The Vela Supernova, Nibiru & Comet Hale-Bopp: Dispelling myths in Archaeo-Astronomy Duane Hamacher Department of Physics and Department of Anthropology University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201 [email protected] Abstract: A large number of legitimate and illegitimate ideas concerning the Vela supernova, Nibiru and comet Hale-Bopp have been used to explain problems in archaeology over the past 25 years. Some of these ideas have since been proven incorrect, though they seem to still be popular with archaeologists and non-archaeologists alike. Here, problems that have been addressed or solved using the Vela supernova, the mythical Sumerian planet Nibiru and comet Hale- Bopp will be analyzed. A new hypothesis will be presented and outdated and incorrect hypotheses and theories will be confronted. Introduction There are several related quandaries in archaeo-astronomy dealing with Vela Supernova, the mythological Sumerian planet Nibiru, comet Hale-Bopp and a mysterious archaeological “double sun” found on artifacts dating from 2000-4000 BCE. Here, those mysteries will be addressed, clarified and explained for the reader to gather a better understanding of science and pseudo-science in modern views of archaeo-astronomy. Over the last 25 years, the Vela supernova was used to explain mysterious images on artifacts from Mesopotamia dating back 2000 to 6000 BCE. The VSN was also used to help explain the flourishing of civilization in Mesopotamia. Comet Hale-Bopp has been cited frequently as the mythological Sumerian planet Nibiru, noting its orbital period and physical characteristics. Other researchers have attempted to explain natural disasters on earth to the Vela supernova. These assertions are largely the result of a lack of knowledge in astronomy and physics. Though some of these ideas may seem plausible, some are impossible. The Vela Supernova The Vela supernova remnant (VSNR) is a resultant gaseous shell of the Vela supernova that occurred roughly 11,500 years ago (Cha et al 1999). It is about 250 parsecs1 from earth in the constellation Vela. It currently has an angular diameter of about eight degrees; sixteen times the angular diameter of the moon or sun (the moon’s mean angular diameter is 0.5182°). Vela is one part of the constellation formerly known as Argo Navis (along with Carina and Puppis). Argo Navis was the ship used by Jason 1 A parsec is equal to 3.26 light years. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, approximately 5.8 trillion miles. 1 and the Argonauts as they sought to recover the Golden Fleece. Vela represents the sail of the ship (Blair 2004). Some researchers have attempted to use the Vela supernova to explain many mysteries in the archaeology of Mesopotamia, dating as far back as 4000 BCE. These explanations range from plausible to impossible. One of the more plausible questions posed of the Vela SNR is “Could the SNR have been interpreted as a pair of chariot wheels by the Sumerians… providing the basis or possible supplement to the Indo-European solar chariot? This section of the nebula is smaller than the whole, and was likely about half its size 5,000 years ago (just under half of the remnant’s true age). A simple calculation shows that the actual angular size of the Vela SNR 5,000 years ago would be about 4.5° (nine times the moon’s angular diameter). The resolution of a typical human eye is 1/60 degree, or equivalent to being able to resolve two fine human hairs spaced one hair width apart when placed at the point of most distinct vision, the closest point an object can get to the eye before it goes out of focus (Popa 1997). Due to the position of the constellation in the sky, it would have hung low, near the horizon as seen from the Mediterranean or Mesopotamia. The nebula would be large enough to see with the naked eye, as the nebula was brighter during that time than it is today (especially with no light pollution)… and it is still visible with the naked eye today, but only as a hazy patch in the sky. The resolution needed to make out the shape of chariot wheels would have been impossible without a telescope or binoculars (as the “wheels” are only part of the larger nebula) as astronomical details are not in color and are distorted by atmospheric turbulence. Additionally, the photoreceptor cells used at night are rods, which sense only different levels of brightness; i.e. black and white. Since the rods are found at the edge of the retina (cones sense color and are found near the center of the retina), the object would appear brighter when viewed through peripheral vision. The actual angular diameter of the “chariot wheels” is only about a degree or so and is not visible to the human eye in color. The interpretation of the VSNR as a solar chariot seems unlikely as the nebula does not appear near the sun, nor does it have any significant mythology relating to the sun. The details of the remnant would have been more difficult to resolve as it would have appeared low on the horizon and the excess atmosphere would have distorted the image even more. The interpretation of the nebula as chariot wheels is very unlikely. Over the last 25 years, the Vela supernova was used to explain mysterious images on artifacts from Mesopotamia dating back 2000 to 6000 BCE. The VSN was also used to help explain the flourishing of civilization in Mesopotamia. Recent observations have constrained the age of the supernova to 11,500 years. Therefore, a new hypothesis must be presented. 2 Researchers such as George Michanowsky have directly linked the Vela supernova with the flourishing of Sumerian civilization. Researchers interpret what appears to be a bright star represented on several Sumerian artifacts as the Vela supernova, not the remnant nebula. Michanowsky dates the supernova event to 4000 BCE, using available data at the time which suggested the Vela supernova was between 6,000 and 8,000 years old. If the supernova were 6,000 years old, it would correspond to the beginnings of civilization in ancient Mesopotamia (with the Sumerians). According to Michanowsky, the ‘star burst’ was recorded by the Sumerians and coincides with the "date of creation" circa 4000 BCE (an oft quoted date of Biblical creation). The star burst was recorded as the "giant star of the god Ea in the constellation of Vela of the god Ea" on a clay tablet dating to 1000 BCE, though the cataloguing of celestial objects goes as far back as 3000 BCE (Michanowski 1977). If Michanowsky translates the date to 1000 BCE, he would be referring to the Babylonians, the successors to the Sumero-Akkadians. His translations mention the Akkadian god Ea, which is the Semitic counterpart to the earlier Sumerian Enki. The Sumerians (3000-1900 BCE) predate the Babylonians (1900-400 BCE) and though they predated the Akkadians (2300- 1900 BCE) in origin, they were essentially contemporaries. This, combined with the fact that so much of Babylonian and Akkadian mythology is based on Sumerian mythology, allows researchers assume Babylonian and Akkadian myths originated with the Sumerians, though this is not always accurate. Michanowsky’s reasoning for interpreting this symbol as the Vela supernova is that, according to the tablet, it states (in translation) that the “constellation to the north is ‘Exalted Lady’, now the constellation Puppis. This would have put the ‘star’ on the border of Vela and Puppis, exactly where astronomers found the Vela supernova remnant. The problem is that this could not have been the Vela supernova, as the supernova is over 10,000 years old… long before the first civilizations or written records. Timothy Ferris, in his book “Coming of age in the Milky Way”, stated that the Sumerians identified the Vela supernova with their god Enki who invented writing and agriculture (the author originally quoted the god as Ea, though Ea is the Semitic Akkadian name). This ‘star’ is probably what Timothy Ferris was referring to when he mentioned the connection between the Vela Supernova (VSN) and the Sumerian god Enki. According to Zechariah Sitchin in his book, “The Wars of Gods and Men”, there are correlations between the Vela supernova and a bright star recorded by the Sumerians that is depicted on a mural. A wall sized mural uncovered at Tell Ghassul, which was occupied from 4000- 2000 BCE, “depicted a row of people - the first two of whom were seated on thrones - facing toward (or greeting) another person who had apparently stepped out of an object emitting rays”. “The archaeologists who had discovered these murals during the 1931-32 and 1932-33 excavations theorized that the rayed object might have been similar to a most 3 unusual rayed 'star' found painted in another building. It was an eight-pointed 'star' within a larger eight-pointed 'star,' culminating in a burst of eight rays.” “The mural's discoverers assumed that the eight-rayed 'star' had some 'religious significance,' pointing out that the eight-pointed star, standing for the planet Venus, was the celestial symbol of Ishtar. However, the fact is that no evidence of any religious worship whatsoever, no 'cult objects,' statuettes of gods, etc. had been found at Tell Ghassul, yet another anomaly of the place. This, we suggest, indicates that it was inhabited not by worshipers but by those who were the subject of worshipping: the 'gods' of antiquity, the Anunnaki," (Sitchin 1992). Zechariah Sitchin is a popular author of several books about the mythological Sumerian planet of Nibiru and its indigenous pre-human alien species. His ideas are comparable those of famed ‘ancient astronaut’ researcher Erich Von Daniken.