''The Jupiter Effect'' is a 1974 book by
John Gribbin
John R. Gribbin (born 19 March 1946) is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the orig ...
and Stephen Plagemann, in which the authors predicted that an alignment of the planets of the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
would create a number of catastrophes, including a great earthquake on the
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is Fault (geology)#Strike-slip fau ...
, on March 10, 1982. The book became a best-seller.
The predicted catastrophes did not occur.
History
Astronomers had long been aware that there would be an
alignment
Alignment may refer to:
Archaeology
* Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks
* Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones
Biology
* Structu ...
of the
planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
s on that date, when
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
,
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
,
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
,
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
,
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
,
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
,
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars (mythology), Mars), grandfather ...
,
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
and
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...
would be on the same side of the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, within an arc 95 degrees wide. But no effect could be expected as the
tidal force
The tidal force is a gravitational effect that stretches a body along the line towards the center of mass of another body due to a gradient (difference in strength) in gravitational field from the other body; it is responsible for diverse phenomen ...
s of the other planets affecting the Earth's crust are negligible even at the planets' closest approach. In this book, the authors sought to partially sidestep these objections by considering the effect of the alignment on the Sun, and hence on the solar wind, which in turn is known to affect weather on the Earth. Atmospheric conditions on the Earth can alter the
speed of its rotation. The effect on the Sun would also be quite small, however, and in fact there had been an even closer alignment in the year 1128 without any incident.
In April 1982, Gribbin and Plagemann published a lesser-selling book, ''The Jupiter Effect Reconsidered''.
[ In it they theorized that the effect had actually taken place in 1980, despite the lack of planetary alignment then, and that it had triggered the ]volcanic eruption
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...
of Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens (known as Lawetlat'la to the indigenous Cowlitz people, and Loowit or Louwala-Clough to the Klickitat) is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United St ...
.
In his book, ''The Little Book of Science'' (pub. 1999), Gribbin admitted about his "Jupiter Effect" theory "...I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it."
References to the Jupiter Effect
In his novel "Goodbye California
''Goodbye California'' is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1977.
Plot introduction
Set in the United States, an Islamic terrorist kidnaps nuclear scientists and steals radioactive material from a California nucl ...
", (Fontana, 1980) Alistair Maclean
Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The G ...
makes a reference to the Jupiter Effect in the author's preface.
The novel '' Syzygy'', by Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...
, published in 1981, uses the ''Jupiter Effect'' as a source of panic whipped up by religious fanatics, politicians and land speculators in Los Angeles around the time of the alignment. The narrative makes detailed references to the book's arguments and places them in the context of science, the politics of scientific funding, and social reactions.
A film version titled ''The Jupiter Menace'' was released in 1984, directed by Lee Auerbach and Peter Matulavich, and hosted by George Kennedy
George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...
. The documentary features interviews with Stephen Plagemann, Jeffrey Goodman
Jeffrey Goodman is an independent American archaeologist with training in geology and archaeology. His early career was in oil exploration.
Goodman is most notable for his controversial ideas about modern humans originating in California 500,000 ...
and John White (author of ''Pole Shift
The cataclysmic pole shift hypothesis is a pseudo-scientific claim that there have been recent, geologically rapid shifts in the axis of rotation of Earth, causing calamities such as floods and tectonic events or relatively rapid climate chang ...
''), It also includes Biblical prophecy
Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy comprises the passages of the Bible that are claimed to reflect communications from God to humans through prophets. Jews and Christians usually consider the biblical prophets to have received revelations from G ...
, planetary alignments and survivalism
Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, as well as other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, civil disor ...
. These topics are covered by interviews with CSA
CSA may refer to:
Arts and media
* Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
* Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics
* Crime Syndicate of Amer ...
leader James Ellison James Ellison may refer to:
* James O. Ellison (1929–2014), U.S. federal judge
* James T. Ellison (1862–1920s), New York gangster
*James Ellison (actor) (1910–1993), American film actor
*James Ellison (footballer, born 1901) (1901–1958), En ...
, psychics Clarissa Bernhardt and Alex Tanous, and members of the Stelle community. The film's soundtrack was composed and produced by Larry Fast
Lawrence Roger Fast (born December 10, 1951) is an American synthesizer player and composer. He is best known for his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums (''Synergy'') and for his contributions to a number of popular music acts, inclu ...
, under the name Synergy.
Jeff Johnson (musician)
Jeff Johnson (born 1956) is a recording artist, composer and producer who has released numerous solo and collaborative recordings. Born near Portland, Oregon, he currently resides in the San Juan Islands in the state of Washington
His early wor ...
and Sandy Simpson released a song called "The Jupiter Effect" on their 1982 album, Through the Door.
In the 1984 film Blood Simple
''Blood Simple'' is a 1984 American independent neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, and M. Emmet Walsh. Its plot follows a Texas bartender who ...
, the Jupiter Effect is mentioned on a car radio.
References
External links
*
* Watch ''The Jupiter Menace'' on the Internet Archive
Review on ''Planet Neukoln'', 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jupiter Effect, The
1974 non-fiction books
Astronomy books
Books by John Gribbin
Fictional doomsday scenarios
English-language books
Collaborative non-fiction books
Pseudoscience literature