Scientia Press

[Note:  In the January 19, 2022 NY Times Comments,1 an incremental scientist chastised this writer for not submitting his speculative theory of the origin of the Pacific Basin to peer review. He termed it misinformation.  Dozens of scientists approved.  But then it emerged that they were proponents of a rival theory!  And that this writer’s theory threatened their funding!  Heaven forfend that we suspect them of wanting to use peer review to suppress this theory.]

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There are good reasons to think that Earth and Mars originally formed a single planet outside the orbit of Jupiter.  Then, about 4.47 billion years ago, this planet was pulled by Jupiter’s powerful gravitational field past the gas giant.  As it neared Jupiter, tidal friction heated it to the melting point, and Jupiter tore Mars away from Earth, leaving the Pacific Basin.  Earth and Mars turned into comets that sped off into the inner solar system.

There are good reasons to think that Earth has turned over on various occasions.  But who can be surprised that this notion—so removed from everyday experience—seems less than instantaneously persuasive?

The good reasons include telling evidence in narrative testimony and correctly interpreted myths of the ancients, embedded patterns in ancient cultures that give evidence of inversions, and the insights and arguments of two formidable researchers.  Now we can 1) add new reasons that strengthen the case; 2) specify the approximate dates of four inversions; 3) comprehend that Earth is actually prone to inversion; and 4) point to where to find more evidence.  Understanding inversions helps us correct errors in interpreting past planetary and Earth science, and it may provide clues relevant to climate change.