h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Greetings,

I remember being told when I was growing up that the star was (or could have been) Halley's Comet, and that it passed by about 7BCE or something like that. Persumably that's not true, then? Always intruiging, this kind of thing.

Amando Innannuchi (sp?) of Day Today and Friday Night Armistace Fame (UK TV shows) had a theory that the star refered to was not a celestial body but a celebrity, and that the Wise Men followed the fly posters across Judea....

Best wishes

Otto.

I know Halley's comet comes every 76.7 years approximately. It came in 1986 (and in 1066). Extrapolating backwards, you are right. That would put it at some time around 8BC. I'd need more accurate figures to work it out exactly.

I've heard this theory as well, together with the objection that comets were seen as harbingers of doom, not the birth of a king. Personally, I go for the theory that the astrology was more complex.

When I was in India, I read an English translation of the Pali Text concerning Lord Budhha's Enlightenment. He sat at a stationary viewing point (the Bodhi Tree) and sat down and said he wouldn't rise until he was enlightened. Well, the very next morning, he saw the 'Morning Star' and he was enlightened.

I think he was expecting the 'Morning Star' and I don't think it was Venus. I think it was the same thing that comes every 500 years. Look at this list.

If Lord Buddha realized it would impact in 2014 AD (500 years after Albrect Durer engraved it) then that would explain why he 'got involved'. See, Buddhas don't usually get involved, but when an impact is eminent, I guess they get involved.

The 3 stages of Buddhism (see Thurman's Essential Tibetan Buddhism) are remarkably placed. The Messianic age of Buddhism starts when Jesus was born. The 3 wise men from India is a Buddhist recognition ceremony. That's how the Dalai Lama was found, too.

Check out this list of Phoenixes.

2500bc Chinese Emperor Yao sees a Heavenly Battle

2000bc Egyptian Bennu Bird is said to burn in its own ashes and returns every 500 years

1500bc Phoenician Phoenix burns in its own ashes and returns every 500 years

1000bc Star of David

500bc Lord Buddha sees Morning Star and realizes enlightenment (Pali text)

0 Star of Bethlehem marks Christ and world calendar set to 0

500ad The Thunderbird

1000ad Quetzelcoatl, the flaming bird, returns

1500ad Durer engraves Melencolia I with Asteroid out the window dated 1514

2000ad Jesus said 'I am the Bright and Morning Star'

Do asteroids or comets have 500 year orbits?

Comets are divided into two main classes. Periodic comets tend to come back at regular intervals, usually short such as 3 or 4 years. Non-periodic comets tend to come once and never again. Halley's comet is unusual in that its 76 year period is very long compared with other comets. I don't think there are any known comets with a 500 year period.

Your table includes a lot of imagination. What exactly of significance happened at 2000ad?

Hi - Health *
The chart is just something I put together to see if I could find a star or flaming bird every 500 years. I'd heard of the Phoenix, then when I was in India, a nun told me to read Essential Tibetan Buddhism and I did. I noticed that there were about 500 years between LB and Jesus and LB saw a star upon Enlightenment. So I remembered the Phoenix and I looked up when it was and it was c. 1500bc. That was 1000 years before LB.
Was there a star or bird at 1000bc I wondered? Then I remembered the Star of David. When I researched the Star of David, I didn't find a star, but David lived about 1000bc. So I stuck it on the list.
When I was searching for Phoenixes, I found the Egyptian Bennu legend, also about a bird that burns up and rises from it's own ashes every 500 years.
I thought it stopped there, then I remembered Quetzlcoatl. I added that. Then the Thunderbird came to mind, so I added it.
When I was still in India, a friend remarked about a picture I had brought with me, one of my favorites, Melencolia I. She said it looked like my asteroid was in the picture. I had looked at that picture a thousand times, but not since I'd started thinking of asteroids. But sure enough, it looks like a bright star out the window. It's dated 1514ad.
So maybe the event is due in 2014.
When I looked for references to an asteroid in history, there was mention of one as big as the Greek Peloponesus. That's as big as Massachusettes. That might do some damage if it hits. But I don't even know if it's the same asteroid.
Anyway, if an asteroid or comet could have a 500 year orbit, where might we begin looking to expect it's return?
Still, Karen

If you're going for 1514 and 2014, don't you need 1014, 514 etc as well?

As for the Star of David, I don't think it was ever supposed to refer to an actual light in the sky.

I'm just not sure. And available records are not always accurate. When I searched the Mayan sites, they put Quetzlcoatl 'around' 1000ad. On the same site, I noted that the Mayans were fatalistic. They believed a doom was coming. The Baktun is a sacred 400 year period of time. Around 2012, our present Baktun AND the entire calendar ends. Maybe they were tracking the impact? Unsure.

When Jesus said 'I am the Bright and Morning Star' I don't think He meant He was Venus. I think He was referring to the Morning Star of Lord Buddha.

When I researched Mogan David, I didn't find a star, but I wasn't there. Maybe there was one.

A lot of folks back then, thought the Earth was it. They didn't believe there was anything in the sky big enough to stand on. Stars were just tiny points of light. Maybe they didn't notice a new star in town.

My whole theory about history is that they lied. Plato wrote a book called the RE Public. Right after that, they created RE Legions. The RE suggests that they didn't like the one they had, so they did it over.

So Plato says they have to lie to the children so they will grow up civilized. Then he says the leaders are allowed to lie for the good of the people. Then he apologizes for having to lie. And we're burning all the books, too. Hello.

I think the RE Public is a book full of half truths and clues. For example, the word perfect doesn't always mean ideal. The word perfect can mean past tense. So what if Socrates doesn't really advocate youths tasting blood in battle, but that was the way it was back then. Maybe he was describing the Public, for which they needed a RE Public.

Remember, Alexander the Great enabled the changing of our history. He conquered the barbarians. He could place any bogus history in the brains of their children.

Why? For the good of the people. They were killing each other. And if you rewrite history and don't include the truth, you don't have to worry about history repeating itself. You can't repeat what isn't there.

I didn't used to believe it either. I didn't want to believe that I was believing a lie. It feels foolish. Like Santa Claus.

So currently, I do not believe in Socrates, but I do believe in Santa Claus.

I don't think Socrates ever existed. I think the reason Plato wasn't at his friend's hemlock ceremony was the same reason Clark Kent couldn't attend Superman's hemlock ceremony. They are the same person. I think SoCRaTeS is the SeCReTS of Plato.

However, answer me this. Who lives on top of the world, wears a red suit and is surrounded by a bunch of little guys who do whatever he wants?

Did you guess the Dalai Lama? I do! Sorry, I guess I wandered off topic. It seemed to flow at the time. (=

By top of the world are you referring to the Himilayas by that reasoning is the Marianis trench the bottom of the world

Yes I am. If the Santa Claus legend originally said that he lived on top of the world, that might be misconstued as the North Pole, when it was supposed to indicate Tibet.

I think it's cool that Santa and the Dalai Lama have similar descriptions.

Still, Pika

The common tought now is that the original calculation for the birth of Christ was about 5 years wrong - meaning it should be 2010 AD. Might link in with the comet theory?

Halley's Comet was here in 1986 will be back in 2061. It was seen in 12BC and again in 66AD. Jesus was born between 8BC and 1BC. Halley's comet appeared at least 4 years before Jesus was born so you can rule it out as 'the star'.

Pika, your conspiracy theories are creeping me out.
As for Halley's Comet, 1 A.D. could be days off, or hundredds of years off as Jesus' birthday. The H. Comet is within the window of possibility.

Athena, I believe the Roman records show that the first king Herod, the one that tried to have the baby Jesus murdered, died in 4 BC. So if the story given in the Bible is to be believed, Jesus could not have been born after 4 BC. And the date of the crucifixion seems to have been fixed by somebody as 33 or 34 AD. I don't know where they got that date from but I'll assume it is based on something. It's not mentioned in the Bible that Jesus was very old when he was preaching, so lets assume that he wasn't more than about 60. Then he must have been born some time between 30 BC and 4 BC.

Fine then!

Firstly, the monk who calculated the date AD, they now believe was about 5 years wrong, so we really should be in 2010, so the comet would be OK, also the general consesus is that Jesus died when he was about 33/34.

No, the general consensus is that he died in 33/34 AD. But since we don't know when he was born, we don't know what age he was.

I think all the stories associated with JHC are made up explanations in response to uncomfortable questions.

How did the wise men know where to find JHC? Er... they followed a star. Oh!
These angel things you say came down from heaven, 'ow did they manage that then? Er... they had er, wings. Really!
Them 5000 people what went to listen to JHC, who did the caterin'? Well JHC had a few loaves and fishes and gave 'em all a bit. You're makin' it up!
So how did he get across the sea? He walked! Now come on!
You say that JHC wasn't just the son of big g, he was big g! Yep! So when the romans killed him, they actually killed big g? Yep! Dead? Yep!
So big g is dead? Nope! How come? He was resurrected. Who resurrected him then? Errr...........

Sons of virgin mothers were ten a shekel in Jesus's day.

Actually, the description of Mary as a "virgin" is an erroneous translation from the Hebrew for "maiden", a young woman.