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THE CONSTANT OF NINEVEH 37
We can calculate then under these conditions that the peak ice
ages occurred the following approximate numbers of years ago:*
Giinz—599,600 and 558,200; Mindel— 475,400 and 434,000; Mulberg—309,800;
Riss-227,000 and 185,600; Wiirm— 102,800,
61,400, and 20,000. If this chronology is correct and nothing
changes in our solar system, we do not have to worry much at
present about the two next ice ages. These should come 21,400
and 62,800 years from now, allowing us plenty of time to prepare
and to emigrate to tropical zones if it becomes necessary.
The Constant of Nineveh has many more surprises to offer and
I cannot cease to marvel about it. One example is the case of the
planet Pluto. Its orbit has an inclination of 17 degrees from the
ecliptic as do all the other planets and it was discovered in January
1930 by the American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh because
at that time Pluto crossed the ecliptic—an event that will
take
place again only in the year 2048 when this faraway planet will
return to the southern hemisphere. We might add that Pluto is
visible only with the most powerful telescopes and its planetary
movements can be detected only by successive photographs, all
proof that our ancestors could not have known about the existence
of this planet. Yet it seems that they did know.
The sidereal year of Pluto has been estimated by American astronomers
to be 90,727 solar days. But sometimes, as in the case
of the comet Kohoutek in 1975, astronomers too make some mistakes.
Since its discovery, Pluto has made only about one fifth of
its
voyage around the sun so a slight mistake in observations is
possible. A negligible error of only seven days in the calculated
long year of Pluto would be perfectly excusable. So let's suppose
that the true year of Pluto is in reality 90,720 solar days. Now the
Constant of Nineveh represents exactly 25,000 revolutions of
Pluto and this can be no more a coincidence than the fact that it
also represents exactly 240 cycles of precession of the equinoxes.
Without doubt our ancestors knew about the existence of Pluto
and used its sidereal year together with the Great Year as the
base of the Great Constant of the Solar System, the Constant of
Nineveh.
We will have to wait till June of 2178, when Pluto will conclude
its first revolution around the sun since this planet was dis-
* These names all are rivers in Bavaria with exposed glaciation strata.