Page 26 - 20090506 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - May / June 2009

26 Ending The Planet X Saga 26 Ending The Planet X Saga The Planet X Saga: The The Planet X Saga: The as planets, Sitchin says the extra one must be idea of a tenth planet that passes by the Earth. Scientific Arguments in a some unknown planet. He also says it has aliens Scientific Arguments in a on it who communicated with the ancient Nutshell Sumerians. There is no astronomical indication of Nutshell the existence of another large planet But there are two major problems with in the inner solar system. From Bad Astronomy this. Well, three, if you count having alien From Bad Astronomy visitations as a problem (and I certainly do). But ignoring that, there are still two biggies. Sitchin In my opinion, this is the biggest Let me be very clear here: Nancy claims that the picture shows Uranus, Neptune problem with the Planet X myth. Simply put: Lieder, Mark Hazlewood and the rest of these and Pluto. But the Sumerians didn't have where is it? We don't see it optically, and we Planet X people (hereafter referred to as telescopes, and therefore could only have don't see any effects gravitationally. "PXPs") are completely wrong. No rogue giant known of them if aliens told them about their Look at Jupiter. Literally! It's about ten planet is about to destroy the Earth, in May existence. But if aliens told them about those times the diameter of the Earth, and it's on 2003 or otherwise. The webpages on this and planets, why not about the moons of Jupiter and average about 750 million kilometers (450 other sites give lots of details, but I thought it Saturn, or Saturn's rings? The seal doesn't show million miles) away. It is easily visible to the might help if I made a brief synopsis of the any of these features. And the Sumerians naked eye, and in fact is usually the fourth or arguments I and others make to debunk this thought the Moon and Sun were planets, when fifth brightest object in the sky (the Sun, Moon, pseudoscientific silliness. Listed below are the they aren't. Certainly aliens would know that the and Venus are brighter, and Mars can major points against the claims of the PXPs. Sun and Moon are not planets! Sitchin is sometimes be brighter than Jupiter). Feel free to use them to make yourself feel picking and choosing things in the picture to Yet, for Planet X to be here in less then better, or to use on someone who is support his arguments, and ignoring things that a decade, it can't be farther than a billion or so contemplating the Dark Side. don't support it. That isn't science, it's fantasy. kilometers away. Even at that distance, it would It's also wrong. be one of the brightest objects in the sky. Even Ancient texts do not discuss the Worse, his interpretation of the picture is if it were too faint to be seen with the naked eye, it would still be seen easily even if it were existence of a tenth planet. wrong. The Sumerians have an unambiguous billions of kilometers away. Remember, tiny symbol for the Sun: a circle with four triangles Pluto is 5 billion kilometers out, and can be Zechariah Sitchin bases his entire around it like rays, and squiggly lines between easily detected using modern equipment, and theory of the existence of a tenth planet on the triangles. That is emphatically not the Pluto is way smaller than Planet X is supposed ancient texts, including Sumerian and biblical symbol in the seal. The symbol used is that of a to be. There is simply no way a big planet so writings. However, he is known to misinterpret bright star, but not the Sun. So even Sitchin's close to Earth could have escaped astronomers' Sumerian, sometimes grossly. His key finding basic premise is wrong. Michael Heiser, a detection-- even amateur astronomers, who is based on a seal that shows a diagram that Sumerian scholar, outlines all this on his even Lieder and Hazlewood must realize have looks like the solar system, with the Sun at the website. no reason to lie-- all these decades. center. It appears to have eleven planets around Conclusion: Sitchin's ideas are wrong, it. Since Sumerians counted the Sun and Moon and so there is no reason to even introduce the Continued on Page 28