Orbital Mechanics 101: Factoring the Creator into the equation
This paper is Part 2 of 360 vs. 365
A number of questions have arisen from 360 vs. 365
Does NASA factor in to their rocket launch calculations; the Day the Sun and Moon stood still for Joshua (Joshua 10:12,13) and the Sundial incident in Isaiah 38:8?
Would the change in orbit cause a temperature increase that would wipe out all life?
How did the Earth slow down and speed up?
What about the Sun and Moon incident in Joshua, can you explain that?
Does NASA factor in to their rocket launch calculations; the Day the Sun and Moon stood still for Joshua and the Sundial incident in Isaiah 38:8?
I have been asked this question a number of times even before I wrote paper 360 vs. 365. From the standpoint of the general public this question might seem to be a good one. From the standpoint of anybody with a little knowledge in this area this question appears ridiculous.
The answer is; No, NASA does not calculate any Biblical matters into their rocket launch's. The only important calculations to NASA would be current speeds and distances. Even if there were changes in the past these would not factor into modern calculations.
The reason this rumor was started about NASA factoring in this data was probably to cause people to believe that these Biblical accounts could be verified by scientific means. The truth is that the rumor has done more damage to allowing a faith in God for those with a scientific background. The rumor is ludicrous and unintelligent from a scientific standpoint. This rumor is not the way to bring people to faith in God.
How did the Earth slow down and speed up?
"Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz ten degrees backward." So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. (Isaiah 38:8)
In paper 360 vs. 365 I explained that the earth's orbital speed around the sun slowed down from 30.22379 km/s to 29.79 km/s because of this event. The question is how? There are a number of possibilities.
1. God slowed the earth in its current orbital path.
2. God moved the Earth farther away from the Sun, which would create a larger orbit and thus a longer year.
3. God moved the Sun that in turn caused the Earth to slow down.
Did God slow the Earth's rotation in its current orbital path?
We must look at the events of Isaiah 38:8. If the sun appeared to move backwards either the earth had to rotate backwards or the sun moved. If the Earth rotated backwards there would be cataclysmic effects on earth. Massive Winds, tidal waves and earthquakes alone would probably wipeout mankind, so this idea must be discarded.
Did God move the Earth farther away from the Sun, which would create a larger orbit and thus a longer year?
This concept would allow for a longer year without changing the speed of Earth's orbit. So our orbital speed around the sun would be 29.79 km/s before the Event of Isaiah 38:8 and the same after but the earth would now be further away from the Sun and thus take longer to make one complete orbit at that speed. The problem with this theory is that the earth must keep a certain distance from the Sun for the right temperature. Moving the Earth to close to the Sun could create a temperature to hot for life as we know it to exist. Moving the Earth farther away from the Sun could cause a temperature shift that would be too cold for life. This theory doesn't explain the sundial incident anyway so on a number of points we must also discard this theory.
(note, this speed 29.79 km/s is an average speed in one year. This speed does fluctuate up and down throughout the year but the average works out to 29.79 km/s)
Did God move the Sun down which in turn caused the Earth to slow down?
We know that the Earth couldn't rotate backwards so the only other option for the event in Isaiah 38:8 is that the Sun moved. Now if the Sun moved backwards in relation to the Earth, the gravitational effect of the Sun on the Earth would pull the Earth, thus slowing down the orbital speed of the Earth. This would also allow the Earth to keep the same distance from the Sun. This theory would fulfill all requirements.
Before the Sundial Incident the Earth would be orbiting around the Sun at an average speed of 30.22379 km/s, this average speed would cause a year to equal 360 days per year.
According to the information in Isaiah the Sun moved backwards, so from a birds eye view of the Sun and Earth the Sun would move in the opposite direction (but approximately parallel).
The resulting movement of the Sun would cause a gravitational pull on the orbit of the Earth in the opposite direction of travel. This would in turn slow the orbit of the Earth down to our current speed of 29.79 km/s and result in a year of our current 365.24 days per year.
The interesting aspect here is that for the shadow of the sun to go backwards on the sundial, the Sun must move in the opposite direction to Earth's orbit. Only this direction of travel by the Sun would result in a slower orbital speed of the Earth. So we had a 50% chance right there that the theory could be proven wrong, but it wasn't.
Of course all the other planets would also be affected by this movement of the Sun and every planet does show eccentricity. Mercury (0.2056) and Pluto (0.2484) show the most dramatic eccentricity while Venus (0.0068), Neptune (0.0100) and Earth (0.0167) show the least affect. An eccentricity of 0.0000 would equal a perfect circle around the Sun. Pluto's orbit is so (elliptical) eccentric that it crosses through Neptune's orbital path making Neptune the farthest planet until the year 1999 when Pluto again becomes the farthest planet for 200+ years.
Could we use the eccentricity data to calculate how much the Sun may have moved?
No, Since this would have been at least the second movement of the Sun. If you refer back to paper 360 vs. 365, I stated that the Earth's orbit speed up around the time of the flood. This would mean that the Sun moved in the same direction (but parallel) to Earth's orbit to cause the orbit of the Earth to speed up.
This too would also cause a shift in the other planets. So if we factor two shifts into the eccentricity of the orbits then we have no way to determine what the eccentricity was of all the planets during the time between the Flood event and the Sundial event.
Eccentricity can also be caused by the gravity of other planets such as the massive Jupiter... so eccentricity itself does not prove any part of this theory. If there was only one movement of the Sun then we might be able to calculate from the current eccentricity where all the planets were when this event took place. With two events at two different times this calculation would be impossible.
God supplies us with evidence but not proof. For absolute proof would require no faith.
How would God move the Sun?
For a 3 dimensional being this would prove impossible, but for the creator of the Universe and everything in it, who also exists in at least 10 dimensions… This task of moving the Sun in the right direction, at the right time, at the correct angle, so our orbit remained the same distance from the Sun. This would probably be quite easy. A miracle is something that we cannot explain. Moving the Sun would be classified as a Miracle.
Cause and Effect
Our God is a God of cause and effect miracles. If He so chose, could He not cause the Sun to move backwards without adjusting the orbital speed of the Earth? I would guess that He could, but our Lord likes to leave a trace (evidence). In this case there seems to be just enough evidence to warrant the possibility that our calendar changes are due to divine intervention. We cannot explain the cause of the Sun moving, but we can see the effect - a calendar change from 360-day year with a month equal to 30 days to a 365.24-day year and a month of 29.531 days.
What about the Sun and Moon incident in Joshua, can you explain that?
"Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."
So the sun stood still and the moon stopped till the people had revenge upon their enemies.
...So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. (Joshua 10:12-13)
No, I cannot explain this. Again this would be a miracle, but again God seems to leave a trace. In paper 360 vs. 365, I calculated that the astronomical data from the Book of Enoch indicated a year would equal 364.81 days before the flood. Then before or during the flood the timespan of the year shortened to 360 days per year until the Sundial incident in Isaiah 38:8 (around 700 BC) when the year then became 365.24 days per year.
The difference between Enoch's year of 364.81 days and our current year of 365.24 days is an increase of 0.43 days, which equals 10.32 hours. Depending on the season our daylight lasts for about 8 hours in the winter months and 16 hours in the summer months. Lets take an average day with 12 hours of daylight. Stop the sun at 12 noon for a time period of 10.32 hours and then continue with the rest of the day. You now have one day, which has almost doubled the average daylight hours from 12 hours to 22.32 daylight hours.
...So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. (Joshua 10:13)
Now this miracle could have been a localized event or a global event. In any case there seems to be evidence of some event that took over 10 hours at sometime between the flood event and the Sundial event around 700 BC. It appears that in the Isaiah 38:8 Sundial event, God also allowed an extra 10.32 hours per year to represent evidence of the Joshua 10:12,13 event.
Again, this evidence hardly proves the events of Joshua 10:12,13 but does provide a trace that God has been in control.
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