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A Celestial Collision
Alaska Science Forum ^
| February 10, 1983
| Larry Gedney
Posted on 09/15/2004 9:04:28 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Early in the evening of June 18, 1178, a group of men near Canterbury, England, stood admiring the sliver of a new moon hanging low in the west. In terms they later described to a monk who recorded their sighting, "Suddenly a flaming torch sprang from the moon, spewing fire, hot coals and sparks." In continuing their description of the event, they reported that "The moon writhed like a wounded snake and finally took on a blackish appearance"... [P]lanetary scientist Jack Hartung of the State University of New York... gathered enough clues to suggest that a large asteroid... might have smacked into the moon just over the horizon on the back side. To test his suspicion, Hartung went to the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, and inspected Russian and American photographs of the moon's back side. Sure enough, in just the right place, he found a remarkably fresh crater, 12 miles across and twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. From it radiated white splatter marks for hundreds of miles... Such an impact, reason astrophysicists, would set the moon to ringing like a gong for thousands of years... At Texas' McDonald Observatory, astronomers Odile Calame and J. Derral Mulholland of the University of Texas find that the surface of the moon moves back and forth fully 80 feet! Such an oscillation clearly implies a collision with something large, sometime within the not-too-distant past, probably within the memory of mankind. The problem is that there is no way to peg the date exactly at 1178.
(Excerpt) Read more at dogbert.gi.alaska.edu ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Books/Literature; Reference; Religion; Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: 11780618; 1178ad; ad1178; archaeology; asteroid; astronomy; canterbury; catastrophism; comet; corvidmeteors; emiliospedicato; ggg; giordanobruno; godsgravesglyphs; history; impact; jackbhartung; lunarcapture; lunarimpact; lunarorigin; moon; romanempire; science; spedicato; themoon
I first heard of the 1178 AD impact account on an episode of NOVA (PBS) circa 1983. I first heard of the following 1953 report about two years ago:
A Flash From the Past:
New Evidence Supports Moon Blast
by Henry Fountain
March 4, 2003
On the Moon, material that is freshly exposed has a slight bluish tinge. Over time, because of the constant bomb ardment of cosmic rays, other high-energy particles and micrometeorites, the structure of the material changes and iron particles tend to predominate, making the material slightly red.
In the Clementine photos, Dr. Buratti and Mr. Johnson found one small crater that was "very, very blue and fresh appearing," Dr. Buratti said. It also happened to be in the exact center of the area they were looking. And it was the proper size — slightly less than a mile across, including the ejecta blanket. Dr. Bu ratti estimated the size of the asteroid at 20 yards in diameter.
A few years ago (okay, probably five) someone actually tried to refute this 1178 AD impact by claiming there would have been numberless "shooting star" reports on Earth had such an impact actually taken place. He was wrong of course, but I'm sure he still got his PhD. George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent
1
posted on
09/15/2004 9:04:28 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
To: blam; FairOpinion; Ernest_at_the_Beach; SunkenCiv; 24Karet; 2Jedismom; 4ConservativeJustices; ...
Cheesefall. Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
2
posted on
09/15/2004 9:17:53 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
Rain of Iron and Ice:
The Very Real Threat of
Comet and Asteroid Bombardment
by John S. Lewis
On November 27,1919, a meteorite fell into Lake Michigan near the Michigan shore. "Residents of Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, South Bend, Grand Haven, and other Western Michigan cities fled from their homes in panic, fearing an earthquake. Houses were shaken, the country was illuminated as by a bright sun's rays, so all-enveloping it was impossible to tell from which direction the flare came, the earth trembled for half a moment and then came a deep prolonged rumbling as of a terrific explosion." (p 159)
This event came as a surprise, as I've never heard it recounted by any of my elderly relatives, and most of them died before I read about it in this book. A number of other such impacts, including some which hit or nearly hit people, ships, animals etc, are described in this book, which I recommend. My review on Amazon is still there, but much shorter than I remember...
George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent
3
posted on
09/15/2004 9:22:30 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=napalminthemorning)
To: SunkenCiv
refute this 1178 AD impact by claiming there would have been numberless "shooting star" reports Sure, but sightings aren't reports, and who would take reports anyway? After all, Dan Rather wasn't around then to place it in the public record. Was he?
4
posted on
09/15/2004 9:26:17 AM PDT
by
RightWhale
(Withdraw from the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty and establish property rights)
To: SunkenCiv
It is difficult to pin the date at exactly 1178. It depends on the day in 1178, as there were calendar adjustments after that :D
5
posted on
09/15/2004 11:48:41 AM PDT
by
Henchman
(Vote Communist - elect Kerry!)
To: Henchman
Yeah, in the English-speaking world, the adjustment was made in October 1752. Sooo, George Washington et al generally wrote their birthdays both ways after that time. The adjustment took place earlier (by a century or so) in most Catholic countries. Sweden (I think it was) adjusted its calendar, then adjusted it back, then after a couple other tries got it on track. Russia never changed its calendar, leaving that task to the Soviet Union.
There's a maverick guy who claims that Columbus' initial landfall was at Egg Island (he's the only one who thinks so, other than his small band of followers), and one of his arguments actually has some bearing -- that Columbus was using the pre-adjustment calendar, which means we celebrate Columbus Day on the wrong day. ;')
6
posted on
09/15/2004 12:14:05 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=napalminthemorning)
To: RightWhale
I was never impressed by the lack of reports -- the future Nobel laureate claims to have found nothing in medieval literature (20+ different languages) in the two months (!) or so he spend working on his paper.
I wonder what he thinks of the constant bombardment of micrometeors in our atmosphere, and visible any night where the skies are clear and sufficiently dark? I mean, he did say that the bombardment should still be going on.
Doesn't mention this smaller 1953 impact, and the consequences that should have resulted.
Or the fact that these high velocity impacts mostly lead to vaporization.
Or the fact that an impact fireball on the Moon would be larger due to the Moon's smaller size and density (about 1 per cent the mass of the Earth) and cratering more severe than here on the Earth. George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent
7
posted on
09/15/2004 12:31:26 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=napalminthemorning)
To: SunkenCiv
8
posted on
09/15/2004 7:12:57 PM PDT
by
visualops
(I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message ...)
To: visualops
9
posted on
09/15/2004 9:57:20 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=napalminthemorning)
To: SunkenCiv
10
posted on
11/28/2004 12:28:39 PM PST
by
SunkenCiv
("All I have seen teaches me trust the Creator for all I have not seen." -- Emerson)
Giordano Bruno, the June 1975 Meteoroid Storm,
Encke, and Other Taurid Complex Objects
Icarus (Volume 104, Issue 2 , pp 280-290) ^ | August 1993 | Jack B. Hartung
Posted on 12/27/2004 2:37:46 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1309198/posts
there are also topics about the 1953 impact.
11
posted on
12/27/2004 3:08:34 PM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(risk of impact, 2004 MN4, http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/2004mn4.html)
12
posted on
01/31/2005 11:16:51 PM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(Ted "Kids, I Sunk the Honey" Kennedy is just a drunk who's never held a job (or had to).)
13
posted on
03/29/2005 9:59:00 PM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(last updated my FreeRepublic profile on Friday, March 25, 2005.)
14
posted on
10/29/2005 2:06:04 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated my FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)
15
posted on
03/26/2006 8:10:36 PM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(Yes indeed, Civ updated his profile and links pages again, on Monday, March 6, 2006.)
16
posted on
04/29/2006 7:56:54 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
17
posted on
01/09/2009 2:36:25 PM PST
by
SunkenCiv
(First 2009 Profile update Tuesday, January 6, 2009___________https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
Link hunted down with help from wikipedia; looks like the date in “Rain of Iron and Ice” is off by a day; the story is found near the bottom of the second column:
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1919-11-27/ed-1/seq-1.pdf
(the copy and paste appears to be OCR-quality, iow, needed some editing)
The Washington Tîmes
NUMBER 11,3612
THURSDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 27, 1919.
EARTH QUIVERS AS SKY PHENOMENON DESCENDS
Electric Plants Wrecked As Strange Visitor Appears on Michigan- Indiana Line.
CHICAGO. Nov. 27 — Telegraph snd telephone communications and electric lighting plants in several cities in southern Michigan and northern Indiana were out of commission today as a result of a remarkable phenomenon, believed by several scientists to have been a gigantic meteor which rushing earthward from the East appeared to dissolve as it approached the earth near Athens, Mich., last night.
The phenomenon is reported to have assumed various forms, in its race earthward, ranging from a brilliant illumination to a heavy rain accompanied by heavy thunder.
The phenomenon was seen over Chicago by several persons. It was reported here shortly before 8 o’clock. It appeared over the lake and resembled in appearance an extraordinarily prolonged flash of heat lightning.
Athens, Battle Creek, and Three Oaks, Mich., report considerable damages to property. At Athens, it in said, there was an earthquake, continuing for fully three minutes, accompanied by a heavy rain and wind storm, a loud clap of thunder, and a flash of light in the sky of longer duration than lightning.
At La Porte, South Bend, Fort Wayne. Warsaw, and other Indiana points, windows were broken by the concussion.
The Calumet Electric Light Company, at Kalamazoo, Mich., and several smaller plants throughout this section of the country were temporarily disabled.
(Athens, Michigan)
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Athens&state=MI
18
posted on
05/04/2014 2:05:52 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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