The Isaiahic Catastrophe was the last of a long series of at least seven major astronomical holocausts spanning some 18 centuries. This last one occurred on the night of March 20/21, 7O1 B.C. (in the evening, Palestine time). Along with this fly-by of Mars, a falling of meteors and bolides occurred. Mars may have passed as close as 70,000 miles. It was inside Earth's orbit as it lapped the Earth (an inside fly-by). And also it was slightly north of the Earth's ecliptic or orbital plane. With this interaction, Mars broke out of its orbital resonance with Earth's orbit, and proceeded toward its current non-resonant condition.
This chapter shall consider in as basic terms as possible just what happened on the astronomical scene. It will lay a basis for Chapter III, where we discussed the responses and reportings of ancients who lived during this catastrophe. If we can understand what happened on the astronomical scene, then we can understand why ancients worshipped planets, feared catastrophic episodes, and sighted the astronomical marauder. This chapter, then, shall consider the astronomical scene in that catastrophic year, 701 B.C. A model of this catastrophe is presented. 1
WHEN THE PLANET MARS made a near fly-by of Earth (as happened on several occasions), five kinds of changes happened to Earth, other than the associated showers of meteors and bolides. These five kinds of changes also happened, to Mars. They were:
Figure 2 in this chapter illustrates the orbit which a planet (or an asteroid) could have, and we believe Mars did have. There are three important features of this proposed orbit. First, the Martian orbit had two intersection locations with Earth's orbit, once as it crossed Earth's orbit coming in and once as it crossed going out. According to this geometry, if and when the two planets nearly met, it would have to be at one or the other of the two intersecting locations.
The geometry of this catastrophe will be repeated in Figures 26 and 34, the Exodus and the Sodom-Gomorrah holocausts both of which also occurred on or about March 20/21.
The second important feature of this proposed orbit is that the number of days in the Martian orbit averaged exactly twice as many days as Earth's orbit; that is, it revolved in 720 days to 360 for the Earth, a 2:1 ratio. These two orbits were in a TIMING RESONANCE, just as light rays, ocean waves or sound waves may also be in resonance under certain conditions.
The third feature of the ancient Martian orbit is its unusual approach and retreat from the Sun, its somewhat comet-like orbit. The current Martian orbit has a “perihelion” (closest distance to the Sun) of 128,400,000 miles, and an “aphelion” (farthest distance from the Sun) of 154,900,000 miles. The ancient Martian orbit we propose had a perihelion of just 81,900,000 miles and an aphelion of 210,700,000 miles. Thus the ancient orbit of Mars was shaped differently than its orbit today, more like the orbits of some of the comets. This different shape is illustrated in Figure 3, and it is described in Table III.
The shape of Mars’ new orbit differed drastically, but the amount of space swept out by the new orbit varied only slightly (slightly less)from the space swept out by the old orbit.
| Orbit Characteristic | Ancient Orbit | Current Orbit |
| Perihelion | 81,900,000 miles | 128,400,000 miles |
| Aphelion | 210,700,000 miles | 154,900,000 miles |
| Eccentricity | .44 | .093 |
| Orbital Period (Current Earth Years) | 1.98 | 1.88 |
| Angle of Orbit's Intersection with Earth's Orbit | 101° | No Intersection |
In the Earth's current orbit, its average speed is about 1,600,000 miles per day. However, when it passes perihelion in early January, its speed is a little faster, about 1,625,000 miles per day. Its speed is correspondingly slower near aphelion. (This same principle is observed in all comets which move more rapidly through perihelion and less rapidly through aphelion). In Mars' ancient orbit, its daily speed was about 1,875,000 miles when it crossed Earth's orbit. That is, Mars' speed was about 270,000 miles per day faster than the Earth's when in the vicinity of the catastrophic intersections.
Therefore, Mars would be approaching the Earth at a rate of about 540,000 miles per day (taking into account Earth's and Mars' vector velocities). Perhaps this is why so many ancients were called stargazers, and the prophet Isaiah was described as a “watchman in the night” (Isaiah 21:11). Other concerned planet-watchers were described as “astrologers, stargazers, monthly prognosticators” (Isaiah 47:13), augers, diviners, seers and so forth.
An analogy of the former Earth-Mars orbits is the example of two toy cars with intersecting tracks. The toy car labeled Earth travels on a near-circular, flat track. The toy car labeled Mars travels on an oblong track that is inclined. As it goes uphill, away from the crossing of the tracks it loses speed, and the Earth car laps it, going much faster. When the toy car Mars starts coming down the track, it gains rapidly in speed, passing the Earth after the first track crossing, but before the second track crossing.
The size of the Mars track is such that the Earth car makes approximately two laps to one for the Mars car. Obviously this is a dangerous situation, one that would excite a little boy.
In our model of Mars with an ancient orbit in 2:1 resonance with Earth's orbit, Mars sped past the Earth once every two years. Mars at this occasion was closer to the Sun than was the Earth. It passed the Earth when the two planets were in a line-up with the Sun. Such a line-up is termed a “conjunction.” When Mars is in the middle, it is termed an “inferior conjunction,” that is, when the Earth is on the outside of the line-up. In this position, Mars could (and perhaps occasionally did) cause an eclipse of the Earth just as the Moon sometimes does today.
Mars sped rapidly around its perihelion. In passing beyond the two catastrophic locations, and in approaching aphelion, it began to slow down, ultimately to the relatively slow pace of 795,000 miles per day. Earth sped by Mars, and in a two-year period Earth twice would lap Mars. These line-ups were termed “superior conjunctions” since the Earth was in the middle. Thus there were three conjunctions per two year period. One conjunction, the inferior, was the threatening condition, while the other two conjunctions, the superior ones, were serene, as Mars was well out beyond Earth's orbit.
Understanding that there were three conjunctions per two year period will make it easier to understand the behavior of this orbital system. In addition, for clarification, we will make analogies to the principles of merry-go-rounds, pendulums and teeter-totters. These analogies will be applied to the proposed Earth-Mars resonance orbits, examples of which can be found currently among the resonant asteroids.
Our first illustration is that of a merry-go-round. The Sun, in a sense, is like a merry-go-round on a 25-day cycle period, which is the period of the Sun's rotation. Sunspots pass the Earth every 25 to 27 days when the Sun is in a period of sunspot activity, just as a child on a merry-go-round would periodically pass his watching parents.
The Earth is another example of a merry-go-round; it has a 24-hour rotational cycle. It is from this merry-go-round vantage point that the ancients observed Mars; however, Mars was moving around, whereas the objects (their parents) which children on a merry-go-round watch are usually standing still. It is from this merry-go-round vantage point that the ancients studied the planets and the stars. The fixed stars in the sky were the immovable background; the planets were the celestial wanderers, the wandering luminaries. Their wanderings or movements concerned the ancients intensely.
The ancients not only laid out the Earth's horizon in four divisions (north, south, east and west); they also laid out the immovable stars into divisions numbering twelve, and the source of the number twelve was probably the number of lunar revolutions (months) per year. This twelve-divided celestial region was called the zodiac and the 12 zones of the zodiac were calculated, discussed, sometimes personified. The predicted movements of Mercury-Hermes, Venus-Aphrodite, Jupiter-Zeus and especially Mars-Ares were noted, and carefully studied.
Asteroids are scattered between Mars and Jupiter, much as the icy particles comprising Saturn's rings are scattered between Saturn and its innermost moon, Mimas. In the case of Saturn's rings, the inner satellites will “sweep out” a region at a distance from the planet corresponding to a simple fraction of the satellite's period, the time it takes to make one revolution around the planet. For example, the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings is the major open space, and it is at a distance corresponding to half the period of Mimas, simultaneously a third of the period of Enceladus, and a quarter of the period of Tethys. 5
In the asteroid region too, there are clusters or clumps of asteroids, and empty areas, called “gaps.” The gaps are in simple fractional relationships to the period of Jupiter. Taken collectively, the gaps are termed the Kirkwood Gaps. The clusters and gaps caused by Jupiter are not visually apparent as in the case of Saturn's rings because of the small number of asteroids with calculated orbits, and the considerable variation in eccentricity and tilt of the asteroidal orbits. But the gaps or clusters become apparent when considering the distribution of the mean motions of the asteroids about the Sun. Thus for example a gap at the 3:1 resonance means that no (or very few) asteroids would be found with a mean motion in the neighborhood of three times that of Jupiter. Conversely, a cluster at the 3:1 resonance means that an unusually large number of asteroids would have a mean motion in the neighborhood of three times that of Jupiter. Figure 4 illustrates both the distribution of periods of the asteroids, and the gaps in said distribution.
The Hestin Gap is at 900 arc seconds. The Hecuba Gap is at 600 arc seconds. The peak of the asteroids swept out of the Hecuba Gap toward Jupiter compares closely with the shift of the Martian orbit towards Earth in terms of orbital periods. From William M Kaula, An Introduction to Planetary Physics, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1968 p. 239. The source of the illustration is Dirk Brouwer, “The Problem of the Kirkwood Gaps in the Asteroid Belt”, Astronomical Journal, Vol. 68, 1963, pp. 152-159.
The clearly identified examples of Kirkwood Gaps have names. At the 3:1 resonance is a gap known as the Hestia Gap, from which all but one asteroid have been swept out. The remaining one is Alinda (#887). Alinda is in 3:1 resonance with Jupiter. It remains there only because of this very unusual relationship. Because of the particular geometry, Jupiter first shortens Alinda's period and then, after this occurs for several Alinda orbits, it alternately lengthens Alinda's orbit. This is expected to continue, first one way and then the other, ad infinitum. Figure 5 illustrates this strange “teeter-totter” relationship.
The net result is that three orbits of Alinda average out to one orbit for Jupiter. Alinda will make 3,000 orbits while Jupiter makes 1,000, unless unforeseen intrusions occur from more distant regions, such as intrusions by new planets with comet-like orbits. Alinda is not always at exactly the fractional period of Jupiter, for it shifts one way and then the other alternately. But this shift or drift is always corrected and always will be corrected unless Alinda is somehow removed from its resonance with Jupiter.
The Alinda-Jupiter resonant orbits are much like a teeter-totter. Teeter-totters require four conditions: (1) a “board” connecting two weights, (2) a fulcrum or pivot, (3) one mass at each end of the “board”, and (4) an alternating or pulsating spring action at both ends of the “board.” Once these four conditions are established, the motion of the teeter-totter will continue until one spring (such as a child's legs) or the other tires, The teeter-totter “board” we shall consider will not be ten feet long nor will it be a wood plank. Instead it will be one billion miles long and it will be invisible. It runs from one end of Jupiter's half billion mile orbit to the other end. The pivot or fulcrum will not be a saw-horse, but rather the Sun, which is nearly at the center of Jupiter's orbit. 6 The two masses we shall consider at either end of the “plank” will be Jupiter-Alinda conjunctions alternating from one part of their orbits to another. The alternating spring action is the gravity of Jupiter as it moves around its orbit.
Alinda and its “teeter-totter” geometry. Alinda is the only asteroid in 3:1 resonance, the sole occupant of the Hestice Gap.
A conjunction is said to occur whenever the three bodies, Alinda, Jupiter and the Sun are in a straight line. It is this pattern of conjunctions to which we now direct our attention. When the A conjunction is up (at position A,), then the B conjunction is down (at position B). Jupiter perturbs Alinda at A, more strongly than at B, since the two are closer at A,. This is equivalent to a decrease in weight of a child who is at the bottom of the teeter-totter (child B). The resulting imbalance causes child A to go down and child B to go up. Child B then becomes heavier than Child A; the teeter-totter moves back to its original position, ready to start a new cycle. The sequence of conjunction positions as shown in Figure 5 for Alinda and Jupiter is A₁-B₁, A₂-B₂, then A₃-B₃, A₂-B₂, and back to A₁-B₁, and so forth. Alinda is thus “trapped” in the 3:1 resonance relationship with Jupiter. Alinda is not swept out, because Jupiter alternately sweeps one way and then the other, maintaining the average location of the conjunction points.
The Hestia Gap at 3:1 is the second-most prominent of the Kirkwood Gaps. The term “Hestia Gap” has been selected from Greek cosmo-mythology, a popular reservoir for astronomical names.
Hestia was one of 12 celestial deities among the Greeks. When Apollo and Poseidon both became suitors for Hestia's hand, she swore to remain a maiden forever, and Zeus bestowed upon her the honor of presiding over sacrifices. The fact that Apollo (believed to be Mars) and Zeus (clearly Jupiter) influenced the celestial environment is interesting. And it is of further casual interest and coincidence, even a mythological irony, that these two planetary deities courted Hestia even as these two planetary orbits surround the Hestia Gap.
Hestia in the Roman cosmo-mythology becomes Vesta. The vestal virgins of Rome were astrological priestesses in honor of Vesta, or Hestia. Among their duties were astronomical ceremonies including extinguishing the old fire on March 20, the last day of the year, and lighting the new annual fire on March 21 in honor, of course, of Mars.
The Hestia Gap at 3:1 is the second-most prominent of the Kirkwood Gaps. The most prominent of the gaps, as one might expect, is the 2:1 gap.
The Hecuba Gap at 2:1, even more than the Hestia Gap, illustrates our picture of Earth-Mars resonance. Here, there are three asteroids which have not been swept out. They are Clematis (#1101), China (#1125) and Griqua (#1362). Figure 4 illustrates the distribution of the asteroids, of which orbits for some 1,800 have been plotted, in relation to these two gaps. 7 (Other less prominent gaps are at the 5:2 and 7:3 ratios.)
In Figure 4, the Hestia Gap, where Alinda is found, is at 900 arc seconds per day, just three times Jupiter's rate of 300. The Hecuba Gap, where the three asteroids, China, Clematis and Griqua are “trapped,” is at the 2:1 zone or 600 arc seconds per day.
Our third illustration of resonance is the pendulum. It, in particular, will apply to the ancient Earth-Mars orbits. In the type of resonance of the Hecuba Gap (2:1), the conjunctions (or line-ups) form a pattern which is like a “pendulum,” something different than the “teeter-totter” pattern of Alinda. The pendulum in this case has an arm of about 500,000,000 miles in length. The arm is invisible, the connecting force being gravity rather than a metallic or wooden rod. The fulcrum or pivot is the Sun. On this solar pivot swing the conjunctions of Jupiter and the 2:1 asteroids, to and fro, back and forth. The two masses are Jupiter and any one of the three asteroids. The alternating spring action is Jupiter's cyclic or alternating perturbations of the asteroid, that is, the gravitational field of Jupiter in its various locations as it circles around its orbit.
In a clock, the half stroke of the pendulum is often equivalent to one second. In the case of these three asteroids, a half stroke, meaning the swing of conjunctions from one extreme to the other, averages 34 Jupiter-years (68 asteroid years) or approximately 400 Earth-years. Figure 6 illustrates.
The Hecuba asteroids (Clematis. China and Griqua) and the “pendulum” geometry of their orbits relating to Jupiter.
Figure 6 is, of course, a simplification. It shows only five of the series of 34 conjunctions in a half cycle, or stroke. When the asteroid is at positions 1 or 2, its period is shortened several days by Jupiter, and the next conjunction advances to the right, to positions 3, 4 and 5. Here, Jupiter causes the opposite kinds of perturbations, changes which lengthen the asteroid's orbital period. This causes a reversal of the pattern, the second half of the pendulum stroke. The alternating effects of Jupiter then cause the conjunctions to “librate” or oscillate back and forth, a pattern which is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2 and so forth. 8 9 Thus it is seen that there are, in a way, “teeter-totters,” “pendulums” and “merry-go-rounds” in space.
Among the 1,800 asteroids for which orbits have been calculated, one is in the 3:1 gap resonating with Jupiter; three are in the 2:1 gap. A cluster exists in the 3:2 condition (450 arc seconds) and yet another cluster is in the 4:3 condition. Among the most interesting of the resonant asteroids are the Trojan asteroids, which is the name given to those asteroids in 1:1 resonance with Jupiter. Their positions always form an equilateral triangle which has the Sun and Jupiter at the other two corners of the triangle. Recent studies have shown that the asteroid, Toro, is in 5:8 resonance with the Earth's orbit. Hence, at least 2% of the asteroids for which orbits are known are in some kind of resonance with Jupiter. This compares to 50% of the planets which are in resonance. 10
In Chapter I, Figure 1 (page 3), the model for the ancient Earth-Mars relationship was presented. Of course it was a strange model to most, because this is the first time such a model of planetary catastrophism has ever been introduced. 11 Our model of the ancient scene of Earth-Mars resonance compares in several ways to the Jupiter-Hecuba relationship, that is, Jupiter's relationship to Clematis, China, and Griqua. But there are also contrasts. Thus far, we have shown that resonance can and does occur in the Solar system. Today, 50% of the planets exhibit some kind of resonance, as do 20% of the satellites and 2% of the charted asteroids. By this analogy, we propose that another kind of resonance did occur, a resonance of the 2:1 ratio, and that this analogy best explains the cyclic patterns of the ancient Earth-Mars catastrophes.
Significant differences between the 2:1 analogy with Hecuba and the Earth-Mars relationship exist, and these differences are important to consider.
Crossing Orbits. The asteroids of Hecuba do not cross Jupiter's orbit, but are entirely within it. Mars did cross to the inside of Earth's orbit, the two locations of intersection being the fearful “days of the Lord,” days of expected dread in Hebrew cosmology when the world might not survive. These times of appointment were equally as fearful to the Greeks, Romans, Teutons, Phoenicians and others. 13
Heavy Planet Position. With the Hecuba and Hestia asteroids (Alinda, China, Clematis and Griqua), the inner orbit belongs to the light planet or asteroid, and the outer orbit belongs to the massive planet, Jupiter in this case. In our resonance model, the inner orbit belongs to the heavier Earth and the outer orbit belongs to the lighter Mars about one-ninth as massive as our planet. 14
Planet Systems. With the Hecuba and Hestia asteroids, the two controllers are Jupiter and the Sun. There are three controllers of the Pluto resonance, namely, Sun, Neptune and Uranus. Pluto is almost in 3:2:1 resonance with Neptune and Uranus. We believe that Mars was in 6:1 resonance with Jupiter while it was in 1:2 resonance with the Earth-Moon system. Hence the controllers of Mars were the Sun, Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. 15 16
The conjunction pattern in the ancient Earth-Mars system contains a further analogy, and point of interest when compared to the conjunctions of the Hecuba-Hestia asteroids. We have already mentioned that Mars in the former orbit experienced one inferior conjunction, (when it was on the inside), and two superior conjunctions, (when it was on the outside), with the Earth each 2-year orbit. The dangerous conjunction was the inferior one; the superior ones were relatively peaceful.
Combining the two resonant models, the Hecuba example of 2:1 and the Hestia example of 3:1, applying both to the Earth-Mars model, it is seen that:
The inferior (near) conjunctions worked with the superior (distant) conjunctions to add to the stability of the system. It will also be seen that Jupiter was in 6:1 resonance with Mars, adding another stabilizing factor.
It has already been mentioned that Hestia was a maiden among the Olympic deities. When Appolo and Poseidon became suiters for her hand, she spurned both, and Zeus bestowed on her the honor of presiding over sacrifices in the Greek cosmo-theology. Ares usually represents Mars in the Greek pantheon. Apollo is usually assumed to be the Sun. According to the legend, Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto (Leto was a titaness, Zeus was Jupiter).
As to Roscher's derivation of all Apollo's functions from the conception of an original light and sun god it cannot be shown that on Greek soil Apollo originally had the meaning of sun god; in Homer, Aeschylus and Plato, the sun god Helios is distinctly separated from Phoebus Apollo,... It is not until the beginning of the 5th century B.C. that the identification makes its appearance...But the fact of the gradual development of Apollo as a god of light and heaven, and his identification with the foreign sun gods, is no proof of an original Greek solar conception of him. 17
The solar deity is actually Helios. Apollo, a celestial, was a war-like deity like the Roman Mars. Apollo is indeed the phonetic equivalent to the Phoenician Baal, and the Chaldean Bel, which Charles McDowell identifies as Mars. 18 Further research needs to be devoted to this matter, and the probability is that Apollo was indeed Mars. It was merely the Helenized version of Baal (Phoenician) or Bel (Chaldean) even as Aphrodite was the Helenized version of Ashtoreth (Phoenician) or Ishtar (Chaldean), the Roman Venus.
Hecuba, according to Homer, was the wife of Priam, king of Troy, and the mother of Paris, Paris being the leading abductor of the age. Queen Hecuba then lived during the Greater Davidic Catastrophe of 972 B.C., the era of the Trojan War and of Homer. She has been immortalized by Homer in his poetic saga of the Trojan War, the Iliad. This catastrophe shall be studied in Chapter VI and in a future work by Charles McDowell (see footnote 18 this chapter).
In Table I, of chapter I, it was illustrated that recorded catastrophes of major or minor import occurred during the following years: 756 B.C., 864 B.C., 972 B.C., 1080 B.C. and 1404 B.C. If there were either unreported holocausts or threatening cataclysms in 1188 B.C. and 1296 B.C. it would be a perfect 108 year cyclic pattern (2 x 54 years). Indeed, such astronomical holocausts, we suspect, did threaten Earth at these times (1188 B.C. and 1296 B.C.), and either did not develop into a major disaster, or were not reported, or else the records have been lost.
Heavy catastrophes occurred in pairs every five or six centuries. History clearly shows this. The twentieth, the fifteenth and the eighth centuries were the tragic ones in terms of astronomical catastrophism, since each of these centuries contained a pair of heavy interactions. There was very likely a third grander cycle of rhythm which will be discussed in Chapter X.
It is noted that the conjunction cycles averaged 54 years per half cycle. This is to say that the 54-year cycle was not always exact. For instance, there is ample evidence that the Sodom-Gomorrah event in March of 1877 B.C. was 52 years after the Tower of Babel holocaust, not 54 years. 19 There is evidence that at least one other cycle between 1877 B.C. and 1447 B.C. was 52 rather than 54 years, an item which we shall develop in Chapters VIII and IX. Further, one of the cycles was just 42 years rather than the normal 54. That was the cycle between the Exodus holocaust of 1447 B.C. and the Long Day of Joshua in 1404 B.C. This was considerably shorter because, as we judge from the Biblical text, it was a unique outside fly-by, rather than the usual inside fly-by. Computer testing of the resonant orbit model by Loren Steinhauer and Ralph Chang reveals that resonance will be threatened if not disrupted with an outside fly-by. This shortened cycle is evidence of such a disruption.
In the first third of this chapter we have dealt with the principle of resonance in the solar system. With this established, we are now free to examine the journeys of Mars in its former orbit, swinging in to 81,900,000 miles, and reaching out as far as 210,700,000 miles, far beyond its current orbit. After an examination of the experience of Mars in the former orbit, we shall consider the five kinds of changes which will occur to the Earth, and to Mars, in a close fly-by. These phenomena as previously mentioned are:
Once these subjects are studied with some degree of thoroughness, and once the mechanics for the Isaiahic Catastrophe of 701 B.C. are established, we will continue our study with the historical account of the earlier holocausts as seen through the eyes and by the pens of the reporters of those earlier ages.
In each of the seven major holocausts we see that severe Earth-shakings, or earthquakes, sometimes along with a spin axis wobble, occurred simultaneously with falling bolides and meteors. The Long Day of Joshua, for instance, is a particularly lucid example. The Bible records that the blizzard of bolides and meteorites (hailstones falling from on high) killed more Canaanite troops than did Hebrew soldiers. It was a day of cosmic slaughter. A massive meteoritic blizzard occurred during the spin axis precession when the apparent paths of the Sun and Moon departed from the normal. From where did these bolides and meteors come?
The blizzard of bolides and meteors, simultaneous with the fly-by, suggests a correlation between the two events. The meteors were probably debris in orbit around Mars.
It is estimated there are 50,000 asteroids, battered fragments of a former planet. Orbits of 1,800 have been calculated, and 90% of them have orbits with either their aphelion or, more often, their perihelion in the vicinity of 200,000,000 miles from the Sun. These fragments are remains of a former planet, possibly one-half the size of our Moon, which fragmented when another, somewhat larger planet (we propose Mars) nearly collided with it.
There is a principle in astronomy describing tidal interaction of two celestial bodies approaching each other. At a certain point, the cohesive force of the smaller body is overcome by the tide-raising force of the larger body, and the smaller body fragments before a direct collision occurs. Edouard Roche, a French astronomer, did considerable research into the nature of the construction of planets and stars. He proved that a liquid satellite of any star will be distorted by the tide-raising forces of the primary star. Moreover, if the two are of equal density and if the satellite were to come as close as 2.44 radii from the primary's center, tide-raising forces would exceed the cohesive gravitational force of such a satellite. Under these conditions, the smaller body would fragment. If it were solid rather than liquid, its fragments would assume multiple orbits around the star in accordance with Kepler's laws.
Roche's analysis, published in 1850, has never been challenged, although it has been recalculated from 2.44 to 2.45 radii. Roche's study applied to stars with a liquid consistency, with satellites having circular orbits. More recently, in 1972, Loren Steinhauer applied this principle to planets (non-liquid bodies) interacting with other planets (assuming non-circular orbits). It was found that if an icy sphere of appropriate size approached Earth, its fragmentation limit would be 2.3 Earth radii. 20 That is, the icy visitor would fragment at some distance (from the center of the Earth) exceeding 2.3 Earth radii. 21 For the case of Mars being approached by a smaller body of like density, the fragmentation limit would be 1.26 Mars radii, that is Mars would fragment the visitor at some distance beyond 540 miles above Mars' surface. 22
Evidence pointing to a fragmentation of a former planet about 200,000,000 miles from the Sun includes:
Greek cosmo-mythology.
Greek cosmo-mythology mentions a former planet, one of the sisters in the heavens, who after amour with Zeus (Jupiter) fled the heavens plucked out her hair, and was changed into a comet. Another record says she lost her brilliancy after a celestial battle. We are proposing that the fragmented planet, the source of the asteroids, was the former planet Electra. 23 (From this word, of course, comes our word “electricity.”)
The existence of the asteroids, most of which orbit across Mars' ancient orbit.
The vast number (estimated at 50,000) and the irregular, fragment-like shape of the asteroids.
Two small, irregularly-shaped moons still retained by Mars, apparently captured asteroids.
Four irregular-shaped, small asteroid-like outer satellites of Jupiter, apparently captured asteroids.
Mars' very numerous craters (astroblemes), as discussed in Chapter I.
Indo-Aryan cosmo-mythology: Maruts encircling Indra's head, as discussed in Chapter II.
The “fire and brimstone” deposition on Earth as recorded in Hebrew history, such depositions coinciding with Mars' fly-bys.
If Mars did fragment the former planet Electra, then Mars would probably capture some of the fragments, perhaps a few percent. Thus several hundred asteroids of moderate size plus countless micro-asteroids would have remained in an orbit about Mars. The remainder of the fragments would assume orbits around the Sun. 24
This study proposes that three planets (Earth, Mars and Saturn) have experienced near-collisions, sufficiently near for a fragmentation. Among the effects of these fragmentations were icy rings in two instances, and a cloud of rock-like asteroids in the third. These three episodes were each separate scenes, part of a general play which might be entitled “The Settling Down of the Solar System.” The scene involving Mars and the asteroids was, we judge, about 4,000 years ago. The scene involving Earth and an icy fragmentation (and deluge) was about 4,500 years ago. A recent analysis suggests that the formation of Saturn's icy rings also has been within the last 10,000 years. Thus these three scenes are not only dramatic but relatively recent.
We propose that this fragmentation of Electra occurred during the era 2500 B.C. to 2000 B.C. The first recorded dump of fire and brimstone (hot hailstones from above) is in the Tower of Babel holocaust, 1930 B.C. The ancient Greek cosmo-mythology claims to recall the genesis of the event. The proto-Greeks were settling the Achaean peninsula, Macedonia and the Anatolian peninsula during this same era.
As already explained, Mars' seven close appointments with the Earth coincided with heavy meteoritic and bolidic showers on the Earth. On some of these occasions, the Moon also felt the impact of the Mars-asteroids. This is one reason for the high density of craters on the Moon. By 701 B.C., most of the bolides and meteors had been shed off on Earth or Moon or moved into a solar orbit. But a few remained, one which (as we saw in Chapter III) nearly hit Jerusalem. It was called the “Jerusalem Bolide,” and was similar to the Tunguska Bolide of 1908.
As related in Chapter II, Rome's founding in circa 750 B.C. was related to the fall of a large meteor. At the same time, Volsinium, a large city of southern Etruscany, was destroyed. Only the crater, together with some associated lava flows, remains as mute evidence. Ovid and Pliny, later Roman historians 26 describe it almost as faithfully as Isaiah and Habakkuk describe their event, and Homer described his catastrophic era.
Pliny wrote: “Most men are not acquainted with a truth known to the founders of the science from their arduous study of the heavens,” namely, that thunderbolts “are the fires of the three upper planets.” He differentiated them from lightning caused by the dashing together of two two clouds. Seneca, his contemporary, also distinguished lightnings that “seek houses” or “lesser bolts” and the bolts of Jupiter “by which the threefold mass of mountains fell.” 27
Another picture of bolidic and meteoritic activity is given by Pliny.
“Heavenly fire is spit forth by the planet as crackling charcoal flies from a burning log.” If such a discharge falls on the earth, “it is accompanied by a very great disturbance of the air,” produced “by the birth-pangs, so to speak, of the planet in travail.” 28
Pliny was describing specifically the time of the catastrophe of 756 B.C., the Joel-Amos holocaust. Homer described specifically the catastrophe of 972 B.C., the Greater Davidic Catastrophe, one which was very similar in the Mars fly-by pattern.
So he went back in anger, and Apollo, who loved him dearly, heard his prayer. Then the god sent A DEADLY DART upon the Argives, and the people died thick on one another, for THE ARROWS WENT everywhither among the wide host of the Achaeans. At last a seer in the fulness of his knowledge declared to us the oracles of Apollo.... 29
“Son of Atreus,” said he, “I deem that we should now turn roving home if we would escape destruction, for we are being cut down by war and pestilence at once. Let us ask some priest or prophet, or some reader of dreams (for dreams, too, are of Zeus) who can tell us why Phoebus Apollo is so angry ... so as to take away the plague from us.” 30
We note the similarities between the deadly darts and the celestial arrows of the Homeric account and the great stones cast down from heaven during the Long Day of Joshua, or the “pestilence” which fell in the days of David, killing a recorded 70,000 men, 31 That such a bolidic rain could be destructive is very possible when it is kept in mind that bolides are believed to be composed of compounds such as ammonia or cyanogen, possibly mixed with iron and silicon, whereas meteors are silica, iron and/or nickel. “Fire” in the fire and brimstone translation of the Hebrew texts, we believe is bolides whereas “brimstone” is meteors, the two occurring simultaneously, but not being identical.
The following samplings are from an extensive catastrophic literature of the “fire and brimstone prophets,” whose collective “nickname” is most appropriate although seldom understood in its cosmic reality. Illustrations have been taken from five of the fire and brimstone seers of Judah: Nahum, Habakkuk, Isaiah, Joel and Amos.
Who can stand before his indignation?
and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?
HIS FURY is poured out LIKE FIRE,
and THE ROCKS are thrown down by him.
(Nahum 1:6)
Before him went THE PESTILENCE,
and BURNING COALS went forth at his feet.
He stood, and measured the Earth....
(Habakkuk 3:5-6)
And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard,
and shall shew the lighting down of his arm,
with the indignation of his anger,
AND WITH THE FLAME OF A DEVOURING FIRE,
WITH SCATTERING, AND TEMPEST, AND HAILSTONES.
(Isaiah 30:30)
A fire devoureth THEM; and behind THEM a flame burneth:
the land is as the garden of Eden before THEM,
and behind THEM a desolate wilderness....
Like the noise of chariots
on the tops of mountains shall they leap,
like the noise of a FLAME OF FIRE
that devoureth the stubble,
as a strong people set in battle array.
(Joel 2:3, 5)
I have smitten you WITH BLASTING AND MILDEW.
I have sent among you pestilence
after the manner of Egypt.
I have overthrown some of you,
as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and ye were as a firebrand
plucked out of the burning....
(Amos 4:9-11)
One of the most dramatic instances of a bolidic explosion is that recorded by Isaiah during the holocaust of March 20, 701 B.C., at a time when Jerusalem was surrounded by the Assyrian army, an army intent on annihilating Jerusalem and all Judea.
Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
(Isaiah 37:36)
Such an explosion must have been accompanied by a vast blast, or noise, and this is recounted in Psalm 46:
The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved;
HE UTTERED HIS VOICE, the earth melted.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
what desolations he hath made in the earth.
(Psalm 46:6, 8)
The Jerusalem Bolide of 701 B.C. was one of the last remaining Mars-asteroids. It may have been 100 feet in diameter. It left only Deimos and Phobos (diameters estimated to be 5 and 10 miles respectively) as visible clues to that era of catastrophism. However, we do suspect that a considerable amount of finer meteorites and meteoritic dust circling Mars has yet to be discovered.
Resonance of orbits and Mars-meteors are background to our understanding of the geometry of the particular fly-by which occurred in March of 701 B.C., the last of the long and fearful series of Earth-Mars interactions. 32
How close did Mars come on that catastrophic night of March 20, 701 B.C.? Did it cause any kind of change in the Earth's orbit? Did it cause any kind of change in the tilt of the spin axis? Did it cause any kind of polar migration, and if so, how much and which way? Did Mars pass over on the inside or on the outside of the Earth, and what would be the difference between these two kinds of passes? Did it pass north or south of the Earth's ecliptic, or orbital plane? And what would the difference be? Was there a significant change in polarity, or strength of the geomagnetic field? These are some of the questions which this study shall consider, and we will offer some answers.
| Date of Biennial Approach | Closeness of Approach | Magnitude of Approach |
| October 25 756 B.C. | 120,000 Miles | Year of Catastrophe |
| November 1 754 B.C. | 1,500,000 | decreasing brightness |
| November 6 752 B.C. | 2,800,000 | decreasing brightness |
| November 11 750 B.C. | 3,900,000 | decreasing brightness |
| November 17 748 B.C. | 4,900,000 | decreasing brightness |
| November 22 746 B.C. | 5,800,000 | decreasing brightness |
| November 27 744 B.C. | 6,600,000 | decreasing brightness |
| December 3 742 B.C. | 7,200,000 | decreasing brightness |
| December 8 740 B.C. | 7,800,000 | decreasing brightness |
| December 13 738 B.C. | 8,100,000 | decreasing brightness |
| December 19 736 B.C. | 8,500,000 | decreasing brightness |
| December 24 734 B.C. | 8,700,000 | decreasing brightness |
| December 29 731 B.C. | 8,750,000 | decreasing brightness |
| January 5 729 B.C. | 8,800,000 | Furtherest and Faintest |
| January 10 727 B.C. | 8,800,000 | Furtherest and Faintest |
| January 15 725 B.C. | 8,750,000 | increasing brightness |
| January 21 723 B.C. | 8,700,000 | increasing brightness |
| January 27 721 B.C. | 8,500,000 | increasing brightness |
| February 2 719 B.C. | 8,100,000 | increasing brightness |
| February 7 717 B.C. | 7,800,000 | increasing brightness |
| February 12 715 B.C. | 7,200,000 | increasing brightness |
| February 17 713 B.C. | 6,600,000 | increasing brightness |
| February 22 711 B.C. | 5,800,000 | increasing brightness |
| February 28 709 B.C. | 4,900,000 | increasing brightness |
| March 5 707 B.C. | 3,900,000 | increasing brightness |
| March 10 705 B.C. | 2,800,000 | increasing brightness |
| March 15 703 B.C. | 1,500,000 | Year of Anxiety |
| March 20 701 B.C. | 70,000 | Year of Catastrophe |
Our conclusion is that Mars approached as close as 70,000 miles to Earth during this last of the ancient fly-bys. The closeness of approach, with a strong alteration of the Martian orbit, is what is believed to have caused Mars to lose resonance on this Occasion.
In the resonant orbit condition, Table V illustrates the shifting dates and shifting distances of Mars' closest approach during the last 54-year cycle. The cyclic coming and going of Mars reflects how ancients could chart its path, estimate its nearness, see its satellites (visible easily when within 1,000,000 miles), and even see its larger craters in particularly close fly-bys.
It is believed that Mars passed on the inside of Earth's orbit, at a distance of about 70,000 miles. Mars was slightly to the north of the ecliptic plane, and was visible during the passover primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. An inside fly-by (that is, Mars crosses the intersection point of the two orbits first) will result in the following features.
This interaction was of such a configuration and severity as to break resonance, and to move Mars toward its current orbital position. This is also the kind of adjustment which explains the sudden need for more days per year in ancient calendars, that is the change from 360 to 365 days per year.
Mars was slightly north of Earth's ecliptic plane; this kind of fly-by will cause the North Pole to migrate toward Alaska, away from Europe, and lower the latitude of Palestine. When the shadow of the obelisk (or sun-dial) of Ahaz suddenly shortened, this tells us that the angle of the Sun at noon became significantly higher, which tells us that the latitude of Jerusalem was shifted southward. Before this catastrophe, we suspect Jerusalem had a latitude of 37° N. like the current latitude of Athens, Greece, and San Jose, California. Today Jerusalem has a latitude of 32 N. like San Diego, California. This polar migration is considered in more detail later in this chapter.
Earth in its orbit at perihelion moves about 1,620,000 miles per day. Mars in its ancient orbit sped past its perihelion at a rate of about 1,875,000 miles per day, and slowed to 795,000 miles per day in passing its remote aphelion. As it buzzed Earth, it was approaching our planet at a relative speed of 540,000 miles per day when the vector angles are taken into account.
We will reconstruct the approach of Mars as it was viewed by Palestinians on that fateful day of March 20, 701 B.C. Mars passed over Earth in our model at its closest at about 6:00 P.M., Palestinian time, at about 70,000 miles.
Mars rose in the early morning on March 20, 701 B.C., about two hours later than the Sun, perhaps around 8:00 A.M. It was assaulting the Earth from within Earth's orbit, which is to say from Mars' perihelion, or from “out of the Sun.” Hence its dark side was showing primarily toward the Earth, although there was a thin (but extremely bright) crescent showing. Earth-shine undoubtedly illuminated in outline the dark side of Mars even in the daytime sky. As the morning and afternoon progressed, Mars appeared to be overtaking the Sun, though passing to the northward side. In reality it was in the process of making an inside fly-by. Its thin but brilliant crescent was ever narrowing as Mars approached. Simultaneously its size was ever increasing. Its size in the sky at 70,000 miles (at about 6:00 P.M. Palestine time) was such that it covered about 50 times as much area in the sky as does the Moon. 34 Of course it was a day of dread and terror for the ancients.
By 8:00 P.M. (Palestine time) Mars was clearly diminishing in size. As it crossed Earth's orbit ahead of Earth, it moved from an inner to an outer position, and its crescent quickly expanded to a ¾ crescent. Its larger craters and major rift valley were visible as it rotated on its own spin axis. Meanwhile the bolidic and meteoritic showers began suddenly to make their appearance, and rapidly rose to a crescendo. This was amid Earth tremors and quakes as Earth's crust experienced a massive 80-foot crustal tide (plus in some areas, minus in others). As Earth began to experience tidal deformation, simultaneously it began to experience a spin axis precession or wobble. This redirected the apparent lunar and Martian paths, observable in the Americas but not in Palestine for Mars had by now set in the western sky, only to rise again in the eastern sky shortly after midnight.
Mars on an inside fly-by, slightly north of the ecliptic plane. Mars may have passed over Earth nearly over the North Pole.
The daily pattern of approach in March, 701 B.C. and the perturbation following the interaction.
Then, about 8:00 P.M., the very visible and audible “blast from heaven,” the Jerusalem Bolide, made its descent. The speed of its descent was perhaps 33,000 miles per hour, or 9 miles per second. Its visible descent occurred for perhaps 15 or 20 seconds as its ripped through Earth's exosphere, ionosphere, stratosphere and finally, troposphere. Following this crescendo, the bolidic and meteoritic showers quickly diminished and were gone by 9:00 P.M. Mars, now out of orbital resonance with both Earth and Jupiter, was gone as an assaulter of Earth forever.
And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
(Habakkuk 3:4)
From Table IV it is clear that Mars' closest biennial approach occurred nearer and nearer to Earth and nearer and nearer to March 20 after the year 727 B.C. All eyes were turned skyward to watch every Mars fly-by, to measure, to fear, to hope, and for many astrological religions, to worship out of fear.
By March of 703 B.C. it was evident that each approach was closer, and this year it had been much too close. The next pass in 24 months was a day of cosmic appointment. The question was how bad it might be, not if it would come.
Isaiah reminded his people of the earlier holocausts, especially the ones of 756 B.C. (The Joel-Amos) and the lighter Elijahic Catastrophe of 864 B.C. From these he prognosticated the coming day of appointment:
Nevertheless THE DIMNESS shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at first [864 B.C.] he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulon [Northern Palestine including Mt. Carmel where Elijah stood], and the land of Naphtali, and afterward [756 B.C.] did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea....
(Isaiah 9:1)
| Date in 701 B.C. | Distance of Mars | Viewing The Heavens |
| Noon, March 10 | 5,530,000 miles | |
| Noon, March 15 | 2,840,000 miles | |
| Noon, March 16 | 2,290,000 miles | |
| Noon, March 17 | 1,750,000 miles | |
| Noon, March 18 | 1,215,000 miles | |
| Noon, March 19 | 680,000 miles | Mars shines as bright as the Moon |
| 3am, March 20 | 345,000 miles | Mars appears as large as the Moon |
| 6pm, March 20 | 70,000 miles | Perigee of Mars |
| 8pm, March 20 | 83,000 miles | Jerusalem Bolide |
| Noon, March 21 | 410,000 miles | |
| Noon, March 22 | 945,000 miles | |
| Noon, March 23 | 1,485,000 miles |
Figure 8 illustrates the geometry of the orbits of the two planets as seen from Earth's January position in space. Figure 9 illustrates the geometries of movements of the two planets during the critical week of catastrophism. Figures 10 and 11 illustrate the changes of the Martian orbit on a near fly-by.
As Mars came closer, the gravitational interaction between the two planets increased. The gravitational force increased according to the inverse square law, leading to orbital shifts proportional to the simple inverse of the perigee. That is, halve the distance and increase the orbital change by two. The tidal deformation of Earth varied according to the inverse of the cube. This effect will apply to crustal tides, oceanic tides, atmospheric tides and plasma tides of the geomagnetic field. Related to tides are spin changes which are proportional to the inverse of the square of the distance of the perigee. This means that as the distance of Mars is reduced by one-half, the spin axis changes of both planets are multiplied by four. And for crustal distortion (tides), as the distance of Mars is reduced by one-half, the increase in the tidal effect is eight, the inverse of the cube. 35
We believe the Earth gained 5¼ days per year as it left resonance. Of the 5¼ days, opinions are that 70% to 95% of the change was due to orbital expansion, and 5% to 30% was due to a spin rate increase. Conservatively then, we must account for a 3½ to 4 day increase in the calendar due to orbital expansion. This means Earth's orbit expanded from about 92,200,000 miles to the current 92,900,000 miles during this era, a very significant change indeed.
Calculations for this problem have been made, and are summarized below.
The Model Assumptions.
The results of our calculations are presented in figures 10 and 11.
Mars' current orbit has a period of 687 days. In contrast, Mars' ancient period was 720 days, and with a loss of roughly 30 days during the Isaiahic catastrophe, its period immediately following the catastrophe was roughly 690 days. Thus the question arises: how did the 690 day period change to its current 687 day length, and how did the orbit round out to its current shape which doesn't intersect Earth's orbit? The answer lies in a combination of the small perturbing forces of Earth (whose orbit Mars still crossed immediately after the catastrophe) and the distant but giant planet Jupiter. It is believed that secular perturbations by these two planets surrounding Mars as it were, tended to change Mars' period and round out the orbit to its current shape 39 40
In Figure 4, it is illustrated that there are gaps in the asteroid zone based on a distribution of periods. It is apparent that when asteroids were swept out of the 2:1 resonance zone to Jupiter, some were shifted by Jupiter inward (toward the Sun), and some where swept outward (toward Jupiter). Of those which were perturbed or were swept outward toward Jupiter, the peak of their new distribution is at 1.88 of Jupiter's orbital period. This illustrates the magnitude of the effect of secular perturbations, once a body is swept out of resonance. In our illustration, Mars was swept inward, toward the Earth as it left resonance. And in our theory, it was swept inward to a 1.88 orbital zone to Earth, just as in our analogy, asteroids have been swept out to about the 1.88 orbital zone of Jupiter. Thus we can demonstrate that by this particular catastrophe, Mars aphelion shifted inward from its former 210,000,000-mile location, and the entire orbit shifted inward toward the Earth.
The closeness of the Martian fly-by and the perturbing of the Martian orbit.
The shift of the perihelion of Mars.
The most obvious difficulty with the Mars-Earth orbital resonance model seems to be with the transition from the post-Isaiahic orbital scheme to the present order. It is not possible for a single violent Mars-Earth interaction to effect the necessary transition. Mars, after the catastrophe, would still cross Earth's orbit (through not synchronized with Earth's passing as in the resonant condition). In the present order, Mars gets no closer than 35,000,000 miles to Earth's orbit. Thus the question is:
“Does there exist a mechanism which could, in a couple thousand years, change Mars' eccentric post-Isaiahic orbit to the present quasi-circular configuration?”
One possible candidate, orbital resonance with Jupiter and/or Earth can probably be discarded since no simple resonance with either would have existed following the breakup of the 2:1 pattern. A second possible candidate is a violent near miss (after 701 B.C.) of Mars with an unknown body which changed the Martian orbit to its present configuration. The authors prefer to discard this suggestion which smacks of an “ad hoc” assumption posed to support the model. Furthermore, there is no known body of sufficient size that could have so altered Mars' orbit in a single pass. A third candidate is that the combined small perturbations of distant Jupiter and Earth effected the changes. This is the preferred suggestion although the difficulty remains; could such a change be brought about in a time scale of only a couple of thousand years?
If this is indeed the explanation, then this means that Mars is still in its decay orbit, at the very end of a transient decay curve. And such a rate at this date, some 2678 years after the encounter, would be expected to be of a magnitude of several feet per century, an amount too low for current astronomical instruments to measure.
The answer to the mystery is not known, and this is indeed a weakness of the model. Nevertheless, there are dozens of categories in which the model correlates well with historical records, geophysical evidences, and scientific principles. Thus in view of the weight of evidence, the authors are comfortable with the present model, in spite of this and other areas that remain mysteries.
Authors Donald W. Patten and Samuel R. Windsor re-address these three scenarios in their tandem released books:
Many different theories have been proposed to account for Earth's geomagnetic field. But even the most popular theories are unsubstantiated. 41 When lava solidifies, the polarity of the geomagnetic field is recorded in the molecular structure. 42 Recent studies have shown a history of magnetic field reversals and realignments (see footnote 2 of this chapter). What is perhaps less well known is that these flows are ancient in terms of thousands, not millions of years. We suspect that on each of these seven closest fly-bys, 2500 B.C. to 701 B.C., there was a reversal of the Earth's magnetic field, followed by a drift or migration of the magnetic poles. Thus, Earth appears to have had several different magnetic poles as well as several different geographical poles in “recent” times.
It has been less than 20 years now, that astronomy books have finally ceased printing theories and presuppositions (which almost took the dimension of fact) about canals on Mars. Canali were first reported by Giovanni V. Schiaparelli in 1887, the year of an exceptionally favorable opposition of Mars. He reported what he thought to be a considerable network of fine lines covering much of the surface of the planet. The Italian word canali meaning channels quickly became “canals” in English and during the next three decades, about half of the astronomers studying Mars reported “seeing” the canals and the other half failed to “see” them.
Lowell, for instance, drew conclusions about the “canals” of Mars. He suggested that “canals” could only be built by intelligent beings, and he speculated their purpose was to bring water from melting ice caps to the equatorial deserts. It is all fairy tale. Any such canal would have had to have been 20 miles wide to be seen through telescopes on Earth. But Lowell imagined, if biological evolution had occurred on Earth, it must also have occurred over a similar amount of time alleged for Mars, and the canals were his “proof.” How beautiful the logic appeared.
The fact is that Mars is a very hostile planet, with a very low barometric pressure, with probably no free oxygen and almost no free water vapor in its thin atmosphere. However, astronomers and space navigation researchers have been astonished to observe (1) the innumerable craters, ranging from 400 miles across to tiny pitlets, much more numerous than the Moon's, (2) massive rifts (3) massive, recent basalt outflows and (4) river like erosion patterns. Our catastrophic model would predict this, and indeed Immanuel Velikovsky did predict just this kind of evidence in 1950, in Worlds in Collision.
Velikovsky theorized, but today we can say with certainty that the surface of Mars is severely marred with astonishingly recent-looking upheavals. In light of our model, is that not what one would expect? Did not Mars and Earth interact heavily at least seven times within the last 5,000 years? And if Mars is about one-ninth as massive as Earth, would not Mars be fractured about nine times as severely as the Earth with lava outflows and rifts? We predict that if and when cores of basaltic outflows on Mars are analyzed and corroborated, (and if Mars has a geomagnetic field, which is not certain), here too we may find evidences of several magnetic polar locations or reversals in the various outflows.
The tidal effects of Mars on Earth at 70,000 miles can only be estimated, and our estimate is that there would have been an 85 foot crustal tide, as measured from the Earth's core to the crust. See Table VIII, Chapter VIII. Even in the most conservative of estimates, the Earth's crust must have experienced a tidal swell of 50 feet as measured from Earth's core. This compares to a two-inch to three-inch crustal tide caused by the Moon. This effect for the Isaiahic Catastrophe we estimate at perhaps 350 times the normal lunar crustal tide.
No one with a seismograph or other measuring instruments was available in the eighth century B.C. However, there are some interesting descriptions of crustal deformation in books such as Habakkuk, Isaiah and others, by men who lived during the event.
He stood, and measured the earth:
he beheld, and drove asunder the nations;
AND THE EVERLASTING MOUNTAINS WERE SCATTERED,
THE PERPETUAL HILLS DID BOW....
I saw the tents of Cushan [the eastern horizon]
IN AFFLICTION: and the curtains of the land of Midian
[the southern horizon] DID TREMBLE.
THE MOUNTAINS SAW THEE, AND THEY TREMBLED:
the overflowing water passed by
[tidal waves on the Mediterranean and Red Seas?]:
the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
(Habakkuk 3:6, 7, 10)
....for the windows from on high are open,
and THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH DO SHAKE,
(Isaiah 24:18)
Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder,
AND WITH EARTHQUAKE, and great noise,
with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. (Isaiah 29:6)
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
AND THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS BE CARRIED INTO THE MDST OF THE SEA;
though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS SHAKE WITH THE SWELLING THEREOF.
(Psalm 46:2-3, [probably penned by Isaiah, summer, 701 B.C.]).
[March 20-23, 1447 B.C., the Exodus Catastrophe]....
When Israel went out of Egypt The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
THE MOUNTAINS SKIPPED LIKE RAMS,
AND THE LITTLE HILLS LIKE LAMBS.
(Psalm 114:1, 3-4)
The book of Isaiah and the Isaiahic Catastrophe simply cannot be understood until these utterances are taken as eye-witness accounts. Perhaps there is an element of hyperbole, either in the original manuscript or in translation, on occasion. For instance, Isaiah 24:1 suggests, literally, that the Earth was turned upside down. Isaiah 24:19 says it was removed exceedingly, and 24:20 says it reeled to and fro (spin axis wobble) like a drunkard. A polar relocation of 300 miles is clearly not turning the world “upside down,” but it could cause Jerusalem's latitude to slip down by 5°.
How many times was it, according to archaeologists, that Troy, or Lachish, or Jericho, or other Middle Eastern sites, were rebuilt out of their own rubble? How many times was it, according to the Earth-Mars resonant orbit model, that our planet suffered a very close fly-by? The answer to the question about Troy rebuilt in its rubble is approximately seven times.
In addition, a 50 to 100 foot crustal tide would renew hundreds of dormant and “extinct” volcanoes like Stromboli, Sinai and Rainier. Such a crustal tide would create a sudden outpouring of volcanic ash, cinders and dust into the atmosphere, darkening the world temporarily in many places, as did Vesuvius in 79 A.D. for the region surrounding Pompeii. Many renewed volcanoes would be submarine volcanoes, causing immense tidal waves in their upheavals.
Abundant basaltic outflows, gargantuan rifts, crustal cleavages, as well as immense craters have been photographed on Mars. Mariner IX spotted fifteen collapsed volcanoes (calderas). Geologic faults and vulcanism are apparent on a scale far more dynamic than anything the Moon exhibits, or anything expected by most astronomers of ten years ago. If the fly-by's effect on Earth's crust was 50 to 100 foot crustal tides, that effect would have been nine times greater in the Martian crust, Earth being nine times as massive. For example, Mars has one deep, wide rift valley an astounding 2,800 miles long and ten miles deep.
Tides of unusual magnitude and tidal waves of devastating scope would be expected during a near fly-by of Mars.
The mountains saw thee, and they trembled:
THE OVERFLOWING OF THE WATER PASSED BY:
the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
(Habakkuk 3:10)
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?
was thine anger against the rivers?
was thy wrath AGAINST THE SEA,
that thou didst ride upon thine horses
and thy chariots of salvation?
(Habakkuk 3:8)
Earth's magnetic field is pear-shaped, being distorted by the solar wind. It extends well out beyond the Moon, some 240,000 miles distant. Thus while Mars in its last fly-by did not “hit” the Earth, nevertheless Mars would pass through Earth's geomagnetic sheath, creating deep disturbances. It is entirely possible that there were loud and terrible exchanges of static electricity between the planets.
He stood and measured the earth...
(Habakkuk 3:6)
...THE DEEP UTTERED HIS VOICE,
and lifted up his hands on high.
(Habakkuk 3:10)
What would be the effect of such a close fly-by upon Earth's spin axis? The Earth is a giant spinning gyroscope, floating not in water but freely through space.
The spin axis of a sphere or a cylinder can be caused to precess, that is, to rotate around two axes simultaneously. One example is a tire or wheel which is rolled down hill. If it is set upright before released, it will roll straight down. If it is set up leaning before released, it will roll downhill on a path describing a curve. This is because it is precessing, or in other words, its spin axis is changing direction.
A precession of Earth's spin axis involves three different phenomena. These are:
Each of these three phenomena is dependent upon the same mechanism for its occurrence.
This mechanism comprises some rather complicated physical principles. As a result, no attempt is made to give quantitative results. The magnitude of the forces involved is a strong function of the closeness of the approach of Mars to the Earth. The magnitude of the forces involved is also a function of the angle of Mars to Earth's ecliptic plane, a 45° angle either north or south providing the maximum torque.
GRAVITY GRADIENT. Involved in the spin change mechanism is the concept of gravity gradient. Gravity gradient is simply another way of expressing Newton's inverse square law. It states that the gravitational force between two masses (in this case the Earth and Mars) is inversely proportional to the square of the distances between them. This means that as the two planets approach, the gravitational interaction increases in geometric proportions as the distance decreases. This law has been applied to Earth satellites to make them point to the Earth at all times, for example, navigation satellites. This concept is illustrated in Figure 12 for a dumbbell-shaped satellite.
Assuming that the mass of the satellite is concentrated at the two ends and assuming an initial orientation of the satellite as shown, then the force on the mass closer to the Earth (labeled f₁) will be stronger than the force on the other mass (labeled f₂). The average of these two forces is fa and is equal to one-half f₁ plus f₂. This is the force which causes the satellite to travel a curved path around the Earth, (It is equivalent to the string on which one twirls a mass, constraining the mass to follow a circular path.) Since this average force would cause all parts of the spacecraft to follow the same path (even if the parts were not tied together), it can be subtracted off to see what forces remain on the spacecraft due to the fact that it is tied together.
In Figure 13, it is seen that the remaining force on mass #1 is (f₁-f₂)/2 toward the Earth, and on mass #2 it is ((f₁-f₂)/2 away from the Earth. But these forces can be separated into two components. The first, ((f₁-f₂)x(Cos A))/2 is that which tries to fragment the satellite (i.e., the pulling apart force). The second, ((f₁-f₂)x(Sin A))/2 is that which tries to rotate the satellite so that angle A decreases. Since this last force is proportional to the sine of A, it is zero when the angle is zero. Thus, it tries to align the satellite to point at the Earth.
Alignment functions of s dumbbell shaped satellite
The effect of both of these forces is visible in the solar system. The Moon, which is slightly larger in diameter in one direction, 43 has been aligned by this gravity gradient effect always to point the longer diameter to the Earth. This explains why the Moon does not rotate relative to the Earth, why until recently man had never viewed the other side.
The “pulling apart” component of the gravity gradient force is exactly the mechanism which causes the smaller of two planetary bodies to shatter if they approach too closely. 44
EARTH OBLATENESS. The gravity gradient effects discussed above would have a reduced effect upon the spin of the Earth during the Earth-Mars interaction if the Earth were perfectly spherical in shape (i.e., not a dumbbell shape). However, the Earth's spin rate, about 1,000 miles per hour at the equator, results in a sizable centrifugal force. This outward force results in a bulging of the equatorial zone, and a flattening in both of the polar regions. As a result of centrifugal force counteracting the force of gravity, the equatorial diameter of the Earth is 26.86 miles longer than the polar diameter. This shape is referred to as an oblate spheroid, and it functions in space like a gyroscope. This flattening of the poles and bulging of the equatorial zone would result in a significant rotational force, as is shown in Figure 14 if the passing of Mars were very close, and were not along the equatorial plane.
Mars gravitational effect on the Earth with an exaggerated Zone.
GYROSCOPIC EFFECT. The application of the rotational force (torque) to the Earth does not result in a simple rotational motion that the dumbbell satellite and the Moon undergo. Rather the Earth, because it is spinning, acts like a giant gyroscope and responds to torques just as does a gyroscope.
The effect of a torque on a gyroscope is shown in Figure 15. Gravity, acting on the center of mass, tries to rotate the axis on the gyroscope downward. But because it is spinning, the actual motion that results is in a different direction. This resulting axis rotation is called precession. The direction of precession is at right angles to both the gravity force and the spin axis. Figure 15 illustrates.
The effect can be easily demonstrated. A spinning bicycle wheel is a gyroscope. When a bicycle wheel is spun rapidly and then held by only one end of the axis rather than by both ends, the wheel will precess. If the wheel is spun in the opposite direction, or held by the opposite axis, then the precession is in the opposite direction.
When the bicycle wheel is being held by one axis while spinning, and as it is twisting or “precessing”, if it is tossed into the air it will appear to the human eye to be “wobbling”. In reality it is temporarily rotating around some axis other than its normal spin axis. This temporary and abnormal axis is a combination of the two spin forces, the normal and the induced.
A CHANGE IN THE SPIN AXIS. The twisting force exerted on the bulge of the Earth would cause the spin axis to begin to precess. We believe the spin axis is an easily displaced, easily relocated function, partly because it is precessing several meters under current conditions for no known, observable reason at all.
Figure 8, of this chapter, illustrates the Earth-Mars-Sun geometry for the 701 B.C. fly-by. We believe Mars buzzed Earth as close as 70,000 miles, on the inside, and north of the ecliptic plane. Mars was advancing on Earth at a relative speed of about 22,500 miles per hour, with a slight tendency to increase speed on approach, and decrease speed on retreat.
It was during the climax hours of that fateful evening, a “passover” night, that our planetary spin axis temporarily precessed. The bulk of the precessing force was temporary, lasting the better part of a day. As it was removed, the angular velocity of the normal spin axis combined with the angular velocity of precession to result in a new spin rate and a new spin axis location. This addition, or combination, resulted in:
Gyroscopic precession as applied to the Earth. The length of vector C compared to vector A illustrates the increase in spin rate. The tilt between vector C and vector A illustrate some combination of tilt shift and polar relocation.
This is illustrated in Figure 16. In Figure 16, Vector A represents the Earth's old spin axis. Its length represents the spin rate. Vector B represents the induced spin or the precessing force caused by the Mars fly-by. A combination of these two spins is represented by Vector C. Vector C represents by its increased length that the spin rate was now slightly faster (resulting in more days per year). Vector C represents by its new angle (a) a relocation of the spin axis on Earth, plus (b) a relocation of the spin axis to space, or shift in tilt, in some combination.
It is not clear how much change in axial tilt, and how much polar relocation was involved but it totaled 6½° in Sun angle. However, whatever the extent was, from this particular geometry of fly-by, and presuming the height of the passage was during late afternoon for Palestine then the shift in polar relocating would be toward Alaska and away from Europe. Europe and the Middle East would acquire a significantly lower latitude, being advanced toward the equator, and experience a somewhat warmer climate following this particular kind of spin axis precession.
THE SUN DIAL OF AHAZ. This was an obelisk used for measuring the sun's shadow and especially advantageous was measuring it at the Sun's zenith, or noontime. An analysis of extant Egyptian obelisks has been made, and the average of the largest of them is 86 feet high. 45 We estimate that Ahaz' sun dial in Jerusalem, the capital city, was a smaller replica of Egyptian models, about 60 feet high and 8 to 10 feet wide at the base.
And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord:
and he brought the shadow
ten degrees [steps or feet] backward,
by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.
(II Kings 20:11) 46
Our model proposes that the North Pole was relocated between 300 and 350 miles closer to Alaska. There may have been a spin axis tilt shift from 25° down to the current 23½°. We propose that the combination of change in latitude and change in spin axis tilt was 6½°, of which at least 5° was a change southward in Jerusalem's latitude. Hence, we propose that the former latitude of Jerusalem was 37° N. or even 38° N. compared to the current 32° N. A raising of the angle of the sun at noon of 6½° will result in a shorter shadow. If the obelisk or tower was 60 feet tall, the shadow at noon would be shortened from 47.7 feet to 37.5 feet. 47
The shift downward, or shortening of the shadow of Ahaz' sun dial illustrates the new path of the sun was higher in the sky. Some combination of change in latitude (downward) and the shift in tilt (downward) resulted in about a 6½° increase in the angle of the Sun.
A SPIN AXIS PRECESSION FOR MARS. If Earth's spin axis precessed by a significant amount during this fly-by, one would presume that Mars, affected by a planet nine times as massive as itself, would have an even greater spin axis precession. There has been no work done on this subject, but there is a strange observation which must not escape our attention. Earth has a spin axis rate of one rotation per 23 hours 56 minutes (sidereal time). Mars has a spin axis rate of one rotation per 24 hours 37 minutes (sidereal time), or about 2.2 percent slower. This could be chance, but there are no other two planets in the solar system with such a harmonious spin rate.
Further, Earth has a spin axis tilt of 23°27', whereas Mars has a spin axis tilt of 24°50'. This is a tilt of about 1.4 degrees steeper, which again is so remarkably similar to Earth. Since the planets interacted so many times and in a cyclic pattern, the question to be raised concerns whether there is a harmonic principle involved, yet undiscovered.
According to our model, with at least seven heavy planetary interactions, there must have been several spin axis precessions for Mars, perhaps more than seven within the past 5,000 years. Is there any evidence of polar migration on Mars? One of the greatest surprises presented by the Mariner 9 pictures was the discovery of circular geographic features, plate-like regions averaging 200 miles in diameter with outward-sloping edges. The slopes or edges showed evenly spaced light and dark bands. They have been studied by Bruce C. Murray and Michael C. Malin. Murray and Malin theorize that the plate-like features were formed when frost trapped atmospheric dust. The dust was left as a residue after the frost evaporated. In such case, they say, the center of each plate would represent a former spin axis location of the Martian pole.
In the following quotation, the subconscious (rather than conscious) uniformitarian outlook is seen. Murray and Malin suggest a slow “nodding” or nutation, for which no mechanics exist. Our model suggests rapid, recent, catastrophic shifts, or “precessions” due to torque caused by the Earth.
The time scale of the hypothetical pole wandering is difficult to assess. ... If each individual lamin of the laminated terrain corresponds to the 50,000 year period in the polar climate of Mars postulated by Leighton and Murray (20), then an estimate can be made of the age of a single plate by noting the number of such laminae visible. This was done by Murray et al. (10) and they estimated that the laminated terrain under observation at the south pole probably represented a few million years of accumulated deposits. In the north as many as 20 or 30 plates can be recognized... Thus, we are led by these arguments to suppose that polar wandering of 10° to 20° has occurred over the last 10 years or so.... 48 49
During Heekiah's, Isaiah's and Numa's time, the calendar needed revision from the former 360 days to the current 365+ days. Whether about 70% or up to 95% of this change is due to orbital expansion, and whether about 5% or up to about 30% of this change is due to an increase in spin rate is a mater for further research. However, it is definite that a change of calendars occurred, and this is reflected in Piutarch as well as in the Bible.
“Hemes playing at draughts with the moon, won from her the seventieth part of each of her periods of illumination, and from all the winnings he composed five days, and intercalated them as an addition to the 360 days.” 50
Plutarch was forwarding from ancient sources, probably Etruscan sources, a “scientific” kind of observation. This parallels Isaiah's “scientific” kind of observation that the shadow of the Jerusalem obelisk shortened ten steps on this occasion. Notice the significant points that Plutarch touches upon:
Of course the construction of our model differs from the account of Plutarch, and differs as follows:
Nevertheless the information from Plutarch is most interesting, and is in agreement that the Moon lost about 1½% of its period, and likewise, Earth gained about a similar amount in its count of days per year (360 to 365¼).
Further research in the area of the general theory of spin axis precession is needed; this is the first work to our knowledge on spin axis precession proposing and analyzing an Earth-visiting planet interaction and resultant spin axis shift. Included in the research should be ancient sun dials, pyramid star charts and so forth, for it is reported that one pyramid star chart shows a star in the Big Dipper as the polar star, replacing Polaris. This can only suggest a change in the tilt of Earth's spin axis. 51
An ancient orbit of Mars in 1:2 resonance with the Earth-Moon system has been proposed and modeled. It has been evaluated through analogy with the 2:1 and 3:1 asteroids currently resonating with Jupiter. This model includes a 54-year cycle of conjunctions, a period of the same magnitude as the conjunctive cycle of the 2:1 asteroids, and also of the same magnitude as the conjunctive cycle of the resonating Pluto, in 3:2 resonance with Neptune.
An ancient fragmentation of a small planet, once orbiting between Mars and Jupiter has been proposed, and the planet has been named “Electra” after similar themes in Greek cosmo-mythology. Evidence that Mars was the planet causing the fragmentation was presented.
An interaction of the magnitude we model will include the following:
However, a thorough understanding of the Isaiahic Catastrophe remains incomplete, until we have assimilated the actions and reactions of the people observing, awaiting this fearful holocaust, the dreaded encounter between Earth and Mars. Would some have one last fling eat, drink and be merry even up to the day of the holocaust? Would some carefully watch and note or even record the astronomical scenery? Would some contemplate pillaging or vandalism in the wreckage of cities leveled by earthquakes? Would some turn to God and prayer and wonder about the end of the world? Would some offer even more Venus-cakes to Aphrodite (Ashtoreth), or offer an increasing number of cherished babies in human sacrifice to the pot-bellied furnace, the idol Baal-Mars? Might such a horrendous offering placate the wrath of this idol or its celestial consort? Perhaps enough Venus-cakes would encourage Aphrodite to apply her influence with the wild one and lead him away where he could not do harm to the Earth. These questions are too important to neglect, even if this study is one primarily devoted to Earth's cosmological history. Therefore, the preceding chapter was devoted to the reactions of eight persons living under the dreaded threat of imminent astronomical holocaust in 701 B.C.
Once the model of the Isaiahic Catastrophe is comprehended and mentally digested, then variations of it will serve to explain the other more ancient holocausts for which correspondingly less data are available. The cyclic pattern did repeat itself. Based on our model, the variations could include closer or farther fly-bys, inside or outside fly-bys, holocausts with or without spin axis shifts, and holocausts with little or much fire and brimstone (bolides and meteorites), and with severe or moderate earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Chapters V through X will be devoted to gathering and assessing of more details about each of the other six major catastrophes which have occurred since the Deluge.
“The ignorant refuse to have respect for authority;
they rush recklessly into a fight,
relying on their numbers and the protection of tradition,
which is impervious to the weapons of truth.
But after the edge of the ax has been struck against iron,
it does not cut wood any longer either.
Let this be understood by anyone who is interested.”
--Johannes Kepler
The complexities of this chapter are considerable. Some of the detailed discussion in this chapter may be beyond the reader's technical grasp. If the material is too difficult for total comprehension, the reader is urged to retain the main points.
A general understanding of the astronomical scene is necessary to understand the catastrophic-oriented thoughts of the ancients. For a more specific understanding of what happened to the Earth, a model of the planetary interaction is necessary. The model of this catastrophe will lay the basis to understand models of the other, more ancient catastrophes, catastrophes in which the themes were similar, but the details differed. ↩︎
There is a high degree of correlation between magnetic reversals, orogenetic activity and meteoritic activity. Basalt outflows reflect many magnetic field reversals. See J. H. Heirtzler, “Sea-floor Spreading”, Scientific American, Dec. 1968, p. 60 ff. “A major meteorite (tektite) fall occurred just at the time of the last reversal” (see “Tektites and Geomagnetic Reversals” by Billy P. Glass and Bruce C. Heezen; Scientific American, July, 1967). Some authors have speculated recently on a relation between mountain-building activity and magnetic reversals; others see a relation between changes in sea-floor spreading and mountain-building. ↩︎
There were also tides in the atmosphere, and in the plasma contained in the geomagnetic field. ↩︎
A spin axis precession includes three kinds of phenomena changes, namely (1) a relocation of the two geographical poles on the Earth, (2) a change in tilt, a relocation of the geographical poles with respect to the galaxy, and (3) a possible increase in spin rate itself. ↩︎
Mimas and Tethys, Saturn's first and third moons, have recently been discovered to be in 2:1 resonance. Enceladus and Dione, the second and fourth satellites, are similarly found to be in 2:1 resonance. Also Titan and Hyperion, its sixth and seventh satellites, are found to be in 4:3 resonance. This is why the icy particles surrounding Saturn are in such a well-defined cluster-and-gap arrangement. See R, R. Allan, “Evolution of Mimas-Tethys Commensurability,” Astronomical Journal, Vol. 74, No. 3, April 1969, pp. 497 ff. ↩︎
Jupiter's orbit varies in distance from the Sun from 460,200,000 miles at perihelion to 507,100,000 miles at aphelion, with an eccentricity of .048. ↩︎
Figure 4 should be kept in mind for future discussion when we turn to the subject of how Mars arrived at its current orbit at a 1.88 orbital ratio to Earth's orbit. ↩︎
The conjunctions of these asteroids oscillate back and forth. They liberate around Jupiter's aphelion and around the asteroids' perihelion. Of comparable interest is a recent finding written by J, G. Williams and G. S. Benson, “Resonances in the Neptune-Pluto System,” The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 76, No. 2, March, 1971, pp. 167 ff. The orbits of Neptune and Pluto are in 3:2 resonance. One peculiarity of Pluto's orbit is that its perihelion distance is less than that of Neptune. This condition suggests that Neptune and Pluto might make a close approach to one another. However, Pluto's resonance with Neptune is around its aphelion (the opposite of the 2:1 asteroids which resonate around their perihelions). ↩︎
In the case of the 2:1 resonating asteroids, it requires approximately 34 series of conjunctions for a half stroke, or about 400 Earth-years. In the case of the 3:2 resonating planets, Neptune and Pluto, it requires a series of 40 conjunctions of Pluto and Neptune or 10,000 Earth-years for a half stroke. ↩︎
Two of the nine planets (Neptune and Pluto) are in orbital resonance. In addition, Mercury's orbit is in 2:3 resonance with its own spin rate. Venus' strange, retrograde spin rate of about 242 days is very close to being in resonance with Earth's orbit, and indeed may have been so in ancient times when Earth's orbit was slightly closer to the Sun, before the 701 B.C. catastrophe.
If we consider the former resonance of the Earth-Moon system with Mars, five planets have been in one kind or another of orbital resonance. It has earlier been mentioned that it is likely that Mars was in 6:1 resonance with Jupiter while it was in 1:2 resonance with the Earth, Further, Saturn is in 2:5 orbital resonance with Jupiter. So orbital resonance, though only recently discovered, is not rare.
Joachim Schubart first reported cases of commensurability, or resonance among the asteroids in 1968. (See Joachim Schubart, “Long-Period Effects in the Motion of Hilda-Type Planets,” The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 73, No. 2, Part 1, March, 1968, pp. 99 ff.) Further analysis of the Kirkwood Gaps was reported by Francois Schweizer, “Resonant Asteroids in the Kirkwood Gaps and Statistical Explanations of the Gaps,” The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 74, No. 6, August, 1969, pp. 779 ff. ↩︎
This is subject only to the exception of Patten's model of Mercury-Earth interaction (Mercury with a small icy satellite that fragmented forming a deluge of astronomical rain). It is set forth in his work, The Biblical Flood and the Ice Epoch, pp. 126 ff. ↩︎
This implies that usually every 54 years (sometimes other close periods, such as 52 or 56 years), astronomical peril threatened the Earth and the Moon. Sometimes the peril was merely a threat; on other occasions it was a deadly, traumatic astronomical holocaust which enveloped our tiny rotating sphere. We believe that severe catastrophes developed at least seven times between 2500 B.C. and 701 B.C. This means that of the 33 times the 54-year-cycle pattern was reversed during this 1,800 year period, 7 (or 20%) of these close conjunctions were very severe. Probably another 20% were mildly catastrophic like the ones in 864 B.C. and 1080 B.C which we shall study. The other 60% of these 33 occasions of celestial appointment were more frightening than deadly. ↩︎
Most ancient peoples utilized one of the two days, March 21 or circa October 30, as their New Years Day in their calendars. Thus their cyclic experience both looked backward (to the end of the last world age or era) and forward (to the possible reorientation of, or end of, the age in a future holocaust). That they conceived days of scheduled catastrophism as possibly the “end of the world” was not unreasonable. Were similar conditions to recur today, with our astronomical technology, our attentions and concerns would be equally riveted to the heavens if not more so. ↩︎
Mars is 1/9 as heavy as Earth, and is about 1/3000 as heavy as Jupiter. The heavy planet position of the Earth-Mars resonance in this case compares more favorably to the Neptune-Pluto resonance, where the heavier planet is also on the inside. Pluto is thought to be about 1/508th as massive as Neptune. ↩︎
The current orbits of Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are 1.00, 1.88, 11.87 and 29.65 years (current Earth years) respectively. These four planets we believe were in an ancient orbital resonance system where there were periods (in terms of current Earth years) of 99 for Earth, 1.98 for Mars, 11.87 for Jupiter and 29.65 for Saturn. This four-body resonance system then was in a complex 60:30:5:2 resonance. ↩︎
It is believed that effects caused by the Moon on orbital shifts were so slight as to be insignificant. ↩︎
Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Chicago: William Benton, Publisher, 1958, Vol. 2, pp. 109, 111. ↩︎
Charles McDowell, “A History of Middle East Catastrophes, 1500-972 B.C.,” an unpublished manuscript. Dr. McDowell is chairman of the department of geography, history and political science, Cuyahoga Community College. Western Campus, Parma, Ohio. ↩︎
Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1909, Voí. I, p. 253. “For fifty-two years God had warned the godless; He had made mountains to quake and tremble..... With nightfall, the fate of Sodom was sealed irrevocably, and the angels arrived there. ”
On page 255 of this work it states that four of the cities of the plain had been founded 51 years earlier and one (Zoar) 50 years earlier. The indication is that these cities were founded in the first or second year following the Tower of Babel debacle. It may well be that the rifting, or pulling apart of Earth's crust forming the Great Rift Valley, was expanded during that catastrophe. More on this subject will be considered in Chapter IX. ↩︎
Loren C. Steinhauer, “Out of Whose Womb Came the Ice?”, Symposium on Creation IV, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972, pp. 134 ff. ↩︎
The modified Roche Limit calculation can be correlated with existing phenomena in the solar system. The leading example is the rings of Saturn. The fragmentation limit for a spherical body composed of water ice approaching Saturn is about 1.17 Saturn radii. That is, the icy body would fragment at some distance beyond 4,500 miles above Saturn's surface (or 40,200 miles from its center). The inner edge of the ring system is 7,000 miles above the surface. This suggests that the modified Roche limit calculation is conservative in that the fragmentation occurs beyond the calculated limit. The other correlative examples are the moons of the planets which obviously aren't fragmenting. The moon closest to its mother planet is Phobos, 1.4 radii from the center of Mars: 1.4 exceeds the fragmentation limit of 1.26 for bodies of like density with Mars. ↩︎
The radius of Mars is 2,070 miles. ↩︎
The mass of the asteroids collectively has been estimated to equal ⅛ the mass of the Moon. We believe this is a conservative estimate. This former planet, before fragmenting into asteroids, must have been at least 1,000 miles in diameter. Compare this to the Moon's diameter of 2,160 miles, Mars' diameter of 4,140 miles and Earth's of 7,927 miles. The largest asteroid is 480 miles in diameter.
Saturn's second-largest satellite, Iapetus, has a diameter of an estimated 1,000 miles, and this may well be smaller in size than the former planet which disintegrated. ↩︎
There are three examples of fragmentation in our solar system; two are extant. They are (1) Saturn's icy rings, (2) the asteroids, and (3) Earth's temporary ice rings formed during the Flood Catastrophe. Of the third, the only remaining area of evidence is the glaciation, the scouring and scraping, which is seen feathering out from the geomagnetic polar regions. This includes erratic boulders, terminal moraines, lateral moraines, striated rocks, lacustrine plains and so forth. For further information, see Patten's The Biblical Flood and the Ice Epoch, Chapters VI and VII.
The fact that Deimos and Phobos are in direct motion around Mars would indicate that Electra shattered while passing by Mars on the outside. This again suggests that the orbits of Electra and Mars also crossed.
The fact that the four outermost satellites of Jupiter are small irregular shaped rocks in retrograde motion suggests that they too are components of the former planet Electra. The names of these outer satellites of Jupiter are Andastea, Pan, Poisedon and Hades. These satellites vary in size from about 10 to 25 miles in diameter, similar to Deimos and Phobos. ↩︎
A bolide is a fragment which enters Earth's atmosphere just as does a meteor. The prefix bolo in Greek means “to throw.” A bolide is a meteor-like body, composed of materials other than iron, nickel and silicon (such as ammonia, carbon or cyanogen). They will ignite upon heating to a high temperature and explode in a vast, chemical explosion causing a concussion and much noise. In the Hebrew records, the word deber describes ancient fiery outpourings of Mars, both bolides and meteors. Since the King James translators did not understand the cosmology, they have translated deber in 17 different ways, including “pestilence,” “murrain,” “hot hailstones,” “brimstone,” “lightning,” and “tumults.”
Bolides have been known to occur in recent times. A large bolide, (some describe it as a comet), fell into Earth's atmosphere on the night of June 30, 1908. It was estimated to be 400 yards in diameter, and was seen over much of Siberia that night. Its brief journey through Earth's atmosphere resulted in immense friction, triggering a vast chemical explosion equal to the force of a thermonuclear device, It exploded at a point many hundred feet, or perhaps a thousand feet above the ground, near the Tunguska River in uninhabited Northern Siberia. Shock waves were felt and heard for hundreds of miles. Trees were flash-burned for a radius of miles from the point of explosion. This particular bolide (some described it as a comet that hit the Earth) fell in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, in unpopulated Siberia and in our century. It could have fallen in a populated region. For example, had it fallen in the same latitude but four hours later, St. Petersburg, the modern Leningrad, then a city of 1,500,000 and the capital of Tsarist Russia, would have suffered a fiery fate comparable to the ancient Volsinium, except for the formation of a crater lake.
For further information, see an essay entitled “On The Motion of the Tunguska Meteorite in the Earth's Atmosphere” by L. A. Katasev and N. V, Kulikova, Solar System Research, VoI. I, No. 1, Jan-March, 1967.
The word meteor comes from a Greek word meaning “something from the air,” or in contemporary usage, a shooting star. ↩︎
Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), 43 B.C.-?17 A.D. Pliny (Gaius Plinius Secundus), “the elder,” 23-79 A.D. Pliny wrote in the fields of history and natural science and died while trying to observe closely the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
What Pliny described as the ancient “thunderbolts” in former ages were in reality powerful shock waves radiating from the explosion subpoint. K. P. Stanyukovich and V. A, Bronshten, in describing the Tunguska Bolide, pointed out that “shock waves on reaching the earth's surface will produce all of the observed patterns of destruction, while radiation emitted by a powerful shock wave will give rise to flash burn of a number of objects, particularly trees” (as quoted from the aforementioned Katasev and Kulikova). ↩︎
Immanuel Velikovsky, Worlds in Collision, New York: Doubleday and Co., 1950, p. 272. ↩︎
Velikovsky, op. cit., pp. 272-273. ↩︎
Homer, the Iliad, translated by Samuel Butler, New York: Walter J. Black, 1942, Book I, p. 16. We have already mentioned that “Apollo” is the phonetic equivalent in Greek of “Baal” in Phoenician and Dr. Charles McDowell in a later publication will be identifying Baal with Mars, even as Ashtoreth (the Greek Aphrodite) is Venus.
Knowledge of the astronomical scene, planet-watching and predictions were the main issue in Book I in the Iliad. Did Calchus, the augur or seer, bring the Danaans and Argives in on schedule, or did the personal behavior of Agamemnon so displease Apollo that he altered his celestial visit to plague or decimate the Argives? This is our question which underlies Homer's questions. ↩︎
Homer, op. cit., pp. 8-9. ↩︎
II Samuel 24:15-16; see also I Chronicles 21: 12-16. ↩︎
The total historical model includes the following sub-models:
1. The 2:1 resonant orbit relation of Earth and Mars,
2. The fragmentation of Electra by Mars, resulting in asteroids,
3. The seven major fly-bys between 2500 B.C. and 701 B.C.,
4. The 6:1 resonance between Mars and Jupiter in that era.
5. The 5:2 resonance between Jupiter and Saturn in that era, a resonance which persists into the current era.
Items 1 and 2 are sub-models addressed in this chapter. Item 3 is a sub-model series addressed by the chapters in this work discussing each particular catastrophe. Item 4 is considered in some further detail in Chapter XI, where it will be shown that the line of apsides of Jupiter's orbit was perpendicular to the line of apsides of both Earth and Mars while they were in 12:6:1 resonance. This is to suggest that the influence of Jupiter in this whole system must not be overlooked or minimized. ↩︎
This table assumes a perihelion of Mars at 81,900,000 miles and a perihelion of Earth at 90,700,000 miles. ↩︎
Mars has a diameter twice as large as the Moon (4,140 miles to 2,160). At 500,000 miles it would appear as large as the Moon, but it was considerably shinier, Its albedo (reflective power) is 15% compared to the lunar 7%. ↩︎
See Sydney Chapman, The Earth's Magnetism, London: Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1951, p. 76. ↩︎
In reality we suspect Mars was somewhat north of the ecliptic plane. ↩︎
These are the average orbital periods. During the 108-year cycle the number of days per year would oscillate. ↩︎
Earth's current orbital eccentricity is 0.0167. Before this catastrophe it may have been slightly greater. ↩︎
Current Earth days may be shorter by as much as five minutes (0.3%) than the ancient days, due to spin rate changes at the time of the catastrophe. ↩︎
The Hecuba Gap among the asteroids compares to the Cassini Gap in the rings of Saturn. In the Cassini Gap a peak of icy particles occurs about 1.85 the period of Mimas, the innermost satellite. ↩︎
Dr. Melvin A, Cook suspects that gravity is of electrical and magnetic origin. We quote in part from his Appendix III, The Science of High Explosives. Huntington, New York: Krieger Publishing Co., 1971 pp. 422-423, 426. We quote:
G½ is dimensionally charge/mass and is 2.58x10⁻⁴ e.s.u. per gram. That it may actually be electrostatic charge per gram thus offers itself as an explanation of gravity. But this naive interpretation has been avoided because of the formidable problems incurred by the apparently complete nonpolarity of gravity and the absence of a satisfactory mechanism for the accumulation of the required amount of charge on one body, e.g., 1.54x10⁺²⁴ e.s.u. for the earth and 5.16x10⁺²⁹ e.s.u. for the sun. On the other hand there are several reasons to believe that gravity is actually of electrical and magnetic origin. Let us summarize several of these reasons... . [7 are listed]. ↩︎
The geomagnetic field is frozen at the instant the temperature drops below the Curie point which is actually colder than the temperature of solidification. ↩︎
The Moon's average equatorial diameter is approximately 2,850 feet longer than its polar diameter. Further, since the Moon's equatorial zone is itself oblate or pear-shaped, its equatorial diameter also varies. This variance is approximately 800 feet, with the bulge pointing toward the Earth. ↩︎
Roche's Limit describes this for stellar bodies and circular orbits, and Steinhauer's redefinition describes this for planetary situations and non-circular orbits. ↩︎
The tallest Egyptian obelisks whose heights are known are: \ ↩︎
The amplified version translates “degrees” as “steps.” (Isaiah 38:8). Ten steps on the floor of the astronomical edifice is a more likely translation. ↩︎
Credit is given to physicist C. William DeCeault, Seattle, for recognizing that this observation, recorded in the books of Isaiah, II Kings and II Chronicles is a “scientific” kind of observation. ↩︎
Bruce C. Murray and Michael C. Malin, “Polar Wandering on Mars?”, Science, Vol. 179, pp. 997-1,000, March 9, 1973. ↩︎
Murray and Malin point toward gradual nutation of the Martian spin axis to explain various spin axis locations. Nutation is a phenomena very similar to spin axis precession, only it suggests a slow nodding or shifting whereas we consider it to have been sudden, and considerably more recent than they assumed. Obviously the spin axis shifts are related to the massive volcanism and rifting which are also astonishingly revealed by the Mariner 9 photography. But then such cataclysmic events are expected, and their evidence is not astonishing when one assesses the model we are proposing together with its effects. Spin axis precessions are but one of these effects, crustal deformation but another, fragmentation of Electra into asteroids being yet a third of the effects in this cause-and-effect episode in the recent past of our solar system.
Murray and Malin theorized that the plates are a combination of frost and atmospheric dust. This suggests wind-driven or wind-generated dust. Our model would propose the plates are a combination of frost with volcanic ashes, cinders and dust rather than wind-driven materials primarily. ↩︎
Immanuel Velikovsky, op. cit., p. 337, citing Plutarch's Isis and Isiris. ↩︎
Louis Ginzberg, The Legend of the Jews, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1973, Vol. IV, pp. 267 ff.
“With this vast army Sennacherib hastened onward, in accordance with the disclosures of the astrologers, who warned him that he would fail in his object of capturing Jerusalem, if he arrived there later than the day set by them...In the following night, WHICH WAS THE PASSOVER NIGHT, when Hezekiah
and the people BEGAN TO SING THE HALLEL PSALMS, the giant host was annihilated. The archangel Gabriel, sent by God to ripen the fruits of the field, was charged to address himself to the task of making away with the Assyrians.... The death of the Assyrians happened when the angel permitted them to hear THE SONG OF THE CELESTIALS. Their souls were burnt, though their garments remained intact.”
[We presume that the singing of the Hallel Psalms commenced shortly after sundown, or about 8:00 P.M. on the fateful night of Friday the 13th of Nisan, our March 20, 701 B. C.. There was a time lag of perhaps two hours between the Martian perigee during the fly-by and the timing of the Jerusalem Bolide. The “song of the celestials” and the report that “their souls were burnt” we compare with the flash-burn effect of the Tunguska Bolide, radiating shock waves from the subpoint of that cometary holocaust.]
↩︎
"The Long Day of Joshua and
Six Other Catastrophes" by Patten,
Hatch & Steinhauer
- is ©1973 by Pacific Meridian Pub. Co.
https://www.creationism.org/patten/PattenLDOJ/
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