If you enjoy a trip down a metaphorical rabbithole and are not of nervous disposition, try typing "Elenin" into the Google searchbox.
Elenin, technical name C/2010x1 is a long-period comet discovered last December by a Russian amateur astronomer, mathematics and astronomy teacher, Leonid Elenin, using a robotic telescope located in New Mexico (presumably remotely, as is possible these days). Elenin will make its closes pass to Earth in around three months time.
NASA representatives tell us that this comet isn't a giant, in fact it has been described as "wimpy" in comparison to some others we've seen in the past. Still though, the internet crowd of conspiracy theorists, doomsayers and even a few astrologers have been doing what they do best during the months since the comet's discovery: painting lurid pictures of what is to come - fearmongering, to grab readers' attention. There are some weird and not so wonderful ideas being fielded out there as to what Elenin's visit to the neighbourhood might mean for us.
The unusual, and significant (for me) factor about Elenin is the huge length of its round-trip. Three and a half million years is the current estimate arrived at by using software available. Could be inaccurate, I guess, but even something near to that would be impressive. Considerably shorter time spans would mean that this comet's visit to our skies has never happened before during recorded history. Astrologically THAT is the kicker, I think. Detail of exactly what it means for us can't possibly be interpreted, other than to say that it's likely to be something humans have so far not experienced ("as above so below").
My advice to internet searchers: ignore references to Nibiru or "brown dwarfs" (if the comet were one of those it'd be easily identifiable by now, by anyone with a powerful telescope - and it ain't). Ignore talk of collision. The comet will be travelling far from us, 22 million miles distant being the latest estimate.
Leonid Elinen has a page on Facebook - I'm averse to Facebook myself, but the information might be of interest to others. He also has a blog where readers can be sure they will be free from conspiracy theorists, or at least cushioned from them by more rational types. Thunderbolts Forum is another site with reliable information and a good proportion of level headed contributors.
There are many who believe that Elenin's transit, when it aligns to the Sun, links to the triggering of earthquake events. Those in Chile and Japan are cited as examples. There is some evidence to support that. I tend to see the comet (and the planets for that matter) more as the hands on a cosmic clock indicating movement and passage of waves of time. Here comes a long distance hand then, possibly pointing up a cluster of highly unusual events, not necessarily earthquakes, not necessarily disastrous. Why do all conspiracy theorists always go for the doomiest possible scenarios?
Several dates are being floated as "the ones to watch", linked to the comet's perihelion or alignments to Sun/Moon or other planets. These include 10 September, 27 September, 18 October, and our old friend 11 November (11.11.11) - in general the period from beginning of September to beginning of November. After that Elenin will be gone, never to be seen again in our part of the universe for more than 3 million years.
Elenin, technical name C/2010x1 is a long-period comet discovered last December by a Russian amateur astronomer, mathematics and astronomy teacher, Leonid Elenin, using a robotic telescope located in New Mexico (presumably remotely, as is possible these days). Elenin will make its closes pass to Earth in around three months time.
NASA representatives tell us that this comet isn't a giant, in fact it has been described as "wimpy" in comparison to some others we've seen in the past. Still though, the internet crowd of conspiracy theorists, doomsayers and even a few astrologers have been doing what they do best during the months since the comet's discovery: painting lurid pictures of what is to come - fearmongering, to grab readers' attention. There are some weird and not so wonderful ideas being fielded out there as to what Elenin's visit to the neighbourhood might mean for us.
The unusual, and significant (for me) factor about Elenin is the huge length of its round-trip. Three and a half million years is the current estimate arrived at by using software available. Could be inaccurate, I guess, but even something near to that would be impressive. Considerably shorter time spans would mean that this comet's visit to our skies has never happened before during recorded history. Astrologically THAT is the kicker, I think. Detail of exactly what it means for us can't possibly be interpreted, other than to say that it's likely to be something humans have so far not experienced ("as above so below").
My advice to internet searchers: ignore references to Nibiru or "brown dwarfs" (if the comet were one of those it'd be easily identifiable by now, by anyone with a powerful telescope - and it ain't). Ignore talk of collision. The comet will be travelling far from us, 22 million miles distant being the latest estimate.
Leonid Elinen has a page on Facebook - I'm averse to Facebook myself, but the information might be of interest to others. He also has a blog where readers can be sure they will be free from conspiracy theorists, or at least cushioned from them by more rational types. Thunderbolts Forum is another site with reliable information and a good proportion of level headed contributors.
There are many who believe that Elenin's transit, when it aligns to the Sun, links to the triggering of earthquake events. Those in Chile and Japan are cited as examples. There is some evidence to support that. I tend to see the comet (and the planets for that matter) more as the hands on a cosmic clock indicating movement and passage of waves of time. Here comes a long distance hand then, possibly pointing up a cluster of highly unusual events, not necessarily earthquakes, not necessarily disastrous. Why do all conspiracy theorists always go for the doomiest possible scenarios?
Several dates are being floated as "the ones to watch", linked to the comet's perihelion or alignments to Sun/Moon or other planets. These include 10 September, 27 September, 18 October, and our old friend 11 November (11.11.11) - in general the period from beginning of September to beginning of November. After that Elenin will be gone, never to be seen again in our part of the universe for more than 3 million years.
8 comments:
I think I'll hang around for the second coming of Elenin, T ;)
Favourite word of the day: Doomiest. Thanks.
XO
WWW
Dwarf star Elinin?
WWW ~~~
:-)
After having spent time knee-deep in swamps of conspiracy and idiocy "doomiest" was the first word I thought of that would cover it. ;-)
James Highan ~ Don't think so. It is said to have a tail. So unless NASA is involved in a massive cover-up that explanation doesn't work. With millions of telescopes and astronomers amateur & pro worldwide, it'd be hard to sustain lies of that nature.
This quote is from an astronomy major who knows a lot more about it than I do:
As for the possibility that it might be a dwarf star, that is complete crap. A comet is made of primarily ice and embedded gasses. It is the stuff the tail is made of – so thin and tenuous that the pressure of light rays from the sun is able to push this evaporating material away from the sun. This streaming tail is the signature of a comet. You will not find one on any other object in the solar system.
If the object really was a dwarf star it would not be in an orbit around the sun. Dwarf stars are as massive as our sun or greater except that their material is condensed into a much smaller, denser object. A black dwarf would not be visible and a white dwarf would be bright – easily bright enough to be seen by the naked eye in the daytime. In addition it would have a gravitational attraction equal or greater than he sun, and in that case, the two stars would actually revolve around each other, like a common double star system. (its the mass, not the size that determines gravitational attraction).
I'm with WWW. I going to wait for the return trip so I will have a basis to compare its effect on events.
anyjazz ~~~ Maybe we'll all still be here - somewhere in the ethers, looking on. :-)
Hmmmm. We'll see in October.
James ~~~ Yes. Time alone will tell.
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