Japanese scientists look to uncover “Planet X”

PLANET X DATABASE ON THIS SITE

COMET DATABASE ON THIS SITE

 6-3-04 - COSMIC DUST CLOUD - INCOMING

SEE THE WARNING ON YELLOWSTONE

A series of comets (a string) is coming inward towards the sun.  The time frame to watch for will be early 2004, so there is still some time to prepare for this series of events.  Some of these comets are going to hit the sun and will be of little consequence to us personally.  However, one of these comets is on a tragectory to hit the moon.  A large chunk of the moon will break off and come down and hit the earth.  But that is not the worst - a comet will be close enough to the earth's trajectory to hit it directly - so we will be hit twice.

The time frame - according to the source will be approximately nine months from today.  7-16-03 - which makes it approximately March 15, 2004, the Ides of March.

NEAR EARTH ASTEROID TRACKING    RECENT COMET OBSERVATIONS

Unseen Celestial Companions

SPECULATION ABOUT the existence of unseen celestial companions dates back far before the discovery of Pluto in 1929 — and even figures in more recent fringe phenomena such as the 1997 “Heaven’s Gate” tragedy and talk of a new “Planet X.” This latest hypothesis, however, is aimed at answering nagging scientific questions about how particular types of comets make their way into the inner solar system.

Some comets, like Halley’s Comet, follow relatively short-period orbits — circling the sun in less than two hundred years. These comets are thought to originate in the Kuiper Belt, a disk of cosmic debris that lies beyond Neptune’s orbit.

The best way to think of the distances involved is in terms of Astronomical Units. One AU is the distance from Earth to the sun (93 million miles or 149.6 million kilometers). Pluto, the most distant of the planets, is at 39 AU. The Kuiper Belt extends from 30 AU to perhaps 1,000 AU.

Even further out is the Oort Cloud, a spherical haze of comets surrounding the solar system at distances between 10,000 AU and more than 50,000 AU. That’s where long-period comets such as Hale-Bopp are thought to come from. For some time, astronomers have noticed that the directional patterns of these comets are not completely random. And after years of study, some researchers are reporting that the patterns hint at something big out there perturbing the cometary paths.

WHAT COULD IT BE?

No telescope has yet detected this object. But on the basis of its gravitational effect, John B. Murray, a planetary scientist at Britain’s Open University, speculates that the object could be a planet larger than Jupiter, the biggest of the solar system’s known planets. Murray puts the object’s orbit at 32,000 AU, or 2.98 trillion miles from the sun. His proposal appears in the Oct. 11 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette say the object could be a planet or brown dwarf — that is, a dark, failed star — roughly three times the size of Jupiter and orbiting at 25,000 AU. The researchers, led by physicist John Matese, say their paper is to be published by the journal Icarus.

Both studies acknowledge that other factors could influence the pattern seen in long-period comets: for example, the Milky Way’s gravitational tidal effects. But the Louisiana researchers say the cometary patterns are best explained by the existence of “a perturber, acting in concert with the galactic tide.”

Matese said the proposed object should make one orbit around the sun every 4 million to 5 million years. Murray said the object he had in mind would make one orbit every 6 million years, circling the sun in a direction counter to that followed by the nine traditional planets.

The two researchers said they were familiar with each other’s work but hadn’t taken a close look at each other’s studies. They acknowledged that their estimates for the mass and orbit of a mysterious object were similar, but couldn’t say whether they were talking about the same object.

MORE QUESTIONS

How could such a massive object exist so far from the sun? The researchers say a planet or dark star could have coalesced during the formation of the solar system billions of years ago, but more probably would be a passing celestial body that was captured by the sun’s subtle gravitational pull.

Another question: Why hasn’t such an object been seen? Murray says that even a Jupiter-scale planet could not be observed at the immense distances involved. Matese and his colleagues say that their hypothetical brown dwarf wouldn’t have been detected even by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, which surveyed the heavens in 1983 — but that the yet-to-be-launched Space Infrared Telescope Facility just might be able to pick it up.

All this may sound like science fiction, but an expert in the field notes that the hypothesis has been a subject of serious speculation for years.

“We’ve all wondered whether there was something out there,” said Brian Marsden, who heads the International Astronomical Union’s Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams as well as the Minor Planet Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

However, Marsden also expressed some skepticism about the evidence behind the latest research.

“I’m not convinced it is not due to chance,” he told MSNBC in an e-mail message. “In any case, the data may not be as good as one would like.”

SPECULATIVE SCENARIO

If the research holds up, it could open the door for renewed speculation on even spookier questions: Some theorists have proposed that the gravitational effect of a massive unseen object in a distant orbit — nicknamed “Nemesis” or the “Death Star” — could set off periodic cometary storms, which would increase the chances of a catastrophic impact with Earth. Indeed, physicist Daniel Whitmire, a colleague of Matese’s who is a co-author of the new research, laid out just such a scenario in 1985 to explain mass extinctions on Earth, such as the demise of the dinosaurs.

Matese also speculated back then about such an effect, but he emphasized that the newly detected object didn’t fit the doomsday profile.

“This object is not a Nemesis,” he told MSNBC. “It does not create comet storms.”

He said his proposed object appeared to have an influence on about 25 percent of the long-period comets coming in from the Oort Cloud.

Matese noted that theories proposing a correlation between extinctions on Earth and celestial orbits had fallen out of scientific favor in recent years. But he said there could be a “much more gentle” effect that links periodic changes in cratering to the solar system’s oscillating motion through the galactic plane.

As the solar system moves around the Milky Way’s center, it bobs slowly up and down through the galactic disk, Matese explained. The gravitational effects could cause changes in the number of comets sent into the inner solar system, he said.

“We don’t know the precise period of that motion” through the plane of the galaxy, he said. “If we discover that it’s closer to a 35-million-year period, then a case can be made that it causes periodic changes in cratering.”

Moon-like Asteroid to Make Close Earth Approach

Fri Jan 3, 9:43 AM

By SPACE.com Staff, SPACE.com

An asteroid that behaves something like a second Moon to Earth will make its closest approach to our planet next week before shuttling back into deep space for nearly a century.

The space rock is about 200 feet (60 meters) across and never gets as close as the real Moon. Scientists say there is no chance it will hit Earth anytime in the foreseeable future.

First reported in October and named 2002 AA29, the asteroid moves in a horseshoe-like pattern around Earth, inhabiting the same region of space through which the planet travels. It is under the gravitational influence of both Earth and the Sun, sometimes leading Earth around the Sun and sometimes lagging behind during Earth's annual trek.

"In some ways, the Earth and this asteroid are like two racecars on a circular track," said Paul Chodas, a researcher at NASA's Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement released today by NASA. "Right now the asteroid is on a slightly slower track just outside Earth's, and our planet is catching up."

On Wednesday, Jan. 8, the rock will be about 3.7 million miles (5.9 million kilometers) from Earth. The Moon, Earth's only true natural satellite, is a mere 238,900 miles (384,402 kilometers) away.

"Unlike racecars, the two bodies will not pass when they approach each other," Chodas said. "Instead, the combined gravitational effects of the Earth and Sun will nudge the asteroid onto a slightly faster track just inside Earth's, and it will begin to pull ahead."

In 95 years, the asteroid will have advanced all the way around to where it is catching up to the Earth from behind. A similar interaction will then push the asteroid back onto a slower outside track, and the pattern will repeat.

In about 600 years, the asteroid may begin looping around Earth like a tiny, distant quasi-moon.

"The asteroid will appear to orbit the Earth at that time, but in fact it will be too far away to be considered a true satellite of our planet," Chodas said. "Our calculations indicate the space rock will circle the Earth as a quasi-satellite for about 40 years before resuming its horseshoe orbital pattern."

Earth's gravity keeps the asteroid at bay, said Don Yeomans, JPL manager of NASA's Near Earth Objects Program Office. "The asteroid and Earth take turns sneaking up on each other, but they never get too close," Yeomans said.

By Roger W. Sinnott

Comet Kudo-Fujikawa is seen here in this CCD image taken on December 15th from Las Cruces, NM, about a day after its discovery. Courtesy Bert and Janet Stevens.

Updated December 17th. | Early on the morning of December 14th, Japanese amateur Tetuo Kudo was searching the skies with his giant 20 x 120 binoculars. While scanning the constellation Hercules, he spotted something new — a fuzzy 9th-magnitude glow moving slowly east-southeast. Follow-up observations by Ken-ichi Kadota (Saitama, Japan) confirmed the object and revealed a short tail about 1/3° in length, pointing away from the Sun.

The comet (C/2002 X5) was announced on International Astronomical Union Circulars 8032 and 8033, and has been officially named Comet Kudo-Fujikawa.

A preliminary orbit calculated by Brian G. Marsden of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, indicates that this comet is headed for perihelion in late January,

Binoculars should be all you need to spot the new comet just before dawn in the last two weeks of December. (You can find when dawn begins at your site by entering your location into our almanac.) Start with the bright landmark stars Arcturus (top right) and Vega (lower left). The sky's position with respect to the horizon is shown very approximately. This horizon is drawn for skywatchers at 40° north latitude when dawn begins around the end of December. Before that date the comet will be less high than shown here; after that it will be higher than here. Stars are plotted to magnitude 6.8. Sky & Telescope diagram.

It will pass well inside the orbit of Mercury and may brighten considerably. Unfortunately, it will then be almost directly behind the Sun as seen from Earth, hence virtually impossible to observe. Before that time, Northern Hemisphere observers should be able to follow the comet with binoculars in the morning sky through mid-January. Skywatchers in the Southern Hemisphere are in a position to see it emerging from the Sun's glare in late February, in the evening sky.

Currently the comet is about 7th magnitude, making it a viable binocular object for amateurs. It could be 6th magnitude or brighter by the year's end. Contributing editor Steven James O'Meara, observing from Volcano, Hawaii, on the morning of the 16th, reported the comet as being "Magnitude 7.8. Bright, easy target — could have been discovered from a city with a small telescope. Could not confirm a tail."

See http://skyandtelescope.com/news/current/article_816_1.asp  to see the Ephemeris on the comet.

A Third New Comet Just Found...03/21/02

A third new comet has just been found all with in days of each other. Amateur astronomer Syogo Utsunomiya has discovered a 10th-magnitude comet in the constellation Pegasus. Just two days ago Douglas Snyder of USA and Shigeki Murakami of Japan discovered two new comets. The comet has been named 'Snyder-Murakami - C/2002 E2' which was discovered March 11th.

Two Comets Discovered by Amateur Astronomers

Now as of yesterday March 20th, a third new comet has been discovered. It was discovered by another amateur astronomer from Japan. His name is Syogo Utsunomiya. He was using giant 25 x 150 binoculars when he made his find. The comets name is 'C/2002 F1'

           Comet C/2002 F1

Date     R.A. (2000) Dec.  Elong.  Const.
(0h UT)   h   m     o  '      o
Mar 21   21 53.0  +07 13    32.6    Peg
Mar 22   21 57.3  +08 07    32.6    Peg
Mar 23   22 01.9  +09 04    32.4    Peg
Mar 24   22 07.0  +10 04    32.2    Peg
Mar 25   22 12.7  +11 07    31.8    Peg
Mar 26   22 18.8  +12 13    31.4    Peg

July 25, 2002

Letters identify some of the pieces of comet 57P seen by the University of Hawaii's 2.2-meter telescope.

By Richard Stenger
(CNN) -- Sweltering in the heat of the sun, a comet in the inner solar system has broken into a glistening string of at least 19 icy boulders, astronomers said.

Other disintegrating comets have been imaged, but they consisted of only a handful of chunks. None boasted nearly as many pieces, the University of Hawaii research team said.

The scientists knew that comet 57P had split, but were shocked to find so many parts when they looked at it with a telescope on the summit of the highest mountain in Hawaii.

"We guessed that we could find some more fragments but we didn't guess that we'd find so many. It's quite awesome," said David Jewitt, who with two colleagues watched the comet on two nights last week.

They speculate that comet 57P suffered a significant catastrophe in the recent past, "violent enough to break off many pieces of its nucleus."

The event was likely caused by sunlight cooking the nucleus of the comet, now heading toward the sun, beyond its breaking point, they said.

COMET FACTS

Explore the structure of a comet

The fragments of other comets, like Linear C, observed with the Hubble Space Telescope, survived only a few days. But 57P convoy could contain much sturdier parts.

The astronomers hope to study the fragments for at least several weeks as they move and evolve, which "should give us insight into the constitution and fragility of this comet and hopefully comets in general."

The comet consists of a main nucleus, to the far left in the horizontal image at the top of this story, and a train of companions from a few hundred to tens of meters of across, each identified by a different letter.

It will make its closest approach to the sun on July 31, at roughly the same distance as the orbit of Mars

The string of pearls is about 620,000 miles (1 million kilometers) long. From our perspective on Earth, it would extend about the same distance in the sky as the moon's diameter. But 57P is much too faint to see with the naked eye.

Jewitt and colleagues Yanga Fernandez and Scott Sheppard will keep an eye on it for as long as they can, using a 7.2-foot (2.2-meter) telescope on Mauna Kea, a volcano 13,800 feet high (4,200 meters) where thin, dry air and extremely dark skies provide ideal astronomical viewing

"We intend to watch the fragments as they fade away from the heat of the sun. Eventually, we hope we'll see tiny dead remnants of the fragments that are left after all the ices have gone," Jewitt said.

"Of course, it's also possible that the fragments will completely disintegrate into dust, in which case nothing observable will be left."

Comets are primordial souvenirs of the early solar system. Most reside in thin packs beyond the planets, but some make periodic trips into the inner solar system.

C/2002 C1

C/2002 C1 (Ikeya-Zhang)
http://cometman.com/c2002c1.html

NEW ASTEROID DISCOVERED

2001PM9

CLOSE ENOUGH TO HIT EARTH IN THE YEAR 2005

NASA To Blow Up Comet - DEEP IMPACT

For US Fourth Of July 2005

The Deep Impact mission, which will launch in January 2004, will reach a comet named Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, before firing its payload. The action will create a celestial firework display to mark American Independence Day.
 

It has just been disclosed, six NEO's (near earth orbit's) will occur this week. The six asteroid names are as follows...

1) '(398) Admete' 2) '(78) Diana' 3) '(54) Alexandra' 4) '268 Adorea' 5) '702 Alauda' 6) '558 Carmen'. Unfortunately  none will be visible with the naked eye. However all will be visible with visual aids.

1) The 47-km asteroid '(398) Admete'; is expected to best be seen over Nicaragua and Guadalupe; but it could pass over adjacent countries instead, at 6:15-17 UT of July 9 UT. Near star constellation Ophiuchius.

2) The 120-km asteroid '(78) Diana'; near star constellation Pisces over Sonora (Hermosillo). The asteroid is expected to be best seen in the S.E. corner of Arizona, and S.W. New Mexico at 11:34 UT July 9 (5:34 am MDT).

3) The 165-km asteroid '(54) Alexandra'; near star constellation Pisces, will best be seen over Guatemala, Yucatan, & N.E. Florida (in brightening twilight) from 9:52-9:56 UT Wed. July 11 (5:55 am EDT in Fla.).

4) The 139-km asteroid '268 Adorea'; near star constellation Spica, will best be seen over Salt Lake City (in too bright twilight) to central Colo., Okla., Texarkana, N. LA & S. AR, S. Miss., S. Ala., and northern Florida. The date is Tues. night, July 10/11, around 3:25 UT of July 11 UT.

5) The 200-km asteroid '702 Alauda'; near star constellation Sagittarius, will be visible from most of North Carolina, northern South Carolina, Kentucky, parts of Va. and Tenn., s. Ind., central Illinois, N.E. Mo., Iowa, N.E. Nebr., the Dakotas, and eastern Montana. The date is Wed., July 11, 11:11 pm EDT (July 12, 3:11 UT).

6) Two hours after the above, the 59-km asteroid '558 Carmen' ; near star constellation beta Capricorn, will be visible from the eastern Carolinas, S. Georgia, Gulf coast area (including New Orleans), to Corpus Christi & Laredo, Texas; and across Mexico north of Monterrey and La Paz, Baja California. The date is July 12, 5:07 UT.

There are some in the science community who suggest there is an increase in NEO's. One theory suggest it has to do with the Sun. It is related to the process of charged particles hurling through space. This includes the noticeable Magnetic Shift of Earth and that of the Sun.

DEEP IMPACT - THE MOVIE

ARMAGEDDON - THE MOVIE

US. DENTENTION CENTERS
DON'T BE IN DENIAL!!!
THEY EXIST!!!
REX 84 CAMPS

LAST YEAR WE WERE TOLD THAT COMET LINEAR DIED!
HOW COME IT'S NOW BEING SIGHTED IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AGAIN????

COMET LINEAR DATABASE ON THIS SITE

Subj: Earth Changes TV/Breaking News - Comet Shows Surprise Outburst
Date: 1/30/2002 10:19:26 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: earthchanges@earthlink.net

Comet Shows Surprise Outburst...01/31/02
by Mitch Battros (ECTV)
This just in from Sky & Telescope. Comet Linear - C/2000 WM1, as of today, is visible by the naked eye. Unusual behavior had been reported several days earlier by astronomer Andrew Pearce of Nedlands, Western Australia. Then a surprise outburst as reported by astronomer Greg Bryant of Sydney, Australia caught many off guard.
__________________________


Comet Linear - C/2000 WM1 in Outburst (01/31/02)
Roger W. Sinnott - Sky & Telescope

Greg Bryant of Sydney, Australia, reports that this comet appears to be undergoing an outburst. On the morning of January 30th, the comet was visible to the naked eye despite the presence of a very bright gibbous Moon.

Unusual behavior had been noticed several days earlier by by Andrew Pearce of Nedlands, Western Australia. In 20 x 80 binoculars, Pearce found the comet to be magnitude 4.6 on January 28th (local date) even though it had been only 6.2 the previous morning (four times fainter). His reports are posted on JPL's Comet Observation Page

On January 30th, Michael Mattiazzo of Wallaroo, South Australia, told members of the Minor Planet Mailing List (MPML) that the comet looked "virtually starlike to the eye, but 25 x 100mm binoculars reveal two bright jets emanating from opposite poles of the nucleus." He put its magnitude at 3.0, slightly brighter than the star Phi Sagittarii.

The comet is not currently visible from the Northern Hemisphere. But viewing prospects will continue to improve for observers south of the equator. For example, as seen from latitude 35 degrees south, here is the comet's altitude at the start of morning twilight and the phase of the Moon (when up) on selected dates:

Mitch Battros
Producer - Earth Changes TV
http://www.earthchangestv.com

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

THE DEATH OF COMET LINEAR

Dying Comet Gives Rare View of Space

By PAUL RECER

WASHINGTON (AP) - It was like watching an autopsy on a comet.  Comet Linear, falling toward the sun last summer, peeled off layer after layer, revealing its structure and composition to astronomers watching with  some of the world's most powerful telescopes.

The half-mile-wide comet shed mountain-sized chunks of rock and vaporized tons of ice as it shattered and then disintegrated during a final plunge into the sun, said Hal Weaver, a Johns Hopkins University astronomer and co-author of a study appearing Friday in the journal Science.

``We think watching it come apart was a lot like seeing how the comet was put together in the first place, played in reverse,'' said Weaver, leader of an astronomy team that observed the comet.

Weaver said an analysis of Linear's breakup supports the idea that comets may have supplied a primitive Earth with the water and organic chemicals to form life.

He said study of three other comets, Halley, Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake, had cast doubt on the comets' role because the chemistry of water on those objects was different from that of the Earth's oceans.

But the characteristics of Linear's breakup suggest it had a different water chemistry, Weaver said. ``This is the type of comet that could have done the job'' of providing Earth with the water and organic chemicals needed for life, he said.

Linear's breakup originally was estimated to be about a half-mile across in size and contain some 660 billion pounds of ice. Measurements of the debris, however, can account for only small percentage of the rocky material and for only about 7.2 billion pounds of the ice, Weaver said.

``If you add up the many pieces that broke off, you come out way short of the original mass estimate,'' he said. ``So there is some missing matter here.''

While astronomers do not know what caused the breakup, Weaver said the comet's fragility surprised them.

``The forces that took it apart were gentle,'' he said. ``It was not like there was a stick of dynamite that blew it apart. The forces were not that powerful.''

This supports the traditional view that comets may be ``cosmic rubble'' piles that are only loosely held together, he said.

Researchers also were surprised at the ratio of ice to dust and rock in Linear. Since the 1950s, astronomers have believed comets were ``dirty snowballs,'' objects that were about half ice and half dusty rocks.

Weaver said the analysis of Linear suggests that it had about 100 times more solid rock and dust than ice.

``Comet Linear was more like an icy dirtball than a dirty snowball,'' he said.

Astronomers also noted that the ice vaporized at much higher temperatures than expected. This suggests the comet formed closer to the sun, perhaps around the orbit of Jupiter, Weaver said. Most comets are thought to have formed on the distant fringes of the solar system, where temperatures are much colder.

Weaver said that comets formed nearer the sun are more apt to contain frozen water whose chemical composition more closely resembles that of the Earth's oceans. This would support the theory that comets supplied much of the planet's water, he said.

On the Net: Journal Science: http://www.eurekalert.org

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10-19-00 - THREAT DEFINITION AND VERIFICATION

VULCAN, COMETS AND THE IMPENDING CATASTROPHE

10-1-00 -  Getting Ready for Impact with 1998 OX4?

10-1-00 - POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS NEAR EARTH OBJECTSCOMING TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SOON

8-30-00 - PHOBOS IMPACT SCENARIO

5-13-00 - THIRD PROPHECY OF FATIMA INCLUDES COMET
CAUSING 3 DAYS OF DARKNESS ON EARTH
BUY THE BOOK - FINAL WARNING

3-27-00 - SKYWATCH ALERT for June, 2000

MISSION TO MARS?  LANDERS

3-15-00 - NEW ANALYSIS OF NOSTRADAMUS KING OF TERROR? IS IT COMING IN THE YEAR 2000?
 

Comet Impact Could Happen At "Any Moment?"

11-19-99 - RESULTS FROM THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER

 11-5-99 - AN ANONYMOUS REPORT ON THE COMET PREDICTED FOR NOVEMBER 7TH, 1999 - updated 11/6
YOU'LL HOLD YOUR BREATH WHILE READING THIS ONE!!!!!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!!
 

MAJOR DATABASE OF COMET LEE ARTICLES AND HALE BOPP DATABASE

Taken from: http://www.ecologystore.com/econews14.htm
link no longer working - 2008

COMET LEE ­ AUGUR OF CHANGE?

By EcologyNews Service

VANCOUVER - Question for 1999: Are Comet Lee and the seer Nostradamus the year’s greatest memes, or are they augurs of transformational change? Or a bit of both?

Comets, the ancients said, augur change. If that is true ­ as metaphor or as reality ­ what more auspicious a beginning for a comet to appear than the very time that seers like Michel de Notredame (Nostradamus) and prophetic traditions like the Aztec calendar say may inaugurate a period of great cosmic change on our planet.

The last total solar eclipse of the century took place on August 11, 1999, and two days later, on August 13, came the Aztec calendar Day of Destiny. Why the Day of Destiny? That was the date on which one module of time in the Aztec Calendar ended, and another began. According to researcher John Mini, the Day of Destiny indicated “a major cataclysmic event that will transform values. Sources of stability break and fall apart. There's an overthrow of old political structure, and a rebirth of a new order. There's a possibility of a global financial meltdown and a massive redistribution of wealth that accompanies a new financial system.”

Mini, author of Day of Destiny, tells us: “The Aztec shamans taught us how there's going to be a tremendous confluence of ecological, economic, social, political and psychological forces that are going to come together like a tidal wave on August 13, 1999. They say we can use this tidal wave to manifest our dreams, wishes and goals. It's a day where we can turn our dreams into reality.”

Now, this tidal wave of change was not (yet) literal and actual. But was it metaphor, a sign from ancient sciences for the forces of universal transformation acting in our lives?

For on August 11, 1999 ­ the day of the solar eclipse and Grand Cross ­ and two days before the Day of Destiny, Comet Lee emerged from the other side of our Sun, on reported trajectory 77 millions miles from Earth.

In its brief journey behind the sun, Comet Lee spawned both a vocal disagreement in comet research about the nature of comets, and a roller coaster ride among interpreters and believers in the Nostradamus comet of 1999. Comet Lee had lessons for all.

The saga of Comet Lee [C/1999 H1] began with its first discovery on April 16, 1999 by Steven Lee, an amateur astronomer and night attendant at the Anglo-Australian Observatory in New South Wales, Australia, while at a Star Party with other aficionados. Lee, who sports a Rip Van Winkle-like beard and sandals, seemed both modestly pleased and irritated by his discovery of a comet, ensuring his astronomical immortality.

Although Comet Lee’s discovery scenario was chillingly similar to one of the Hollywood Deep Impact movie plot-lines, Lee himself apparently had no idea that his Comet Lee might move into public notoriety ­ as the possible King of Terror prophesized in the 1500s by Nostradamus.

King of Terror refers to a now-famous Nostradamus quatrain. Nostradamus [Michel de Notredame, 1503-1566, a learned physician and astrologer to the French court] tells us in his quatrain, Century 10, Quatrain 72:

Francais:

L'an mil neuf cens nonante neuf sept mois, Du ciel viendra un gran Roy d'effrayeur. Resusciter le grand Roy d'Angolmois. Avant apres Mars regner par bon heur.

English translation:

The year 1999, seventh month, [September, under modern calendar] >From the sky will come a great King of Terror. To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols, Before and after Mars to reign by good luck.

Interpretation is the heart of hermeneutics, the study of prophecy, and the interpretation of Nostradamus’ quatrains is a refined art. In his 1996 book, “Nostradamus 1999: Who will Survive?” (Llewellyn, 1996), Paulus took a novel approach. Nostradamus, he tells us, randomly reshuffled his quatrains in order to hide their meaning and avoid investigation by the then Inquisition. Paulus had painstakingly reassembled the quatrains in the order of meaning that Nostradamus may have originally intended.

The prophetic scenario that Paulus described was itself an alternate reality ­ of natural chaos and human fear. A meteor in the tail of a comet striking Earth in September, 1999, causing a tidal wave that engulfed both coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the coasts of the Pacific Rim. This devastation is followed by several years of a “debris winter,” with the Sun barely visible. And then comes a 27-year World War III, described in the quatrains almost battle by battle.

Along with other students of Nostradamus, Paulus interprets the “King of Terror” as the comet that triggers a period of human tribulation. The comet, the quatrains say, becomes visible shortly after the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, when it emerges from the glare of the Sun. Nostradamus tells us that many will see the brightness of the comet, but few will understand its significance.

For, again by deciphering Nostradamus quatrains, Paulus told us that within the tail of the comet will be hidden a meteor, about one- quarter mile in diameter. The comet approaches Earth in late August and early September, appearing almost as brilliant as the Sun, giving the illusion that we have two suns.

It is then ­ perhaps in late September 1999 ­ that a cataclysmic collision between the meteor and the Earth may take place, the equivalent of 130,000 Hiroshima bombs. Interpreting the quatrains, Paulus believes the meteor may land around the North Atlantic Ridge, close to the juncture of the North Atlantic and African tectonic plates. The result is a tidal wave, 2000-3000 feet in height, which swamps the Atlantic coasts, and submerges half the British Isles under the sea. Travelling under the North Pole, the tidal wave engulfs the coasts of cities and countries along the Pacific Rim. Massive earthquakes, set off by the meteor’s landing at a tectonic juncture point, magnify the destruction. Nations are devastated. Cities within 200 miles of the coastline are destroyed. Our interdependent global economy is shattered. Humanity is set back to a medieval economy.

Oh, and Nostradamus quatrain also says the King of Terror brings back the King of the Mongols, a world leader who will wage decades of world war among the power blocs of nations. Paulus suggests the King of the Mongols might be an Islamic military- religious figure, known as the “Mahdi”. Other students of Nostradamus suggest that the entire quatrain ­ the King of Terror and the King of the Mongols ­ refers to this war-like world leader who first appears on the public scene in September 1999. One Nostradamus scholar believes the Kings of this quatrain refer to Islamic nuclear missiles in a Pakistan-Indian or other war. Another interpretation raises the spectre of a war launched by the Chinese (“Mongols”). The Taiwan-China confrontation began, coincidentally on July 9, 1999. Still other observers believe the “King of Terror” refers to electromagnetic pulse (“EMP) mood management and mind control weapons that can affect the moods of target human populations. These same EMP weapons can be used for tectonic warfare - triggering earthquakes in a target enemy's territory. Perhaps the great Taiwan earthquake(s) that defused this face-off were in fact triggered by acts of tectonic warfare?

The consciousness school of Nostradamus interpretation tells us his quatrains are to be understood on the symbolic level. Nostradamus is really telling us about individual and collective transformation; about our collective evolution. Interpret Nostradamus as though it were the contents of a dream ­ the dark and conflicted products of our subconscious minds seeking expression. In this context, for example, Nostradamus reference to “Mars” in his King of Terror quatrain is really to a transformation of the human experience to positive evolution. Another student notes that “terror” in Nostradamus time meant “enlightenment, and that the King of Terror may in fact be an agent of enlightenment.

Then again, parapsychological research tells us that psychics can accurately access events in the future (precognition), as well as events in the past (retrocognition). Like other psychics, Nostradamus may have been in fact accessing visions about cataclysms of the past, rather than events of the future.

In other words, the key word in interpreting Nostradamus is, you guessed it, uncertainty. Will we have a comet? Will we have a bloody global warrior? Are we really talking about the deep transformation of the human subconscious? Will we have none of the above? Take your pick.

So what does this dark vision have to do with Comet Lee C/1999 H1?

One independent research organization, The Millennium Group, began systematically scanning new comets, and concluded that Comet Lee might be a candidate for the King of Terror.

The origin of the Comet Lee controversy seems to have occurred when researcher James B. Ervin apparently took Paulus’ book to heart, perhaps in total personal immersion, undertaking what he called a “personal journey” to find the King of Terror. Ervin tracked the skies for comets that would fulfill Paulus’ projections. Eventually, Ervin found Comet Lee, noting that the comet’s early trajectory in the period April-August, 1999 was exactly that which a hypothetical King of Terror might have to take:

Millennium Group’s Ervin wrote, “The Nostradamus' prophecies seem to indicate that the comet in question must originate from the southern ecliptic plane, and then take a northwestern track around the Sun during its perihelion, where its orbit will be invisible due to occultation and Solar Glare until early August, 1999. C/1999 H1 Lee, it seems, does just exactly that.”

The controversies surrounding Comet Lee’s trajectory, however, were many, and the truth remains murky. At the heart of the controversy is the precise nature of a comet itself. The traditional model of a comet ­ still embraced by NASA, the US space agency, as dogma holds that a comet is in essence a dirty snowball, which sheds matter as it enters a solar system.

Not so, said the Millennium Group, citing scholarly research on the plasma discharge theory of comets. Comets are actually asteroid bodies surrounded by electrically charged plasma. When they enter a solar system, they interact as capacitors with the Sun, and can trigger electromagnetic phenomena such as solar flares. For example, when Comet Lee passed through the ecliptic plane of the Sun on June 21, 1999, measurements of sunspots varied visibly on monitoring instruments, indicating an electromagnetic interactivity with the Sun.

Thus, said the Millennium Group, the unexpected solar explosion on June 1 ­ word of which was withheld from the public until June 7, 1999 ­ may have been in fact triggered by Comet Lee. (NASA, when contacted about this seven-day lapse in reporting replied that the explosion took place on Memorial Day holiday, and their tracking software broke down; an explanation that has met with some skepticism among NASA critics).

So how did all this affect Comet Lee and the Nostradamus predictions?

The standard ephemeris or projected trajectory of Comet Lee shows that its near approach to Earth would be more than 77 million miles. According to NASA, the comet will not hit the Earth or come any place close to it. This also means that debris or an asteroid associated with the comet could not endanger the Earth. Such "debris" would be left in the comet's orbit and would basically follow the orbit. If the comet's orbit doesn't intersect the Earth's orbit (and it doesn't), it is not possible for debris to hit the Earth. The closest the comet will come to the Earth is about 77 million miles (the Sun is 93 million miles from Earth) at the end of September 1999.”

But NASA also added, “Comet Lee (or any comet) will not cause coronal mass ejections [solar explosions]. And Comet Lee's orbit is not affected by them.”

Thus we are back to the heart of the argument as to what comets really are. If Comet Lee is in fact primarily an electromagnetic body of plasma, and not a dirty snowball, then a change in trajectory is possible, says the Millennium Group. During the comet’s trajectory behind the Sun (June 21-August 11) and afterward, the comet could gather plasma mass, or could cause solar explosions which could slow it down, and alter its present course, coming closer to Earth. NASA’s flat denial of a comet’s solar interactivity is not comforting, however.

And feisty Steven Lee, the comet’s discoverer, on July 1 wrote sarcastically, “Let me use my predictive powers.... ommmmmm...... the comet is going to carry on along it predicted path and no bits will fall and hit the Earth.”

Contradicting the Millennium Group, he added: “Now let me get this right - a 2km diameter ball of "something" (but not ices and rocks) with no discernable magnetic field is able to "suck" out bits of the Sun (CMEs), but only when the comet crosses the ecliptic. So what causes CMEs at other times when there isn't a comet around to do so? And why when they cross the ecliptic - why not when they cross the Sun's (magnetic) equator (the ecliptic has to do with the Earth's orbit, not the Sun magnetic field)?”

Lee continued: “One of the tests of a theory is how accurate its predictions are. The comet crossed the ecliptic on June 22 - rather a long way away from June 1. Do you remember a spoon-bending con-man by the name of Uri Geller? When he visited London, quite by coincidence Big Ben broke. Not passing up such an opportunity he claimed responsibility for the event. Great publicity! The situation here seems much the same. CMEs happen all the time - there are bound to be several while the comet is around. There will be much the same number of events when the comet isn't there, but why let an opportunity slip by?”

In rebuttal, the Millennium Group’s Ervin and Earl L. Crockett on July 4, 1999 said, “Anyone who categorically asserts that Comet Lee will not strike the Earth, or that it will not pass anywhere near it, is stating opinion - not fact. No one, and this includes NASA/JPL, can accurately predict Comet Lee's post perihelion ephemeris because of the Sun's (early *) arrival into Solar Maximum. Remember, the ephemeris of C/1999 H1 (Lee) is not locked into stone, an alteration could occur if this comet is struck by a: CME [solar explosion], Solar Flare, Asteroid, Sungrazing Kreutz Fragment, or a host of other possibilities. This is the reality of the situation, and any person or any organization [that] tells you otherwise, is clearly shielding you from the truth. However, I do want to go on the record as stating one thing (loud and clear) right now. I am not predicting that Comet Lee's orbit will be altered during perihelion, I am simply stating that it is a possibility which must be given the full consideration it deserves, anything less would be grossly negligent.”

In a word, do we have scientific, psychic, (and moral) certainty or uncertainty about Comet Lee and Nostradamus? No way: so much is in flux that it looks like the possible birth of a new paradigm to us.

Let’s look again at the psychic end of the puzzle of Comet Lee. What can we say of Nostradamus prior accuracy as a predictor? Futurist Alfred Webre’s 1999 book Earth Changes (http://www.UniverseBooks.com) shows that on the rare occasion where Nostradamus used a proper name, it is possible to verify the accuracy of his predictions, objectively from the content of the quatrain itself. In quatrain I-25, Nostradamus predicts the discoveries of scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) by name, as well as modern medical developments that will challenge Pasteur’s assumptions as the twentieth century draws to a close.

Quatrain I ­ 25

Francais:

Perdu trouve, cache de si long siecle, Sera Pasteur demi Dieu honore: Ains que la lune acheve son grand siecle, Par autre vents sera deshonore.

English translation: The lost thing is discovered, hidden for many centuries. Pasteur will be celebrated almost as a god-like figure. This is when the moon completes her great cycle, but by other rumors he shall be dishonored.

Earth Changes states: “Nostradamus reports a number of accurate precognitions in this quatrain. Foremost is the literal, accurate naming of scientist Louis Pasteur, several hundred years before Pasteur’s birth. Pasteur’s rediscovery of the germ theory of disease gave him demi-god status in the medical community for most of the twentieth century. Pasteur’s doctrine contended that microbes that invade the body cause disease.

“A contemporary scientist to Pasteur, Andre Beauchamp, contended that disease was not caused by microbes, but by changes in the terrain of the blood and immune system within the body. Beauchamp’s theory, which Pasteur secretly embraced on his deathbed, has been vindicated by recent research. It is as though the entire Pasteur-inspired twentieth-century view of disease has been proved wrong.”

Earth Changes concludes, “The Pasteur quatrain illustrates a unique aspect of Nostradamus precognitions. His quatrains can foresee quite complex events and developments in human history, and the development of human science. Nostradamus’ quatrains are multi-dimensional precognitions, not just single dimensional visions of future events.”

Again, from the para-science evidence, the classic 1974 book, The Age of Cataclysm (http://www.UniverseBooks.com) notes that twentieth century psychics like the American Edgar Cayce, have channeled psychic visions of devastation very similar to that of Nostradamus ­ coastal areas flooded; the British Isles and Japan half-submerged. These visions do not, however, provide a specific cause, whether by a comet or otherwise, for the devastation.

So was Comet Lee C/1999H1 the Nostradamus comet? Or was it all a meme?

Given the swirling, emotionally charged uncertainties ­ scientific, sociological, and psychic - perhaps that is not the most productive question we can ask.

As of early July, Comet Lee’s officially projected path would take it along a safe distance from Earth in August and September 1999.

Yet, in a Comet Lee update, researcher Crockett said, “Using the principles of Jim McCanney's Comet Plasma Discharge Theory, The Millennium Group has now successfully predicted the Sun's high activity following Comet Lee's passing of the ecliptic (see Update 3), and the CME's [solar explosions] of July 16/19, 1999 following perihelion on July 11, 1999.

“Is it now time to consider that Comet C1999 H1 (Lee) might in fact fool all of the NASA establishment dirty snowball astronomers, and reappear from behind the Sun in blazing glory during the full eclipse of August 11, 1999? Now wouldn't that be great?”

On August 3, 1999, after Comet Lee was sighted coming out on the other side of the sun, NASA stated, “News Flash: Comet Lee has been observed post-solar conjunction. It is at it's expected location in the sky and thus, it is in its predicted orbit. This orbit keeps it well away from Earth. At magnitude 7.2 (and fading), it is not unusually bright nor is it visible to the unaided eye. One wonders when those making the dire predictions will actually have to take into consideration observational and scientific fact in their thinking. Of course, if they did that, they couldn't make such outlandish predictions!”

Then after three anomalous objects were photographed near the sun during the August 11 eclipse, one Millennium Group researcher wrote,

“Now just a few questions to end with:

“Is this the comet? It appears to be in the correct position and construct suggests a comet indeed.

“Is there more film of these objects, that we could take a look at? I really doubt that we will ever see the rest of this film. So we are once again left to ourselves to come to our own conclusions.

“What was the person told that edited this piece of film? Was he/she told anything? It must've needed to be up in a hurry as this was a NASA feed. But of course absolutely still possible to be done. I wonder if the editor was told nothing, as to keep the info in the inner circle. Again, just conjecture - you decide.

“If this is a comet, then what are these objects in its apparent tail? To be honest, I personally am not a follower of Nostradamus, and have not followed his writings. But considering the previous piece by Colonel James Ervin, when I saw these images and identified what I believe to be a comet, and at least two accompanying objects in the tail, I got goose bumps real quick. I suppose the argument could be that I am seeing something that I want to see. But believe me, I do not want to see this or believe him. Take a good look yourself and let us know what your opinion is. I am interested.”

A later comment from an observor says, “The mysterious objects are evidently the planet Venus, and a nearby star. The third object (Object C) definitely appears to be some type of light artifact - although I'm no video expert.”

A Millennium Group researcher responded, “If you are right about Objects A and B, then we're two down and one to go. Oddly enough, Object C is the one that really has us wondering.”

So ­ Comet Lee & Nostradamus: Memes or augurs of change?

Someone said that Comet Lee as the 1999 Nostradamus comet may have been an expression of the Wisdom within the Light ­ whether as meme or otherwise.

Having passed through Nostradamus’ “1999 window”, we can now more fully realize that it is not necessary for us to participate in any Apocalypse, predicted or otherwise. With all change comes the opportunity for the really important inner changes through the affirmation of life. War and destruction may be just one way in which the forces of death react to the ever-growing forces of life and love in our Universe.

Let us re-examine the ancient wisdom ­ that comets augur change ­ both inner change and change in our outer environment. We know inner change is happening when we see life freshly with new eyes, a paradigm shift in our own personal worlds. A new personal dimension can emerge from the melee of our perceptions, emotions, and insights around Nostradamus’ visions, Comet Lee, and the various Kings of Terror and of the Mongols.

This new dimension of personal freedom and love ­ which is ours for the asking - may be this comet’s and this time’s ultimate true meaning.

Useful links:

Steven Lee and Comet Lee

LATEST NEWS - 7-9-99

NASA Unveils Plans for Comet

.c The Associated Press

By MATTHEW FORDAHL

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A spacecraft named Deep Impact will fire a 1,100-pound copper bullet at the nucleus of a comet, blasting out a crater the size of a football field and as deep as a seven-story building.

The radical $240 million mission, approved Wednesday by NASA administrators, may sound more like fiction than science, but its primary purpose will be to study the makeup of comets.

It's a coincidence that the project has the same name as last summer's disaster movie ``Deep Impact,'' which was about a comet smacking Earth, mission planners said Thursday.

``The name was selected prior to the movie,'' said James Graf, Deep Impact's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. ``It wasn't inspired by it.

Deep Impact is scheduled to be launched in January 2004 and will arrive at comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005. The projectile will separate from the spacecraft and hit the comet at 22,300 mph.

Shortly after impact, the craft will come within 300 miles of the comet surface and send back data and pictures of the debris and crater. It will eventually zoom off into space.

Comets are believed to be remnants from the early days of the solar system, and several missions are planned to observe them close-up. Deep Impact's projectile, however, will be the first to crash into one.

Deep Impact will allow scientists to study the inside of a comet by observing the debris ejected from the crater.

``It can give us an understanding of what the solar system looked like during its formation, and what contributions comets may have made to our life here on Earth,'' Graf said.

The impact should be visible from Earth - 83 million miles away - with the aid of a telescope.

The mission poses no threat to Earth, Graf said. The impact crater will be small compared with the overall size of the comet's nucleus.

NASA's approval of Deep Impact was made less than two weeks after the space agency pulled the plug on another mission to the same comet. Space Technology 4/Champollion would have landed on Tempel 1 and drilled beneath the surface.

NASA administrators decided to favor Deep Impact because it was focused solely on science and fit into existing budget plans, said Doug Isbell, a NASA spokesman in Washington, D.C.

AP-NY-07-08-99 2230EDT Copyright 1999 The Associated Press.