.  Nevertheless, it is not and could not technically and or theologically be considered to be infinitely small since the aether is matter and hence by definition to be of a finite nature.

That's not my point.  To basically say that this Planck-ether = "the firmament" is a stretch (prescinding from whether or not it's real).  Firmament described in Sacred Scripture is a solid barrier that prevents water from coming down onto the earth.

Can the earth still rotate on an axis in the stationary center model?

Be careful about ether. Some definitions are getting close to 'dark matter.' for me ether is electromagnetism. And God said: Be light made. And light was made. And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness. And he called the light Day and the darkness Night; and there was evening and morning one day. 

Evidence for this arose when Domenico Cassini measured orbits as Cassinian Ovals. Further evidence showed such orbits are contained in two positive electromagnetic effects. Stellar aberration shows the orbits of sun, planets must also be the orbits of stars, a universe of magnetic effects.

  
This link can be demonstrated by spreading iron-filings over a 2 positive-pole magnetised surface Right illustration) . This will form directional charge patterns that constitute a whole series of Cassinian ovals. As we can see below, most ovals are present.

The action on magnetic poles lying in the plane of the plate is

represented by the system of ovals of Cassini (as lines of magnetic force)
and the system of rectangular hyperbolas (as lines of equal potential).


Oval Orbits about Two Atomic Nuclei at the Foci of a Cassinian System
It was later found that Cassini's ovals are related to pie

Throughout time, natural philosophers, astronomers, theologians etc., have searched for the physical secrets in nature. One such find is the well-known mathematical relationship called Phi (the place on any length where the smaller section is to the bigger section as the bigger section is to the whole).

‘The eminent biologist Llya Prigogine once stated that all natural movement arises out of a state of imbalance, of non-equilibrium. Non-equilibrium is a pre-requisite for movement in all its forms, and a state of equilibrium is therefore impossible in Nature….The actual proportion of five male spirals to eight female spirals or 5:8 forms part of the so-called Fibonacci series that progressively and with increasing accuracy, mathematically defines the proportion of the ‘Golden Section,’ also known as Phi or , which becomes almost constant in the ratio of 1:1.618033988. Together with Pi (), the ‘transcendental number’ describing the circuмference of the circle, this is one of the so-called ‘Perfect’ or ‘Divine Proportions.’


Around 1200, a mathematician from Pisa named Leonardo Bonacci [1170-1250] discovered a sequence of numbers that created a fascinating pattern. The sequence begins with the number 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 and continues indefinitely by adding the previous two numbers to get the next number. A rectangle of the length and width of any two of these numbers forms what is known as the golden rectangle. These can be broken down into squares based on this sequence, we begin to see Fibonacci’s spiral. Phi is now known to be frequently evident or expressed in many natural things. For example, by varying the angle between the adjacent radii (their relative lengths conforming to the Phi proportion) a number of natural spirals are produced such as found in spiral galaxies, the human ear, snails, shellfish, leaf-shapes, flower petals, daisies, cauliflowers, broccoli, sunflowers, pineapple fruitlets, pine cones, curved waves, buds on trees, starfish etc. The measurement from the navel to the floor and the top of the head to the navel is the golden ratio. Animal bodies exhibit similar tendencies, including dolphins (the eye, fins and tail all fall at Golden Sections), starfish, sand dollars, sea urchins, ants, and honey bees etc. 



  Phi as found in leaves                      Phi as found in snails and shellfish

Phi as found in orbits of sun, planets and stars.

That's not my point.  To basically say that this Planck-ether = "the firmament" is a stretch (prescinding from whether or not it's real).  Firmament described in Sacred Scripture is a solid barrier that prevents water from coming down onto the earth.

By analogy a sponge held up in your hand can hold back a lot of water before it becomes too saturated to hold any more.  If all those H2O molecules could speak they might well say that the sponge was too solid for them to fall from -- at least until the sponge got more saturated and even then all of them could not fall.

You may not agree with the science on this, but there appears to be a fairly solid consensus in the world of mainstream science that the cosmos in all likelihood is fairly saturated with pockets of water in one form or another.

By analogy a sponge held up in your hand can hold back a lot of water before it becomes too saturated to hold any more.  If all those H2O molecules could speak they might well say that the sponge was too solid for them to fall from -- at least until the sponge got more saturated and even then all of them could not fall.

You may not agree with the science on this, but there appears to be a fairly solid consensus in the world of mainstream science that the cosmos in all likelihood is fairly saturated with pockets of water in one form or another.

But this ubiquitous infinitely dense matter does not prevent water's flowing from one place to another, i.e. it cannot serve as some kind of barrier.

But this ubiquitous infinitely dense matter does not prevent water's flowing from one place to another, i.e. it cannot serve as some kind of barrier.

The physics is somewhat complicated, definitely above my pay grade, but the theory would hold that the ether is an integral part of the "equation" in holding back the water  which is found throughout the ether from inundating the Earth in no less an effective way than it along with other forces of nature keep the universe going around the Earth.