A Twisted History: Genesis and the Cosmos

Book excerpt: In January of 2016, Mike Brown, the discoverer of Sedna and other dwarf planets beyond Neptune and Pluto, made the stunning announcement that at least one full size planet (dubbed “Planet 9”) is still waiting to be detected in our outer solar system. Astronomers and Astrophysicists have embarked upon an intensive five-year program to scour the heavens in search of this missing corner piece to the solar system puzzle. In honor of that non-trivial pursuit, “A Twisted History: Genesis and the Cosmos” has been freshly edited and greatly expanded. It is not only a trusty bird dog to the epic scavenger hunt that is “Mission Planet 9,” but your companion in exploring the mysteries of the larger Milky Way Galaxy as well. The central figure of the Book of Genesis is not a mighty hunter (of men or beasts), but a mild-mannered cultivator of human relations and the celestial arts. It is not Nimrod, but Abraham who is reckoned as deserving of twelve entire chapters (Genesis 12 -23) and portions of two others (Genesis 24-25). He is curiously commanded to look toward the heavens and hunt for stars. In extra-Biblical tradition, Abraham is more specifically identified as the leading astronomer of his Age. With this in mind, an interpretation of the Torah from the perspective of Cosmology takes on renewed focus and significance, and especially in light of recent events. In the Book of Genesis, stargazer Abraham has a Nemesis named Abimelech. Adam is cursed with the company of an older, wiser and higher Serpent. Even more tellingly, Jacob (likened by his son Joseph to the Sun) wrestles with his slightly older, reddish and surly twin (Dwarf Sun) brother Esau. Twins are quite prominent and considered special in the Bible and Myth. Astrophysicists have also recently determined that multiple star systems predominate in our galactic neighborhood, and a number of young, developing star systems of this type are now being studied in detail. What we have not suspected is that our own solar system begun as a binary. In retrospect, it perhaps should have been intuitively obvious. There is two of everything! There are two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn. There are two nearly identical other gas planets with extensive damage, Neptune and Uranus. There are two nearly identical rocky planets, Earth and Venus. There are two heavily damaged rocky planets, Mercury and Mars. There may even be the remains of two proto-planetary disks, those being the Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt. How many more clues do we really need? Mike Brown and his colleagues are looking for a planet (and maybe two), but may end up rediscovering our solar system’s missing stunted twin instead.