Another Expert Agrees With Dark Comet Theory

The experts say they need to study newly discovered comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) more, so it might be a while before I found out… but this could be the return of Comet Caesar (astronomers – feel free to tell me if it couldn’t possibly be). If so, I cannot imagine a more beautiful and safe resolution to the question of ancient Mayan prophecy.

The return of a comet is something that an ancient culture was capable of at least attempting to predict. Along with a massive solar storm, it is the only other scientific prediction that could have been made for 2012 by ancient folk. I feel qualified to say this because nobody else has offered any possibilities. And I named the most likely comet – Comet Caesar. It could have a period of approximately 1000 years, which would tie in with the Long Count calendar start date (3114 BC), and the the idea of 5 ages.

That orbit is due to bring Comet ISON incredibly close to the sun — within just 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers) in late November of next year. As a result, current projections suggest it could get very bright. How bright? Various estimates have set the brightest magnitude at -10 to -16. That suggests the comet could become brighter than the full moon — which led Astronomy Magazine’s Michael E. Bakich to say it “probably will become the brightest comet anyone alive has ever seen.” [Cosmic Log]

One other interesting tidbit about C/2012 S1 (ISON) is that its orbit appears very similar to the Great Comet of 1680 also known as Kirch’s or Newton’s Comet (pic below). The two may even be related. Kirch’s comet was discovered on November 14, 1680 by German astronomer Gottfried Kirch.  After passing extremely close to the sun, it brightened so much it was plainly visible to the naked eye in mid-afternoon in early December. [Astro Bob]

An encyclopedia from 1837 pointed out the similar looking comets that form a pattern in time:

Three observations on comets are recorded in history, agreeing in remarkable circumstances with the comet of 1680: – one in the 44th year before Christ; another in the consulate of Lampadius and Orestes, about the year of Christ 531; and the third in the reign of Henry I. of England, in the year 1106. These dates are nearly at equal distances of times, namely, 575 years; which is also the period between 1106 and 1681. Hence Dr. Edmund Halley conjectured that these might be successive appearances of one and the same comet, revolving about the sun in the period of about 575 years. If this conjecture is well founded, this comet may be expected again, after finishing the same period, about the year 2255.

It’s very hard for modern astronomers to determine the periods of comets reported in ancient times (not enough data). But they should be able to work out the period of  C/2012 S1 (ISON), and therefore determine if it could be the return of one of the major historical comets.