Asteroid 2012 DA14: What Is An Asteroid, Anyhow?

Asteroid 2012 DA14, a 130,000 metric ton chuck of rock, will pass within 17,200 miles of the Earth on February 15th. This is a relatively close encounter for such a large chunk of rock, given the vastness of our solar system.

But just what is an asteroid and where did it come from? Why are there massive mountains of rock floating around our solar system? The standard theory of asteroids supposes that they are the shattered remnants of planetesimals, "bodies within the young Sun’s solar nebula that never grew large enough to become planets."

This explanation is rather weak and it comes with a host of problems. For starters, there is no evidence to suggest that neutral dust in the vacuum of space will accumulate itself into planetary bodies. While many people believe this has been proven, it hasn't it is actually just an assumption made by cosmologists, given that their theories of cosmology can't see any other alternative mechanisms. In fact, studies that have tried to simulate neutral dust in a zero gravity have shown that it will not come together. We can see this proven to be true in comet tails, which disperse over space.

Further, if we look at the rings of Saturn, we can clearly see that the dust which makes up the rings has not collapsed into moons. Yet Saturn isn't the only planet that throws a monkey wrench into the planetesimal theory. Numerous exoplanets have been discovered that contradict the standard theory of planet formation.  The star Kepler-36 has two such planets, along with XO-3b, HR 8799, and many more.

These findings leave cosmologists in a real bind. Any alternative theories about asteroids would require that some major pillars of cosmological dogma would have to change. Yet change it must, because the present theory is floundering.

Enter plasma cosmology. Plasma cosmology takes the approach of including electrical forces within the astrophysical plasma that is present in space.  This theory of cosmology was founded by the Nobel Prize winning physicist Hannes Alfvén.

While plasma cosmology has been derided in the past by standard theorists, because of its use of charge separation in space, it has recently been making a comeback. Famous scientists like Rupert Sheldrake now count themselves among its adherents. After years of studying this subject, I also have concluded that this cosmology makes the most sense out of any of the current theories.

In plasma cosmology, asteroids are the product of "electrical discharge machining." That's a fancy term for lightning bolts blasting rock into space.  Now, that might sound rather fantastic, but the amount of energy out in space makes this quite possible. Plasma physicists have concluded that many of the craters and valleys we see on various moons, and even our own planet, are the product of massive electrical discharges.

While I don't have time in this short article to discuss all the finer points of star and planet formation theory according to plasma cosmology, I can link to some great videos and web sites that will explain it all for those who are interested.

I highly recommend watching this tutorial on plasma cosmology first, and then following it up with Symbols of an Alien Sky. These two movies will change your entire outlook on the universe. I still remember the first time I saw Thunderbolts of the Gods. I walked away from it feeling like everything I was ever told about the nature of the universe was a wrong.

For more information on plasma cosmology, see the Thunderbolts Project website.