The so called tenth planet, or Planet X, is a theory which
uses ancient Sumerian sources to show that there is a tenth
planetary body which circles our Sun. The orbit of this planet
is supposed to be extremely long and narrow, carrying it far
out of the reaches of what we normally consider to be the limits
of the solar system. It is this highly elliptical, comet-like
orbit which is used to explain the lack of observations of this
particular planet since antiquity; it has been too far away
to be seen. The Sumerian sources indicate that the planet re-appears
to Earth every 3,600 years, and that it struck our planet in
the solar system’s infancy. This theory has some correlation
with theories about the creation of our moon.
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There is some astronomical
evidence to support the existence of a tenth planet. Since the
nineteen hundreds astronomers have been looking for a tenth planet
as a way to explain perturbations in the orbits of two of the
outermost planets; Neptune and Uranus. Both planets act irregularly,
as though they were being acted upon by a large gravitational
force. Searches for the source of this gravitational interaction
have already led to the discovery of Pluto and some of the larger
moons of those two planets. Astronomers have not ruled out the
existence of a tenth planet which has a noticeable effect on these
two planets.
Engravings and images left by the ancient Sumerians indicate
that there is such a planet; and studies of those Sumerian texts
do tend to correlate closely with the findings of modern astronomy,
in terms of the size of planets, their orbits, and etc. Much of
the information found in Sumerian texts predated the discovery
of planets like Pluto and Uranus, which are too far away to be
visible without highly advanced instruments and complicated mathematical
problem solving to figure out where to look.
Sumerian sources say that the so called 12th planet, which they
referred to as ‘Nibiru’ or the planet of the cross, only appears
once in a great while because of its long orbit. Their creation
myth relates that the planet Earth was, at one time, only half
a planet; all of the land was clumped together in one land mass,
and a large ‘gap’ was on the other side. This empty side of the
planet was hit by the 12th planet, which ever after regularly
re-appears every 3,600 years. The appearance of planet was connected
in their legends with great social upheavals, legends about the
end of the world, and other superstitions.
The figure 3,600 years is thought to have religious significance,
not only to the ancient Sumerians but to modern religions as well.
Some believe that predictions of the tenth planet’s next appearance
formed the basis of Jewish and Christian beliefs about the end
of the world, particularly the second coming of Christ.
Most professional astronomers have distanced themselves from
those that believe the Sumerian sources are valid. They are too
closely connected with an antiquated mythical belief structure
to be taken seriously as science. Observations have been made
in the past, and will be made in the future, to determine if there
is in fact a planetary body like that described by these ancient
sources, but until scientific evidence is collected, the legends
and beliefs surrounding ‘Planet X’ will likely continue to be
dismissed as idle speculation and superstition.
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