Last night, we had a once in a lifetime event, the first total lunar eclipse during a solstice since 1683. Unfortunately, 2/3 of the article about it on CNN is about the astrological significance of said event.
This drives me nuts. I felt the need to post the very simple math that debunks astrology once and forever (the same math that has been put forward for generations now) just so someone else can use it when yelling at people who believe in astrology. And since commenters over at CNN often times seem barely literate, I thought I would post it at a community of free thinking people.
If you want the mathematical ammunition, follow me over the fold.
Florida astrologer Brian Hill says each event has a significant effect on people. A lunar eclipse alone, he says, disrupts vibrations from the moon, letting people’s intuition work more freely and allowing them "to receive information that the logical left brain normally doesn't get."
A full moon, the culmination of a cycle, portends endings, and a winter solstice gets people feeling an energy of withdrawal, in the manner that allows animals know it’s time to hibernate, he says. With Mercury also in retrograde, now is the time for reflection and introspection, he says.
This from the above linked article. Now the common 'scientific' explanation given for how astrology works has to do with gravity. Basically, the gravitational pull of the various planets when you were born imprints on you, and the differing gravitational pulls throughout your life affect your moods and behavior. Since the charlatan cited above mentioned Mercury, let's focus on the gravitational pull of Mercury. Some facts:
Mass of Mercury: 330,220,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg or 3.3022x1023 kg Closest distance between the Earth and Mercury: 77,300,000,000 meters or 7.73x1010 m Farthest distance between the Earth and Mercury: 206,445,240,000 meters or 2.0645x1011 m My Mass: 70 kg
The equation for the force applied on two objects due to their gravity is:
where G=the gravitational constant (6.674×10−11 N m2⁄kg2), m1 and m2 are the masses of the two bodies in question, and r is the distance between the two bodies. This is Newton's Law of Universal Gravity. Let's see how much force Mercury puts on me when it is closest to Earth.
| F=(6.674×10−11 N m2⁄kg2)*(3868.498433kg2⁄m2) |
| F=2.58184x10-7 N |
Pretty small, right? Let's do the same exercise for mercury but at it's farthest point from the Earth. Forgive me if I skip some steps in the math this time.
| F=3.61974x10-8 N |
Of course the effect is even smaller. Just like the astrologers said it would be. How much smaller?
| F=2.58184x10-7 N - 3.61974x10-8 N |
| F=2.21986x10-7 N |
So we figured out the gravitational field for Mercury. In honor of Carl Sagan (he mentioned it in Cosmos in 1982, if you haven't seen it I can't recommend the series enough), let's calculate out the gravitational field generated by the person next to you, assuming he/she was standing one meter away and also weighs 70 kg.
| F=(6.674×10−11 N m2⁄kg2)*(4900kg2⁄m2) |
| F=3.27026x10-7 N |
Will you look at that? The gravitational effect placed on you by the guy sitting two bar stools over is greater than that of Mercury at its closest point! What happens if the guy is standing 2 meters away?
| F=8.17565x10-8 N |
And the difference between the two?
| F=3.27026x10-7 N - 8.17565x10-8 N |
| F=2.4527Ex10-7 N |
Wonder of wonders! The gravitational effect of the people around you at 1 meter vs. 2 meters away is 110.4% greater than that of Mercury in retrograde or prograde. But why do they never include doctor position on the birth charts so you can track your astrological sign?
Math! It works! Try it out sometime CNN!