Two Days of Brightness and the Stars of Christ's Birth

Two Days of Brightness and the Stars of Christ’s Birth By Jerry D. Grover, Jr., PE, PG September 15, 2021 Draft Introduction While the Book of Mormon recounts a variety of miracles, two miraculous events have special significance, the illuminated night and associated signs and wonders and the appearance of a new star in Mesoamerica previous to the birth of Christ, and the darkness and destruction which occurred upon his death. In a previous work, The Geology of the Book of Mormon, I elucidated a scientific explanation of the destruction, here I will provide the most likely scientific explanation for the illuminated night and signs and wonders. Also established is the correlation of the day of Christ’s birth with a solar eclipse, seen both in Mesoamerica and Mesopotamia, and the Old World astrological calculation used by the Magi of the day of Christ’s birth, together with a planetary Bethlehem Star and a separate Mesoamerican new star as a comet. Exact dates are then determined for Christ’s birth and death based on this astronomical information and information from the Book of Mormon and associated information. Controlling parameters from the Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon description of the multifaceted event surrounding Christ’s birth (referred to here as the Nephite Event) is found both in the prophecy for the Nephite event by Samuel the Lamanite (Helaman 14:2-7), and the description of the event itself (3 Nephi 1:8, 15-22). The original language from the Original Manuscript and Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon was consulted with regards to these sections of scripture. While there were small differences, none were of significance as to the description of the event, so the current edition’s text of the Book of Mormon is utilized. In order to find the most likely cause of the Nephite Event, it is necessary to establish the parameters based on the description from these scriptures: 1. “There shall be great lights in heaven” which will be “a sign” of the coming of “the God.” (Hel. 14:3). Son of 2. “In the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness” (Hel. 14:3); “the night shall not be darkened” (Hel. 14:4). 3. “It shall appear unto man as if it was a day” (Hel. 14:3); “There was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day” (3 Nephi 1:19). 4. “There shall be one day and a night and a day” (Hel. 14:4); “that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there is no night” (3 Nephi 1:8) 5. “Ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of the setting” (Hel. 14:4); “At the going down of the sun there was no darkness … there was no darkness when the night came” (3 Nephi 1:15); “the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order” (3 Nephi 1:22). 6. “There shall be many signs and wonders in heaven,” “ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth.” (Hel. 14:6, 8); after the sun set, “And there were many who had not believed who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead,” “and they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth” (3 Nephi 1:17); “from this time forth there began to be lyings … that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen.” (3 Nephi 1:22). 7. “There shall a new star arise … and this also shall be a sign unto you” (Hel. 14:5). 8. Four years after the Nephite Event, it is mentioned that “the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven,” (3 Nephi 2:1). Scientific parameters, including the order and times of events described, derived from the Book of Mormon text are as follows: - There are “great lights” which would indicate multiple significant light sources, as opposed to a one exclusive overall glow or a combination of small light sources (such as a meteor shower). - Separate from the overall brightness, there are specific “signs and wonders” in heaven. It is not indicated that the signs and wonders are separate events from the light sources, they may be features of the light sources. - The overall light is not bright enough that the sun can’t be observed the next day, but is bright enough to approximate a mid-day brightness. - The overall light was present or commenced with the setting of the sun. - The text considering Samuel’s prophecy containing a description of the actual event seems to indicate that the order of events as: the sun goes down and night illumination starts, the non-believers collapse, signs and wonders are seen, and the rest of the population falls to the earth, the premise being that after falling to the earth they would not effectively be able to witness the signs and wonders for some period of time, although there appears to be a differentiation from the non-believers as the believers and a portion of the non-believers are not mentioned as becoming as if they were dead. Samuel seems to indicate that the new star may be present after the start of the illumination but could be interpreted alternatively without that requirement, the description of the actual event mentions the new star after the two days of brightness, which would make more sense as it would not be expected to be observed during the illuminated night. - There is no mention of when the signs and wonders ended (other than the night of illumination). However, not long afterward, during the ninety-second year, there was an attempt by Satan (likely through his pagan astronomy priest representatives) to lie about the things that the people “had seen” (3 Nephi 1:22), so presumably the signs and wonders were no longer present at that time. Since after four years the people were no longer astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven it is indicative that some sort of heavenly events may have been continuing for at least up to four years after the Nephite Event, however they “began to forget” (3 Nephi 2:1) at that time, so the unique Nephite Event signs and wonders presumably were not occurring long after the ninety-second year. - The entirety of the Nephite Event occurred only once in the 1000 years of occupation of the Nephite geographical area as one would assume another such event would have been mentioned. - Fairly soon after the mention of the illuminated night and the appearance of the new star, the “signs and wonders” are mentioned that were “seen” but there is no mention of them being “heard” (3 Nephi 1:22) and Samuel in his prophecy is silent as to whether the signs or wonders can be heard (Hel. 14: 6), just that there would be “many signs and wonders in heaven.” Four years after the Nephite Event, it is mentioned that “the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign of a wonder from heaven,” (3 Nephi 2:1) and later mentioned that they “began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen.” This apparent textual inconsistency has been discussed by Royal Skousen (2014, 3203-4) as part of the Original Text project and may just be an unusual textual construction that still implies that the meaning is in fact that certain signs and wonders were both seen and heard even though it only says “heard” in that instance. Skousen states: “Mosiah 28:1 has a similar reference to hearing alone in its description of what the sons of Mosiah had both heard and seen when the angel of the Lord appeared to them and to Alma, the son of Alma.” The most straightforward reading of the text here would be that some signs and wonders were not seen but only heard (at least by some of the people) perhaps because some of the area was overcast. The only definitive sign that was referred to that all the people witnessed by sight was the night being illuminated after the sun went down (3 Nephi 1:17). Under either textual interpretation, the text here does require that at least some of the “signs and wonders” were heard and had an acoustic element caused by them or occurring concurrent with them, and based on the being signs and wonders themselves being heard, likely an acoustic event that was different than the standard atmospheric sound of thunder. It is important to note that when looking at the overall textual usage of the terms, the terms “signs” and “wonders” are used elsewhere in the Book of Mormon and do not imply a heavenly event (2 Nephi 26:13, Mosiah 3:15, Alma 37:27). Some years before the Nephite Event, the prophet Nephi was preaching and “showing signs and wonders, working miracles among the people” (Helaman 16:4). So these signs and wonders that the people heard are non-heavenly signs and wonders, presumably other miracles involving the preaching of the prophet Nephi (or others). Thus, while the best textual construction to explain the Nephite Event would involve some of the “signs and wonders” to be heard, it is not an absolute requirement as there is another alternative broader textual interpretation. Two years before the Nephite Event it is indicated that “there were great signs given unto the people, and wonders; that the words of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Hel 16:13). This would at first glance seemingly be referring to the prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite, and the only signs and wonders that he mentioned were those in heaven (Hel. 14:6-7), perhaps implying that there were some heavenly signs and wonders occurring two years before the Nephite Event. However, this occurs too early for Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecy, and it would be expected that, if the signs and wonders were heavenly, they would have been noticed by the wicked Nephites and been some proof of the validity of Samuel the Lamanites prophecy. Second, it uses the plural “prophets” and Samuel the Lamanite was a single prophet. However, there is at least one other possibility. In the Messianic prophecies in the Isaiah sections cited by Nephi state that “I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts” (2 Nephi 18:18) and shortly thereafter “the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (2 Nephi 19:2). This can be interpreted as a foreshadowing of the Nephite Events. We also don’t have the missing 116 pages, and there very well may have been some additional prophecies there involving non-heavenly signs and wonders that were to occur leading up to Christ’s birth. Thus, it is not necessary to assume and identify heavenly signs and wonders to be occurring two years before Christ’s birth, so no attempt is made to identify those here. - The illumination of the night appearing is referred to in the singular as a “sign” which appears to be different from the mention of “signs” in association with the “wonders” which seems to be indicative that there were particular features of the lights or wonders that represented some more specific meanings related to the overall fact that Christ is going to be born. Also the new star is considered a separate “sign.” Other controlling parameters Lack of corroborating documentation in other areas The night of brightness does not appear to be noted in other record-keeping cultures of the time (primarily Old World). This is not absolutely definitive, but the assumption is that this type of significant event would have been noted had it been atypical, especially among the few cultures that recorded astronomical events. It probably can be said with some certainty that if this event did occur it would have at least been noted by Gospel writers in Israel as a sign of Christ’s birth. This is a geographic factor that must be considered. Duration Considering that it may have been possible for the brightness to have been present during the daytime on the first day and extended to dusk on the second day, any source that is considered cannot be of a longer duration than approximately 40 hours on the ground (this assumes an average time of 16 hours of light from dawn to dusk). The shortest duration would be approximately 8 hours (the hours normally in darkness). Potential Impact Proximity There is no description of any of the features of an impact of a celestial body (single explosive sound and pressure waves). Axial Rotation and Orbital Path of the Earth The earth orbits around the sun, and also rotates upon its axis in a counterclockwise direction when looking down on it from the North Pole (see figure 1). With this rotation, the side of the earth that first rotates into darkness (dusk) is on the backside of the direction of travel in the earth’s orbital path around the sun. Since the brightness was present when this part of the earth became obscured from the sun, any explanation involving the earth running into material sitting in its orbital path is not a possible explanation for the brightness. This is why meteor showers (caused by the earth encountering particles in its orbital path) can only be observed after midnight, after that location on the earth has rotated to the leading side of the earth’s orbital path. Essentially, dawn occurs on the leading side of the earth, dusk on the trailing side. The average orbital speed around the sun is 66,600 miles per hour. Figure 1 Rotation of the Earth in Relation to the Direction of Orbit (Taylor, 2012) Geographic extent of the phenomena The geographic extent of the observed phenomena includes all of the land of the Nephites, which under most Mesoamerica models would extend from near Veracruz, Mexico on the northwest to near Chiapas, Mexico on the southeast across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (340 x 130 miles). For a person 6 feet tall, the observable area to the visible horizon of the earth is a little more than 3 miles. Areas of the atmosphere above and beyond the horizon are visible for up to 40 miles. This distance is dependent on height, so a person standing on top of Mount Everest at 29,000 feet the visible horizon is 230 miles. Thus the phenomenon need not include the entire area of the darkened side of the earth, but it does need to either follow in some fashion the Nephite geographic area roughly 500 miles or less (based on atmospheric visibility) or be a band that is present above the Nephite area as it rotates with the earth through the night. As previously mentioned, at least with one textual interpretation, some Nephites may have just “heard” and may have not visually witnessed all or some of the signs or wonders, so it is possible the signs and wonders portion of the phenomenon may have not occurred across all the geographic area of the Nephites. Illuminance Illuminance is now measured in units called lux and is the amount of light received on a unit surface area. Interpreting what the Book of Mormon reference to the degree of light is obviously a subjective one, as there was no ability to measure the actually light level. For example, a standard modern residential room has a lux of 200-500 lux, direct sunlight is 100,000 lux (Velux 2021). Would an ancient person consider the light level of our current residential room “as light as though it was mid-day” as the Book of Mormon mentions? Perhaps, which would fall into the “overcast day” classification. This term to describe light is not found anywhere else in the Book of Mormon, so no obvious textual comparisons are possible. Daylight is also highly variable as it is dependent on atmospheric conditions (Schlyter 2017): Source Sun overhead Full daylight (not direct sun) Overcast day Very dark overcast day Twilight Deep twilight Full Moon overhead Illumination (lux) 130000 10000-25000 1000 100 10 1 0.267 The Book of Mormon description does not indicate direct sun, but just mentions “as though it was midday” so may be a subjective standard as to the light at mid-day of just the day before the Nephite Event. For example, if the previous day prior to the event had been somewhat overcast (not so overcast that the sun couldn’t be observed to set), than the relative light that would be consistent with the observation of continuing daylight may only be an illumination of 100 lux. Supernova A supernova is an explosion of a massive supergiant star. It may shine with the brightness of 10 billion suns. The BMC Team at Book of Mormon Central (2016) recently summarized seemingly the only three theories developed so far for the birth of Christ event. The first was a supernova, first proposed by Hugh Nibley (2004, 291), the second was a comet/asteroid explosion event similar to the Tungaska Event on June 30, 1908, first proposed by John A. Tvedtnes (1998)(to be discussed later), and the third was a volcanic eruption as proposed by Brant Gardner (2007, 191-192)(also discussed later). Hugh Nibley suggested that the sign could have been caused by a supernova, comparing it to one which “could be seen all over the world” and “was almost as bright as the sun” so seems to be the first to suggest this as a possibility for night of brightness. The brightest supernova recorded occurred starting on May 1, 1006 A.D., where a spectacularly bright star appeared suddenly in the southern sky in the constellation Lupus (the wolf), to the south of Scorpio. Observers in China, Japan, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, and Switzerland recorded observations of the star, which remained visible for several months before becoming lost in the glare of daylight. Figure 2 NASA artist's impression of the explosion of SN 2006gy, a super luminous supernova (NASA, 2007) A team of astronomers headed by Frank Winkler of Middlebury College combined precise digital observations with simple mathematics to estimate the apparent brightness of this event. On the magnitude scale used by astronomers, it was about minus 7.5, which puts its brightness a little less than halfway between that of Venus and that of the full Moon (Noao.ed, 2003). The most explicit historical record of the 1006 AD star’s brightness comes from the Egyptian physician and astrologer Ali bin Ridwan, who in fact compared the spectacle both with Venus and with the Moon. “It’s taken a long time to interpret what he meant,” Winkler commented, “but now I think we’ve finally got it right.” “There’s no doubt that it would have been a truly dazzling sight,” Winkler concluded, “In the spring of 1006, people could probably have read manuscripts at midnight by its light.” However, with regards to the Nephite night of brightness event, the supernova does not appear to meet all of the required parameters of the Nephite Event. A supernova does seem to potentially have the ability to have sufficient luminosity for the event but it fails with regards to other parameters. First, a supernova is a singular light source, but the Nephite Event refers to “lights.” Second, the appearance and longevity of a supernova are not consistent with the Nephite Event, namely, the time to peak visual magnitude of a supernova takes some days, and the supernova, once reaching peak magnitude, will continue for a week or two at or close to peak magnitude (see figure 3). This is not consistent with the Nephite Event, which appeared within a maximum period of 16 hours of daylight before the sun set. The Nephite Event was over in 2 days, so the longevity is not consistent with a supernova. Supernovae and hypernovae (a highly energetic form of supernovae) are classified as Type I if their light curves exhibit sharp maxima and then die away gradually. The maxima may be about 10 billion solar luminosities. Type II have less sharp peaks at maxima and peak at about 1 billion solar luminosities. They die away more sharply than the Type I. Figure 3 Light curves of supernovae (Lithopsian, 2012) In addition, the appearance of a supernova to an observer on earth is as a very bright star, so the requirement that there be signs and wonders does not appear to match the appearance of a supernova, at least by itself. In addition, a supernova could be observed by others as its illumination is not limited to a geographic area, so runs into problems of the expectations that other cultures would have recorded the event. Finally, supernovae leave remains in their wake, and no remains of a supernova 2000 years ago have ever been discovered (Nicholls 2015, 78). Noctilucent clouds Noctilucent clouds, or night shining clouds, are tenuous cloud-like phenomena in the upper atmosphere of Earth. They consist of ice crystals and are only visible during astronomical twilight. Noctilucent roughly means "night shining" in Latin. Too faint to be seen in daylight, they are visible only when the observer and the lower layers of the atmosphere are in Earth's shadow, but while these very high clouds are still in sunlight. They are the highest clouds in Earth's atmosphere, located in the mesosphere at altitudes of around 76 to 85 km (249,000 to 279,000 feet). Figure 4 Noctilucent clouds in 2019 (Pärn 2019) The Tungaska Event mentioned previously involved an explosion (current scientific consensus is it was an atmospheric explosion of a comet) which caused the formation of noctilucent clouds. It was documented that after the Tungaska explosion, from June 30 to July 1, 1908, covering approximately 4.6 million square miles, that there was no night and the luminosity was as light as daytime (Rubtsov, 2009). Mother-of-pearl clouds (a form of noctilucent cloud) were reported (Tvednes 1998). Figure 5 Mother of Pearl Clouds over Oslo, Norway in 2014 (Strømme 2014) Some contend that the massive amount of water vapor spewed into the atmosphere by the comet's icy nucleus was caught up in swirling eddies with tremendous energy by a process called two-dimensional turbulence, which explains why the noctilucent clouds formed a day later many thousands of miles away. Figure 6 Diagram of the extent of visibility of noctilucent clouds (Sutherland 2020) Noctilucent clouds may be seen at latitudes of 50° to 65° (Gadsden and Parviainen 1995). They seldom occur at lower latitudes (although there have been sightings as far south as Paris, Utah, Italy, Turkey and Spain). It is generally not possible to have noctilucent clouds beyond these limits because noctilucent clouds require water vapor, dust, and very cold temperatures to form. In addition, away from the very northern and southern latitudes, they are only observable close to dusk or dawn. The reason for this is that the clouds are not a light source themselves, but only reflect sunlight coming from beyond the horizon (See figure 6). Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in the atmosphere. That is one reason that they can be seen as illuminated while the lower atmospheric clouds are dark. Being higher, the sun is still able to hit them after it has gone down on the horizon. Since the most advanced geographic models point to a Mesoamerican location for the Book of Mormon, noctilucent clouds alone are not a good candidate for the Nephite Event, as the Mesoamerican latitudes (roughly between 14 and 22 degrees) are too low for noctilucent clouds to be present during the entire night, only shortly after sundown and before sunrise. Atmospheric explosion of an Asteroid/Comet As previously mentioned, for some months after the Tungaska Event, because of the residual dust in the atmosphere, there were other atmospheric effects such as spectacular sunrises and sunsets throughout the world and daytime anomalies such as intense and prolonged solar halos (including blue and brown colors) and mother-of-pearl clouds (Tvedtnes 1998). Others assert that the noctilucent clouds were only a secondary effect, and that not all of the illumination can be accounted for by the noctilucent cloud formation, possibly implying a layer of reflective dust higher than the formation of noctilucent clouds (German, 2010). However, even if an extremely high altitude layer of reflective dust was present where sunlight could be reflected to lower altitudes, like the Tungaska Event, it likely would have been of a longer duration than one night, so is not a likely explanation for the Nephite Event. While not being a likely candidate for the night of illumination, it could technically be possible that a more minor explosion could have been part of the “signs and wonders” as it certainly could be heard. Volcanic eruption Brant Gardner (2007, 191-192) has proposed that the light source could have been produced by a volcanic eruption. There have been tens of thousands of volcanic eruptions observed in modern times, with none having illumination described in the Nephite Event. To the contrary, most serve to darken, not illuminate an area, thus this proposal cannot meet the most important parameter of the Nephite Event, namely a night of brightness. While not being a likely candidate for the night of illumination, it is possible that a minor eruption may be part of the “signs and wonders” as it certainly could be heard, however it still would be incompatible with the illumination, and the signs and wonders are described as being “from heaven.” Meteor Shower/Comet tail Meteor showers occur when the earth passes through an area of residual dust, typically the debris stream shed by a comet. The problem with the Nephite Event being some sort of a meteor shower is that, as previously mentioned, because the earth is essentially running into the particles, meteor showers can only occur during the second half of the night. In addition, because the tails of comets are extremely wide, the speed of the earth is such that a one night event is not consistent with meteor showers, as meteor showers last from 2 to 3 weeks, meaning it takes that long for the earth to pass through the debris stream. It is however possible that within a 2 to 3 week meteor shower one night can be fairly spectacular, like the 1833 Leonids (See figures 7 and 8). It has been estimated that that at the peak of the 9 hour event there were 240,000 meteors per hour. It was described by Professor Olmstead of Yale College (Mechanics Magazine 1833): “… a constant succession of fire-balls, resembling sky-rockets, radiating in all directions from a point in the horizon near the zenith, and follow the arch of the sky towards the horizon. They proceeded to various distances from the radiating point, leaving after them a vivid streak of light, and usually exploding before they disappeared. The balls were of various sizes and degrees of splendor: some were mere points, but others were larger and brighter than Jupiter or Venus and one … was judged to be nearly as large as the moon. The flashes of light though less intense than lightening, were so bright as to waken people in their beds. One ball that shot off to the northwest … left, just behind the place of explosion, a phosphorescent train of peculiar beauty. This line was at first nearly straight, but it shortly began to contract in length, and dilate in breadth, and to assume the figure of a serpent folding itself up, until it appeared like a small luminous cloud of vapor.” Figure 7 Illustrations of the 1833 Leonid meteor shower made by one present (Mechanics Magazine 1833) It may be possible that a meteor shower may have occurred during the Nephite Event adding to the illumination and “signs and wonders” and may have added to the illumination present. Meteors are able to create sound waves. As they tear their way through the atmosphere they can create a sonic boom in the same way a fast-moving airplane does, but because of their height such sonic booms would not be heard until many minutes after the meteor appeared to viewers on Earth. Hissing or buzzing noises have been heard simultaneously with seeing a meteor. These may be caused by the very low frequency radio waves that are generated by meteors, these waves can cause glasses, plant foliage, pine needles and even hair to vibrate (Gunn 2021). The earth passing through the tail of an active comet (this has not been historically observed) might be expected to be of high illumination, however, just like the meteor shower, it would not start at dusk, and would require weeks (if not longer) for the earth to pass through the tail of a typical comet. Based on the determination of Christ’s birth to be in April (to be discussed later) the Lynids meteor shower, which was noted 2700 years ago by Chinese astronomers, may have been some element of the Nephite Event as it occurs during April of each year. Figure 8 Illustration of the Meteroic Shower of November 13, 1833 (Review and Herald, 1889, 66) Zodiacal Light and Gegenshein The zodiacal light (also called false dawn when seen before sunrise) is a faint, diffuse, and roughly triangular white glow that is visible in the night sky and appears to extend from the Sun's direction and along the zodiac, straddling the ecliptic (route of the sun through the sky). Sunlight reflected by interplanetary dust causes this phenomenon. Because of the nature of the location of the dust, dust escaping the dust storms of Mars appears to be the source of the dust (See figure 10). Figure 9 Zodiacal Light (Wallpaper Access 2021) Figure 10 Zodiacal Cloud (Blanchard, Nesvorný and Jenniskens; [Inset] Dominic Cantin 2010) Figure 11 Gegenshein (ESO/Y. Beletsky 2008) Like zodiacal light, gegenschein is reflected sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust. It occurs in a point that is exactly opposite of the sun’s direction, and the glow is produced because the dust at this point is directly reflecting the light back to earth (similar to a full moon). Both the gegenshein and the zodiacal light are generally not candidates for the Nephite Event by themselves. There is no potential for increased luminosity by themselves absent changes in solar activity other than their dim glow. Lacking external events they are also constant and consistent, and are not one day events. Magnetosphere light effects Figure 12 The solar wind and the earth’s magnetosphere (Planetary Society 2021) A magnetosphere is that area of space, around a planet, that is controlled by the planet's magnetic field. The shape of the Earth's magnetosphere is the direct result of being blasted by solar wind (see figure 12). Aurora Borealis and Southern Lights Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere (generally at an altitude of 80-300 km). The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying color (most often green, red and blue) and complexity. The form of the aurora, occurring regularly within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imparted to the precipitating particles. Figure 13 The POLAR satellite looks down on an aurora from high above the Earth's north polar region on 22 October 1999, showing the northern lights in their entirety. The glowing oval is imaged in ultra violet light. The most intense aurora activity appears in bright red or yellow. It is typically produced by magnetic reconnection events in Earth's magnetotail, on the night side of the Earth (Lang 2010). Eerie sounds associated with the auroras have surprised and even frightened observers for thousands of years. Through the centuries and even among recent scientific observers the sounds have been described as a “great noise,” “faint rustling,” “hissing,” “swishing,” “crackling,” “curious faint whistling sound,” “a whooshing noise that repeated .. during an interval of some ten seconds,” “a distant crackling hiss – like an object zipping over one’s head .. ssssssSSSSSssss .. not unlike a spitting cat,” “swishing .. resembled music produced when the strings of a harp are lightly touched,” and a “rhythmically repeating rustling noise.” The reports often indicate that the sound seems to match the movement of the aurora. There have even been a half dozen reports of a smell or a sulphur or ozone odor, similar to small worn electrical motors (Eather 1980, 153-61; Davis 1992, 183-95). Scientists had scoffed at these reports based on the fact that auroras are so high up that no sound generated by the aurora, even if there was any, could possibly reach the observers of the auroras. Recent sophisticated acoustic studies of the aurora have identified short “clap” sounds which corresponded to the magnetic field fluctuations, and occurred 60 to 70 meters above ground level in the clear sky. The current explanation is that temperature inversion that may be present at the level of the sound claps traps rising negative charges, while the geomagnetic storm increases the conductivity of the upper atmosphere, and positive charges are accumulated above the inversion layer. After the charges build up, a sudden discharge then occurs that produces a crackling or clapping sound together with the magnetic pulses (Laine 2016). Stable aurora red (SAR) arc The SAR arcs or Stable Auroral Red arcs were discovered in 1956. Stable auroral red (SAR) arcs are diffuse, persistent, practically monochromatic auroral forms peculiar to mid-latitude regions of earth (See figure 14). Figure 14 Location and Stable auroral red (SAR) arc emission observed over North America from space by the Dynamics Explorer 1 satellite (Frank et al 2021) Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE) Figure 15 'STEVE' on 17 August 2015 at Little Bow Resort, AB, Canada (Elfiehall, 2015) STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that appears as a purple and green light ribbon in the sky, named in late 2016 by aurora watchers from Alberta, Canada. According to analysis of satellite data from the European Space Agency's Swarm mission, STEVE is caused by a 16 mile wide ribbon of hot plasma at an altitude of 280 miles (American Geophysical Union 2018). The thin light ribbons of STEVE were only visible a few times per year. The light from STEVE is also showing up closer to the equator than the aurora. It would initially seem that the auroras, the SAR arc, and STEVE would not be candidates for any element of the Nephite Event as they are too far north or south. However, a rare type of solar activity changes the geographic location and magnitude of these magnetosphere phenomena, and provides the almost certain context and explanation of the Nephite Event. Corona Mass Ejection A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona, specifically from sunspots. They often follow solar flares and are normally present during a solar prominence eruption. The plasma is released into the solar wind, and can be observed in coronagraph imagery. Coronal mass ejections release large quantities of matter and electromagnetic radiation into space above the Sun's surface, either near the corona, or farther into the planetary system, or beyond (interplanetary CME). The ejected material is a magnetized plasma consisting primarily of electrons and protons. The solar cycle or solar magnetic activity cycle is a nearly periodic 11-year change in the Sun's activity measured in terms of variations in the number of observed sunspots on the solar surface. Sunspots have been observed since the early 17th century and the sunspot time series is the longest continuously observed and recorded time series of any natural phenomena. Coronal mass ejections are often associated with other forms of solar activity, but a broadly accepted theoretical understanding of these relationships has not been established. CMEs most often originate from active regions on the Sun's surface, such as groupings of sunspots associated with frequent flares. Near solar maxima, the Sun produces about three CMEs every day, whereas near solar minima, there is about one CME every five days (Fox 2021). The size of these events themselves does not depend on the phase of the solar cycle. A case in point are the three large X-class flares that occurred in December 2006, very near solar minimum; the X9.0 flare stands as one of the brightest on record (Spaceweather.com 2017). Figure 16 Depiction of a Coronal Mass Ejection moving towards Earth (Major 2012) When the ejection is directed towards Earth and reaches it as an interplanetary CME (ICME), the shock wave of traveling mass causes a geomagnetic storm that may disrupt Earth's magnetosphere, compressing it on the day side and extending the night-side magnetic tail. When the magnetosphere reconnects on the night side, it releases power on the order of terawatt scale, which is directed back toward Earth's upper atmosphere. Figure 17 Normal condition of the earth’s magnetosphere (Chillymanjaro 2021) Figure 18 Condition of the earth’s magnetosphere during a CME event (Chillymanjaro 2011) Solar energetic particles can cause particularly strong auroras in large regions around Earth's magnetic poles. As mentioned these are also known as the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) in the northern hemisphere, and the Southern Lights (aurora australis) in the southern hemisphere. When impacted by a large CME, the auroras are intensified, and the auroral oval moves further south in the northern hemisphere, and further north in the southern hemisphere. Figure 19 Aurora during a geomagnetic storm that was most likely caused by a coronal mass ejection from the Sun on May 24, 2010, taken from the International Space Station (ISS 2010) Carrington Event CME The largest recorded geomagnetic perturbation, resulting presumably from two CMEs hitting the Earth's magnetosphere in sequence, was the solar storm of 1859 (the Carrington Event), which took down parts of the recently created US telegraph network, starting fires and shocking some telegraph operators. Many sunspots appeared on the Sun from August 28 to September 2, 1859. Bright and variable sky colors were observed in the evening on August 28 and subsequently reported in various newspapers in the New England area. On August 29, southern auroras were observed as far north as Queensland, Australia. Just before noon on September 1, the English amateur astronomers Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson independently recorded the earliest observations of a solar flare, observing “two patches of intensely bright and white light” erupting from sunspots they were observing. Carrington and Hodgson compiled independent reports which were published side by side in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and exhibited their drawings of the event at the November 1859 meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society. Carrington (1859), projecting through his telescope, described that the white light lasted a little over an hour and reported: The image of the sun's disk was, as usual with me, projected on to a plate of glass coated with distemper of a pale straw colour, and at a distance and under a power which presented a picture of about 11 inches diameter. … and was engaged at the time in counting from a chronometer and recording the contacts of the spots with the cross-wires used in the observation, when within the area of the great north group (the size of which had previously excited general remark), two patches of intensely bright and white light broke out, … my first impression was that by some chance a ray of light had penetrated a hole in the screen attached to the object-glass, by which the general image is thrown into shade for the brilliancy was fully equal to that of direct sun-light,” Hodgson (1859), also using his telescope, reported: “While observing a group of solar spots on the 1st September, I was suddenly surprised at the appearance of a very brilliant star of light, much brighter than the sun's surface, most dazzling to the protected eye, …the rays extending in all directions, and the centre might be compared to the dazzling brilliancy of the bright star “Lyrae” when seen in a large telescope of low power.” The flare was associated with a major coronal mass ejection (CME) that travelled directly toward Earth, taking 17.6 hours to make the 93 million mile journey. Typical CMEs take several days to arrive at Earth, but it is believed that the relatively high speed of this CME was made possible by a prior CME, perhaps the cause of the large aurora event on August 29 that "cleared the way" of ambient solar wind plasma for the Carrington Event (Hayakawa 2018). On September 1–2, 1859, one of the largest geomagnetic storms (as recorded by ground-based magnetometers) occurred. Auroras were seen around the world, those in the northern hemisphere as far south as 22-23 degrees in magnetic latitude. The aurora was visible from the poles to lower latitude areas such as south-central Mexico (Mexico City, Mineral de Zimapán, Querétaro, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, and San José de Gracia), Queensland, Cuba, Hawaii, southern Japan and southern China, and even at lower latitudes very close to the equator, such as in Colombia (GonzálezEsparza et al 2018). Luminosity During a CME, intense electron precipitation can cause much brighter auroras than normally expected at low latitudes. During the Carrington Event, in Guadelupe, Mexico the auroral display was described as “ruddy light notieceable in the interior of the houses, and in La Union, Mexico it was described as “light … equal to that of day-break,” while other records in East Asia compared the auroral display to a conflagration or colossal fire. Auroras were seen over the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. and were as bright as daylight such that the glow woke gold miners, who began preparing breakfast because they thought it was morning (Odenwald 2008). People in the northeastern United States could read a newspaper by the aurora's light (Lovett 2011). In Abbeville, South Carolina, masons awoke and began to lay bricks at their job site until they realized the hour and returned to bed. In Bealeton, Virginia, larks were stirred from their sleep at 1 a.m. and began to warble. A woman on Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina (Klein 2018) reported: “The eastern sky appeared of a blood red color. It seemed brightest exactly in the east, as though the full moon, or rather the sun, were about to rise. It extended almost to the zenith. The whole island was illuminated. The sea reflected the phenomenon, and no one could look at it without thinking of the passage in the Bible which says, ‘the sea was turned to blood.’ The shells on the beach, reflecting light, resembled coals of fire.” Figure 20 Drawing of an auroral display with a corona at the Melbourne Flagstaff Observatory in Australia on September 2, 1859 at 10:26 PM (scanned frontspiece). Neumeyer (1864, p. 242) describes his auroral observation as follows: “… the last 10 or 15 minutes a beautiful red arc of light, extending from E. to W., and passing through the crown, had become almost stationary.” The appearance of rays with whitish, red, purple, and violet colors may result from a fold in a sheet-like structure of aurora. When the sheet-like structure of the aurora is folded, the line-of-sight integral of the light is increased, resulting in a localized enhancement of brightness at all wavelengths (Hayakawa 2018). Based on the description of large areas of red aurora during the Carrington Event, the SAR arcs, which are not often very visible, may also have been actively illuminated as very bright SAR arcs have been observed when large magnetic storms appear. The overall Carrington Event auroras were classified as being somewhat brighter than a full moon, so overall may not have been as bright as regular daytime, but there clearly were local locations where the brightness was described as similar to the Nephite Event. While not necessarily recognized as part of the Carrington Event, it has since been observed in 1990 that the a brightening of the zodiacal light occurred in conjunction with a solar flare event and occurred concurrently with a vigorous auroral display that had moved to a lower latitude south into the English midlands (Bone 1996, 86-87). So it is possible that brightening of the zodiacal light may have contributed to the illumination of the Carrington Event and the Nephite Event. Also not part of the Carrington Event, historical Spanish chronicler Friar Duran reports among the Aztecs ten years before the Spaniards came (early 1500’s) a possible auroral event that was as bright as day: “… a marvelous and wondrous thing appeared in the sky which seemed to be a very large and brilliant flame. It seemed to lie in the heavens themselves. It was wide in its nether regions and sharp in its upper parts, as when a fire burns. It seemed that its point reached to the midheavens. It rose in the East after midnight and came out with such brilliance that it seemed like day. It lasted until morning and then it was lost from sight.” This was thought to be a possible auroral event but was thought initially that its duration was too short for an auroral event and it should have appeared in the north (Trejo and Ricalde 1993). There is conjecture that it remained for a year, but no documentation has been identified to support this. This opinion was also made prior to the more recent thorough documentation of the behavior of the aurora in the Carrington Event showing that the time and luminosity of the Aztec event would be consistent with a CME auroral event. Other non-Carrington Events involving night illumination sufficient to read newspapers involving solar flare activity have been reported in 1886 in Florida, January 7, 1831 in Europe, and January 26, 1857 in Quito, Ecuador (Corliss 1982, 30-33). Duration and Geographical Extent The geographical extent of the Carrington Event auroras are shown in figure 21. The duration of the geomagnetic storms compromising the Carrington Event has been determined by a compilation of observations at the time (see figure 22). Figure 21 Observational sites of auroral displays during August 28/29 1859 (a: top) and September 1/2 (b: bottom). Only the sites within ±60° are shown. The sites with magnetic latitude lower than 35° are shown in red. The sites with magnetic latitude higher than 35° are shown in blue. The contour indicates the magnetic latitudes in 1859 calculated on the basis of the GUFM1 magnetic field model (Hayakawa et al, 2018). Figure 22 Duration of the Carrington Event and relation to magnetic latitude (Green et al 2006) Comparison of the Nephite Event with the Carrington Event Illumination While the overall entirety of the Carrington Event which was rated as significantly higher illumination than a full moon but lower than full daylight, specific local areas of the Carrington Event did approximate daylight according to witnesses there as discussed above. Since the area of the Nephites is restricted geographically, this would be generally consistent with the Carrington Event also having some areas of higher luminosity. In addition, the Nephite Event may have been a more powerful CME than the Carrington Event, leading to areas of higher illumination and extent. Extent of aurora oval expansion As shown in figure 21 the southern extent of the expansion of the auroral oval during the Carrington Event was observed in Mesoamerica and even south of current Book of Mormon geographic models. The Carrington Event had great auroral displays occurring at very low magnetic latitudes (22-23 degrees as mentioned above). It has been recognized that the southern extent of the expansion of the auroral oval is correlated to the intensity of the geomagnetic storm (Hayakawa 2018). Because the earth’s magnetic pole and field has shifted with time, in order to do a comparison with the Nephite Event, it is necessary to determine the magnetic pole and equivalent latitudes at the time of the Nephite Event. A sophisticated archeomagnetic computer model developed by M. Korte, F. Donadini, and C. G. Constable (2009) called ARCH3K.1 can be utilized to determine the magnetic latitude at the time of Christ’s birth. After running this model, I determined that the magnetic field latitude for Mesoamerica at the time of Christ’s birth (6 BC) was 30 – 37 degrees. The 30-37 degree magnetic latitude is much further north than the southern extent of the Carrington Event, so Mesoamerica would have clearly fallen well within the aurora oval of a Carrington level event in 6 BC. In fact, for this parameter, the 6 BC Nephite Event could have been an event of lesser intensity than the Carrington Event because it does not require the storm intensity required to extend south to 22 – 23 degrees. Duration comparison The Nephite Event potentially ranged from a period of 8 hours to 40 hours. The Carrington Event consisted of at least two primary CMEs and the duration of either one falls within the Nephite Event window (roughly 12 hours and 36 hours). Geographic variability of the event One of the criteria for the Nephite Event is that it likely had to be an event that was not observed (at least in a significant way) by potential record-keepers in the Old World. The second wave CME of the Carrington Event had auroras observed only in a very few locations in the Old World (see figure 21), and none of the sightings had the recounting of the event approaching daytime luminosity (although in East Asia it was viewed as a conflagration). In addition, for the Nephites in Mesoamerica, because of the southern location, the auroras had never likely been seen before thus the event was extremely dramatic for them, while in Europe, the Middle East and in China, because of their closer proximity to the normal auroral oval, they periodically witnessed auroral events during minor solar storms, so the event was not all that dramatic. From 193 BC to 1770 AD there were 846 documented observations of auroras in China, Korea, and Japan (Yau et al 1995). That is roughly one every couple of years, and that is just those that someone happened to document. Acoustical events Although there were no acoustic events reported during the Carrington Event, as discussed previously, auroras are associated with atmospheric crackling and clapping sounds that can be heard, which is a potential requirement of at least some of the signs and wonders. Signs and Wonders The Nephite Event contained a luminosity event (no night) that was considered a “sign” and other “signs and wonders” in the heavens. That these aurora could be described as “wonders” or in other words, a previously unseen miraculous event, is apparent just by their very nature of colors and shapes (see figures 23 and 24). Outside of the Carrington Event, a variety of auroras have been observed with unusual geometries, including loops, small and sky spanning arches, arrays of luminous stripes of bands radiating from one horizon and converging on the opposite horizon, pillars, vertical streaks that appeared and disappeared, horizontal streaks with a number of bright balls jumping up and down below, moving luminous patches, and curtains of fire (Corliss 1982, 7-15, 22-24, 49-52). Figure 23 Aurora Borealis ‘wonder’ (B.T. 2020) Independent of the sign of an illuminated night, the spectacular nature of the auroras themselves would likely be interpreted as a sign of deity or a sign of religious significance to an ancient population, just as occurred with some people in the Carrington Event. In 1909, an Australian gold miner C. F. Herbert retold his observations of the Carrington Event in a letter to The Daily News (Herbert 1909) in Perth: “I was gold-digging at Rokewood, about four miles from Rokewood township (Victoria). Myself and two mates looking out of the tent saw a great reflection in the southern heavens at about 7 o'clock p.m., and in about half an hour, a scene of almost unspeakable beauty presented itself, lights of every imaginable color were issuing from the southern heavens, one color fading away only to give place to another if possible more beautiful than the last, the streams mounting to the zenith, but always becoming a rich purple when reaching there, and always curling round, leaving a clear strip of sky, which may be described as four fingers held at arm's length. The northern side from the zenith was also illuminated with beautiful colors, always curling round at the zenith, but were considered to be merely a reproduction of the southern display, as all colors south and north always corresponded. It was a sight never to be forgotten, and was considered at the time to be the greatest aurora recorded... The rationalist and pantheist saw nature in her most exquisite robes, recognising, the divine immanence, immutable law, cause, and effect. The superstitious and the fanatical had dire forebodings, and thought it a foreshadowing of Armageddon and final dissolution.” There are certain features of the aurora that could also be interpreted as a sign of Christ. Some configurations resemble persons (see figure 25). In the case of Mesoamerica, the long, bright green serpentine auroras would have special significance. Figure 24 Aurora Borealis ‘wonder’ in Lapland Sweden (Science Photo Library 2014) Figure 25 Apparent face in northern aurora in Iceland (Mackiel 2016) Colors of the Aurora Most solar particles typically collide with our atmosphere at an altitude of around 60 to 150 miles where there are high concentrations of oxygen. When the oxygen is “excited” at these altitudes it causes the aurora to appear in shades of green. Coupled with the eye’s greater ability to detect the green color spectrum this makes it the most predominant and frequent auroral color. Reds appear in the aurora when solar particles react with oxygen at higher altitudes, generally above 150 miles. At this height the oxygen is less concentrated and is “excited” at a higher frequency or wavelength than the denser oxygen lower down making reds visible. Very occasionally, yellow and pink are present in an auroral display which are associated with only high solar activity as they are simply a mixture of red with green or blue. Blue and purple are also colors which are seen less frequently and again, they tend to appear when solar activity is high. In this case, the colors are caused by particles colliding with our atmosphere at an altitude of 60 miles or less. At these heights, it is a reaction with nitrogen that causes the aurora to be tinged with purple or blue and most commonly, you will see these colors towards the lower parts of the display. Figure 26 Green Serpentine Aurora (Wandering Owl 2020) Religious Interpretations of the Auroras Ancient cultures where the aurora are somewhat of a more regular event saw the auroras in a religious or superstitious light. They were called dragons and serpents and associated with disastrous events. In Colonial America it was written with regards to the auroras that is was God forewarning a sinful world of approaching calamities; Germany in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries had similar interpretations. The Scandinavians of the same time period believed great auroras foretell the death of kings. Many European cultures believed that the auroras indicated impending war. Many cultures saw them as spirits of the dead. The Eskimos viewed them as lights to guide spirits in heaven, the Mandan of North Dakota saw the aurora as fires over which the great medicine men of the north simmered their dead enemies in enormous pots (Eather 1980, 44, 93, 104-115). So the fact that the Nephites viewing a spectacular display of the aurora for the first time and see religious “signs” in it would certainly be expected. In line with their luminosity other cultures referred to the aurora as “night suns,” “fiery heavens,” “sky fires,” “northern radiance,” “northern dawn,” “southern dawn,” and “heaven light” (Eather 1980, 280-81). Figure 27 Red Serpentine Aurora (Tom1575 2021) Signs of Mesoamerican Deities and Religion The Maya and other Mesoamerican civilizations studied the heavens for divination purposes (Landa 1978, 13) and believed the celestial bodies exerted direct control over the affairs of man (Andrews 1940, 150). As far as the Maya were concerned, astronomy was astrology (Aveni 1981, 85). Mesoamerican priests were obsessed with knowing time. Time is cyclical. Events in the past are the same as events in the present or future. The Mesoamericans also believed that the conditions in the heavens were a portent of situations on earth. The Mesoamerican priest kept records of celestial observation to make predictions. One reason that the Nephite Event may have been so stunning to unbelievers was that symbols of their pagan gods may also have been able to be interpreted by the features of the aurora. The signs potentially seen during the Nephite Event in the heavenly aurora representing Mesoamerican deities or premises are very straightforward. When one considers that the meaning of the name Quetzalcoatl is also "precious serpent" or "beautiful snake” the direct observation of these flying green serpents in the heavens does not take much interpolation. Quetzalcoatl is a miraculous synthesis of serpent and bird. The word quetzal in Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs and likely Teotihuacan) derives from the green emerald Quetzal bird, and coatl, which means serpent, specifically rattlesnake (Miller and Taube 2007, 141). In the Mayan language the name for snake and sky are identical. Quetzalcoatl is known among the later Maya as Kukulcan. The various green colors and serpentine shape of the auroras is a direct sign of Quetzalcoatl, especially since the hissing and clapping sounds that accompany an aurora could easily be interpreted as similar to the sounds of a rattlesnake. Mixcoatl, literally meaning “cloud serpent,” may have been identified as the Milky Way and the very heavens. Among the Aztec, a deified serpent, Xiuhcoatl, known as the fire serpent, but more literally the turquoise snake, plays an important role in their iconography. On the Aztec Calendar Stone, two Xiuhcoatls carry the sun on their backs. The snakes then, are the vehicle for the movement of the sun. Mesoamerican peoples conceived of the area above the earth as divided into different levels or heavens, the Fifth Heaven, situated above the heaven which holds the Sun, was occupied by fire snakes made by the fire god, and that from there emanated comets and other heavenly signs (Trejo and Ricalde 1998). Since the new star/comet and solar eclipse (discussed below) appeared after a night of these fire serpents in the form of the auroras filling the skies, this is a perfect fit of the religious preconceived expectation of the Mesoamerican observers. Snakes in general have the broadest and most varied roles in religion and religious symbolism in Mesoamerica: in states of ecstasy, lords dance a serpent dance; great descending rattlesnakes adorn and support buildings from Chichen Itzá to Tenochtitlan. In Mesoamerican religions, snakes are the vehicles of rebirth. One of the primary fundamental religious notions that accompanies the serpent is that the serpent represents the sky. Mesoamerican serpent deities are considered to exist as fours or as four-in-one, often with separate color associations, which is also consistent with the multiple color arrays of the auroras. The serpent was the body for many Maya and deified objects. In states of ecstasy and usually following bloodletting, Maya nobility conjure up the Vision Serpent. The great undulating serpent rises from burning bloody paper and from its mouth emerges an ancestor or occasionally, a deity. The Vision Serpent can be the vehicle by which ancestors or deities make themselves manifest for humanity. Other cultures characterized the aurora as “candle dragons,” “flying dragons,” “burning dragons,” and “heaven god” (Eather 1980, 280-81) so it would seem likely that this type of interpretation would be made by Mesoamericans in relation to their religious gods and beliefs. There has been no small amount of LDS literature and debate about the correlation of Christ with the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl. It is beyond the scope here to cite all the literature in this regard, just noting some research in favor of this connection by Diane E. Wirth (2002) and an extensive discussion by Brant Gardner (2007, 353-95) argues that no real parallel has yet been found when examining native records uncontaminated by the post-conquest bias of various chroniclers in this regard. The discussion above was not intended to be evidence that Quetzalcoatl was considered by Mesoamericans to be the uniquely Christian god of the Nephites whose “sign” was found in the aurora. I think that pretty much all of the evidence shows that Quetzalcoatl was a god recognized by the non-Nephite Mesoamericans as part of their “pantheon” of gods. The primary impact that signs of Quetzalcoatl and other Mesoamerican gods may have been found in the aurora is found in the fact that these signs were predicted by a Christian prophet not by the wicked Nephite priests, no less a Lamanite whose larger culture believed in the pagan form of these gods. This fact alone challenges the authority of the wicked Nephite priests. It is also very possible that the Christian Nephites had identified some symbols of Quetzalcoatl with Christ, while not incorporating the pagan form of the god into their religious beliefs, so they may have found a bolstering of their Christian faith by seeing signs of a feathered serpent, similar to the “fiery flying” serpent episode that included the lifted up upon the staff of the brass serpent by Moses, represented in the aurora (Numbers 21:6-8; 1 Nephi 17:41). In addition, as the righteous Nephites did not subscribe to all of the Mesoamerican gods and superstitions, the heavenly signs (also including the new star/comet and a solar eclipses) had different meanings to them, so these heavenly signs did not portend the end of the world to the righteous Nephites, in fact just the opposite. Chronological Evidence of the Nephite CME Event Historical Records Review and extracts of ancient records have been made to find evidence of observations of the aurora. Of course, regardless of the diligence of any observer, these records are incomplete as any observation is at the mercy of the local weather and cloud cover. There is only one area in this time frame where there was information on the potential of auroras in Europe and that was from central Italy, and is basically an extract from classical literature. There are possible references to auroras there in 17 BC and 9 AD (Stothers 1979). Interestingly, some of these records in Europe refer to the aurora as a “night sun,” consistent in a way with the description of the Nephite Event. In Asia, the only records for auroras in the proper time period is in China, which shows mention of the description of an aurora on March 27, 15 BC and summer of 12 AD (Yau et al 1995). So neither of these records show an aurora in the 6 BC time frame, which does not mean that the Nephite Event didn’t happen, just that it was not observed in either of these areas, either because, as discussed, the auroras are not uniformly distributed in a CME event with some areas having no auroras, or because weather may have been such in these two places that the auroras were not observable. There has been a statistical analysis of the ancient European events based on the historic auroras to determine the solar cycle which has been monitored since 1755 and ranges from 9.0 to 13.6 years with an average of 11 years. The statistical historic aurora analysis determined that the range was from 8.7 to 13.3 years, with an average of 11.5 years (Stothers 1979). CME’s are much more likely at the end of the solar cycle, and 6 BC falls within the expected end of a solar cycle based on this statistical analysis. In the case of the central Italy data, the expected range of the end of the solar cycle after 17 BC would be approximately 8 BC to 4 BC, with the average being expected in approximately 5 BC. Applying the European data analysis to the Chinese information, the range of the solar cycle would be 5 BC to 1 BC. Thus a 6 BC date for the Nephite Event is roughly consistent with a CME at the end of a solar cycle in 6 BC. Carbon 14 Data Two verified annual anomalies in the Carbon 14 radiocarbon record, also known as Miyake Events, have been found in years 775 AD and 994 AD. Detected through the analysis of tree-ring archives, the events comprise sudden and globally synchronous increases in the atmospheric concentration of radiocarbon (Δ14C). The uplifts were quickly attributed to increases in cosmic radiation, as radiocarbon is produced by means of nuclear reactions associated with the cosmic ray cascade. The rate of production is proportional to the cosmic ray flux entering the Earth’s magnetosphere, which is in turn modulated by the interplanetary magnetic field in accordance with the solar cycle. In fact, this solar cycle is inversely related to radiocarbon production as, during periods of maximal solar activity, the shielding of cosmic rays by the solar plasma in the interplanetary and the geomagnetic fields is enhanced. In such cases, a decrease in radiocarbon production occurs, and vice versa (Scifo 2019). The most intense solar storm to hit Earth in modern times was the Carrington Event of September 1859 CE. However, a careful analysis of the Carrington Event determined that it left no detectable imprint on the atmospheric radiocarbon record (Scifo 2019). So in application to the Nephite Event, as with the Carrington Event, the Nephite Event may have left no trace in the radiocarbon record. In looking at the data sets utilized in the most recent scientifically accepted and utilized radiometric dating curve called IntCal20 (www.intcal.org 2020) I examined all 32 of the underlying data sets to see if there was data available to determine a significant change in the rate of change of C14 (ΔC14). Only three data sets had data within the 6 BC time frame. The QL data set (derived from dendrochronology from German oak and pine, Irish oak, and Alaskan trees, NW USA trees, and California trees) had data only for 4.5 AD, 4.5 BC, and 14.5 BC. The UB data set (derived from dendrochronology from Irish and German oak) had data only for 9.5 AD, 9.5 BC, and 29 BC. The Sakamoto data set (derived from dendrochronology from various Japanese trees) had data only for 3 AD, 3 BC, 8 BC, and 13 BC. These data sets (and the underlying reference material upon which they rely) do not have enough data for a determination as to whether there was an anomalous annual change in ΔC14 that would indicate a potential CME event, as ΔC14 data for each individual year from 25 BC to 20 AD would probably be ideally necessary to reliably establish the dataset necessary to identify an anomalous deviation for the expected annual rates of change of C14. Essentially, more radiometric sampling is necessary before any conclusions could be reached as to whether a CME event is evident by an anomalous ΔC14 during the potential Nephite Event timeframe. 10 Be and 36Cl Ice Core Data 10 Be is an isotope of beryllium and 36Cl data is an isotope of chlorine that is also formed in the atmosphere as a result of the interaction of solar particles in the atmosphere which can then be deposited onto polar ice. The 10Be data and secondarily the 36Cl have been used in conjunction with Δ14C data to corroborate the existence of the 775 AD event (Usoskin et al 2013). According to the NOAA ice core database, there are three ice cores that contain 10Be data during the period of the Nephite Event, the Taylor Dome, the GRIP, and North Atlantic Holocene Drift Ice Proxy (NOAA National Center for Environmental Information, 2021) and all three contain 36Cl data as well. A preliminary look at the 10Be data (and 36Cl data) indicates that the Taylor Dome data does not have enough resolution (one data point for approximately 200 years) during the Nephite Event time frame, and the North Atlantic Holocene Drift Ice Proxy has a similar problem (one data point for approximately 70 years) to determine a particular year of the Nephite Event. I was unable to find any research related to correlation of the GRIP data during the chronological period of the Nephite Event. Corroboration by the Caractors Document The Caractors Document does support the aurora being present as part of the two days of brightness. The reformed Egyptian glyph that was used for "white" or "brightness" in the Caractors Document was slightly modified as 2 squiggly lines, which match the serpentine form of the aurora. The second portion of the hieratic glyph is actually the monumental Egyptian glyph form of a snake (cobra in repose), so seems to have been chosen (as other reformed Egyptian glyphs are) also based on the shape of the glyph matching the observed event. C-139, C-138 brightness, white The word meaning “white” or “bright” in Egyptian is ḥd. It can occur as a single glyph identified as Gardiner Number T-3, but most often occurs with Gardiner Number I-10 (Dickson 2006, 228; Budge 1920, 1:522). The hieroglyphs and hieratic are: Möller Number 447 (Gardiner Number T-3), Bd. III-32-72-Taf, pg. III 436-447bis (Möller 1965) Möller Number 250 (Gardiner Number I-10), Bd. I-23-76, pg. II 250-258 (Möller 1965) See 3rd Nephi 1:1-15 The Solar Eclipse on the Day of Christ’s birth To the Maya, eclipses were dreadful times. Both solar and lunar eclipses were portents of the end of time (Closs 1989, 234). On page 72 of the Dresden Codex, the flood scene depicts the flood that destroyed the previous creation. At the top of the downpours are glyphs of solar and lunar eclipses. Like another story from the Popol Vuh, total solar or lunar eclipses could cause all of the domestic instruments to be transformed into living creatures that could kill their masters (Closs 1986, 392). Eclipses also were believed to cause illness and deformity. Pregnant women and their infants were extremely susceptible to eclipse effects. Infants would get gastrointestinal problems and pregnant women would have their infants born with dark splotches, called sun and moon bites (Closs 1986, 391). The most dreaded part of eclipses was the monster that would descend to earth to devour people when the sun became obscured. Among the Aztecs, the time of a solar eclipse meant something unlucky, fearful, and perhaps the end of the world, and so they sacrificed persons with fair complexions or fair hair and prisoners to the sun. The Aztec people made a loud noise, they sang and sounded drums in all their temples in order to save the sun from being eaten (Trejo 2002, 8) either by a celestial jaguar or snake. Another belief concerned demonic creatures of darkness. They are depicted with banded faces wielding weapons, and they have their hair pulled into two hornlike projections. These demons, named “Tzitzimime,” were sky-dwelling skeletal beings corresponding to the souls of sacrificed warriors that are said to descend down to Earth during totality as well as other periods of darkness and destroy the world. This would bring about the end to mankind. Sahagún, an early Spanish chronicler, records in Book 7 Chapter 1 of the Florentine Codex (Sahagún 16th Century): “People are restless, there is an uproar, fear and weeping. People wail, give cries of alarm, scream, clamour, rattle hawk bells. Fair colored people are sacrificed. Captives are sacrificed. People shed their own blood, piercing their ears with reeds, and flowery songs are sung in the temples. The noise continues, the wailing persists. It was said ‘If it comes to an end, if the Sun is eaten, everything will be dark forever. The [feminine monster called] tzitzimime will come down to devour the people.’” The Maya also believed they could keep the sun from being swallowed by making an uproar of lots of noise, such as making their dogs howl and by beating drums. That faithful Nephites were to undergo a ritual sacrifice on the day of an anticipated solar eclipse is apparent from the Book of Mormon. Just prior to the day of sacrifice that the unbelievers had set for the execution of the faithful “…they did make a great uproar throughout the land,” (3 Nephi 7:7) (the Book of Mormon text provides no reason or purpose for these actions) which is completely consistent with preparation for a potential imminent eclipse, especially given that the accuracy of the prediction in Mesoamerica may have been plus or minus a day. The word “uproar” is not used elsewhere in the Book of Mormon. That the Nephite faithful were imprisoned in some way awaiting ritual sacrifice seems apparent as there is little chance that those destined to be sacrificed were just waiting patiently in their homes to be rounded up to be summarily sacrificed. In addition, while it is not exactly clear whether the righteous Nephites featured relatively fair complexions, it certainly would not be unreasonable considering that some ancestry originates from the Middle East. The Nephite Event with its serpentine auroras occurring on the night before an anticipated solar eclipse would be extremely impactful and traumatic on the Mesoamerican pagan religious astronomy-priests as the Mesoamerican belief is that solar eclipses happened because creatures, primarily serpents, were biting and consuming the sun. The depiction of a solar eclipse in the Maya Dresden Codex has images of serpent figures attempting to eat the sun (see figure 28) with some indication that the serpent represents Venus. Page 59 Pg 60 Figure 28 Serpents eating the sun on the eclipse tables (pages 59 and 60) of the Dresden Codex (Dresden 11th Century) For the righteous Nephites, who followed the law of Moses and are assumed to have other Hebrew traditions, it is likely that a solar eclipse was not viewed as disastrous for them. The Mishnah (3rd Century AD) and the Talmud in the Tractate Sukkah (Chapter 2) states: “The rabbis taught: An eclipse of the sun is an ill omen to the whole world. What does this resemble? A human king making a banquet for his servants, and placing a great lantern before them, when he gets angry he says to his servant: Take away the light, let them sit in the dark. We have learned in a Boraitha: R. Meir said: When the sun and the moon are eclipsed, it is a bad sign to the enemies of the Israelites (meaning, the Israelites themselves), because they are used to troubles: it is equal to the teacher's coming to the school with his whip in his hand. Who is more afraid? The child used to being beaten. This is the case when Israel do not do the will of the Creator; but when they do, they need not fear anything, as it is written [Jeremiah, x. 82]: "Thus hath said the Lord: Do not habituate yourselves in the way of the nations, and at the signs of the heavens be ye not dismayed; although the nations should be dismayed at them." The rabbis taught: On account of the following four things the sun becomes eclipsed: When a chief judge dies, and is not lamented becomingly; when a betrothed virgin calls for help in the town, and is not aided; unnatural vice; when two brothers are killed on the same day; and on account of the following four things both the sun and the moon are eclipsed: Forgery, false witness, when fruit-bearing trees are cut out, and when sheep and goats are kept in Palestine. On account of four things the property of householders is transferred (confiscated) to the government: When paid notes are kept; usury; and when men had the power to prevent, but would not; and when charity was promised to the people, and was not given. Rabh said: For four things the property of householders becomes annihilated: When they keep workers, and do not pay them in time; for robbing them; when the strangers free themselves from the yokes on their necks and put them on their neighbors' necks; and for arrogance. And arrogance is the worst of all. But of those who are modest is written [Ps. xxxvii. 11]: "But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves because of the abundance of peace." “(Jewish Virtual Library, 2021) An eclipse of the sun, under these beliefs, would be verification that the cause of the solar eclipse was the wicked Nephites. No doubt the wicked Nephites, even though following a different religious tradition, were familiar with the traditional Hebrew derived beliefs of the righteous Nephites. There are two methods to calculate eclipses (Sadler 1966, 1119). One method is to precisely predict eclipse occurrences by using the theories of motions for the sun and moon. The other is to use the mean periods derived from past observations. In Mesoamerica, the religious priests used the observational technique as they do not appear to have had a knowledge of the theories of motions for the sun and the moon. There are Eclipse Tables found in the Mayan Dresden Codex, the oldest surviving book written in the Americas, dating to the 11th or 12th century (Bricker et al 1983). There is not consensus on the exact utilization, accuracy, and which eclipses are referenced there, but most agree that solar and lunar eclipses are found there and that the Eclipse Tables can be used for prediction of lunar and solar eclipses regardless of their location. However, because eclipses, especially solar, are only visible to specific areas of the planet, there is no evidence of Mesoamerican ability to predict if a particular eclipse could be seen in Mesoamerica, just that one could occur on that particular date (and generally did occur elsewhere on the planet), so in Mesoamerica the meaning is an “eclipse warning” date (Trejo 2002). Lunar eclipses are rarer, but are visible to more than half the planet when they do occur, so actually are more commonly seen than a solar eclipse. The solar eclipse itself would be considered one of the heavenly “signs and wonders” referred to in the Book of Mormon. Genesis 1:14 states that the lights in the firmament of heaven, which included the sun was to be “for signs,” so the Nephite scripture would have recognized a solar eclipse as a sign and would not need to be called out separately. The birth of Christ can now be determined more definitively, as it could have taken place on any of the six “eclipse warning” dates during the period from 7 BC - spring of 4 BC. The following dates are when eclipses actually occurred somewhere in the world during that time frame: April 27, 5 BC, October 21, 7 BC, April 16, 6 BC, October 11, 6 BC, March 6, 5 BC, April 4, 5 BC, August 30, 5 BC, October 9, 5 BC, and February 23, 4 BC. Since we know that Christ’s age at death was somewhere close to 33 years of age and he was crucified in March or April, the October, August and February eclipse warning dates can be removed for consideration. As will be discussed later, because we do know the potential dates for Passover of each year, and with the knowledge of approximate length of Christ’s life as 33 solar years, and with the requirement of a Wednesday crucifixion dictated by the Book of Mormon text, the only date left for consideration is April 16, 6 BC. In fact there was a solar eclipse on April 16, 6 BC (April 18, 0005 astronomical Julian date)(see figures 29a and 29b). In Mesoamerica, this partial eclipse would be visible at sunrise as a near complete eclipse, in the Old World where the Magi were located, it was observable at sundown as a smaller partial eclipse. For the Magi, this would be occurring in their western sky, in the direction of Israel. Bible scholars have puzzled over the question as to what the Magi could have seen about a new comet (which is not an abnormal occurrence) that would cause them to believe there was a special event going on. The possible appearance of a comet in proximity to the sun (to be discussed later as one possibility for the new star as proposed by Dike (2021)) now visible because of an eclipse would be a fantastically extraordinary event in astronomy. The visible area of the eclipse path also narrows the likely location of the Magi to Babylon (Iraq) or Persia (Iran) (the eclipse map in figure 29a shows the current political boundaries) so is consistent with the Bible accounts indicating the Magi came from the east. Other possibilities that had been considered were Arabia but is mostly out of the path of the eclipse (Nicholl 2016, 43). The observation of a solar eclipse to the west by the Magi in Babylon or Persia and the arising of a new king in Israel to the west of them is entirely consistent of what we know of ancient Mesopotamian astrology. Ancient Mesopotamian astronomer priests made observations of the sky and of the phenomena of the earth which formed the basis of divination. Just like in Mesoamerica, they were able to predict the times when a solar eclipse would occur, even though on many of these occasions the eclipse was not visible at their location. The Babylonians apparently even predicted the hour of the eclipse plus or minus an hour or two (Steele, 2000). Through divination, priests could read the signs given by the gods in the heavens and on the earth in the form of omens. Using this knowledge, they developed a sophisticated system over thousands of years of observation and scholarship dedicated to predicting the future. If a prediction was especially dire, priests could conduct specific rituals to help mitigate or cancel the disastrous event portended in the omens, by appeasing the gods or directing their destructive force to another target. Interestingly, this practice in Mesopotamia regarding solar eclipses is similar to that practiced in Mesoamerica. Figure 29a April 18, -0005 Eclipse (astronomical Julian day) with the eclipse traveling west to east/left to right) (Espenak and Meeus, 2006, Catalog No. 04759, www.eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/-00990000/-5-04-18.gif) Figure 29b Legend of the April 18, -0005 eclipse map (Espenak and Meeus, 2007) In Mesopotamia one of the most serious omens was a solar eclipse, which predicted grave danger of death for the ruler of the area of the world in which it appeared. Similar to Mesoamerica, ancient Mesopotamian astronomers had developed the knowledge to accurately predict eclipses with a high degree of precision. Once an eclipse was predicted and the area in which it would appear had been identified, the court and the priests took action. If the eclipse took place over Assyria, for instance, the Assyrian king would be in danger, and for the king to be in danger put the entire power structure of the kingdom at risk. So a substitute would be put in his place—literally, a substitute king, or šar pûhi (shar PU-khee) in Akkadian, the language of the Assyrian court and its official documents. The substitute king did not have to look like the real king, but had to be a man. After he was selected, he was dressed in the king's garment, declared to be the king, and made to participate in other rituals investing him with royal identity. He was also given a young woman as a queen. After this, the true king withdrew from public view until danger had passed. The substitute king and queen were offered as sacrifices for the evil fate that was destined for the true king, taking it on themselves while he remained safely hidden. Once the dangerous time had passed, the substitute king and queen were killed, the true king re-emerged, and the ritual was complete. (Bottéro, 1992). The anticipated ritual killing of the righteous Nephites to avoid the evil impact of an eclipse does have similarities to the Mesopotamian practice as well. Thus, the Magi seeing an eclipse at sundown directly in the direction of Israel with the eclipsed sun seeming to set into Israel on the horizon, together with perhaps a new comet adjacent to the setting sun, from the Magi’s view, the arising of a new king in Israel is the logical astronomical conclusion. In fact, when traveling to Jerusalem, that was their inquiry, namely, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1). It seems clear that the Magi must have had some indication that this was not a normal king as they came “to worship him.” The Star of Bethlehem and the New Star It is a common mistake to assume that the Star of Bethlehem and the “new star” which will “… arise. (s)uch as one as ye have never beheld” (Helaman 14:5), and which “did appear” in Mesoamerica (3 Nephi 1:21) refer to the same star. It appears that this has been the common conjecture as I have found no discussion of the issue of two stars (a single supported by a footnote in the current version of the Book of Mormon with Matthew 2:2(1-2)), but, in fact, it is nowhere indicated in the text of the Book of Mormon that the two stars mentioned are one and the same. In fact, unlike the new star that appeared in Mesoamerica that was as one that had not been seen before, no one in Israel apparently even noticed their star. Only the Magi noticed the star as Herod had to inquire of them when it first appeared. Even then, after being informed of it by the Magi, instead of trying to follow the star with his own people to find the King of the Jews (with the intent to kill him), he relied on the Magi to find the Christ child, so interpreting the movements or indications of the star did not appear to be obvious and required some astronomical knowledge, of which Israel had little. Star of Bethlehem Serious proposals for the Star of Bethlehem (Nicholl 2015, 69-89) are a triple conjunction of Jupiter in Saturn and Pisces in 7 BC, a nova or supernova, an ordinary star, a comet, and finally astronomer Michael R. Molnar’s proposal of the utilization of astrological techniques known to the Magi which determined planetary positions and the occultation of Jupiter by the moon near noon on April 17, 6 BC in Persia/Babylon (Molnar 2013). The intent of this work is not to rehash the merits of each proposal, but determine which one is consistent with the chronology and information found in the Book of Mormon. Based on the new information and evidence of the day of Christ’s birth correlating sometime during the Nephite solar eclipse day in Mesoamerica on April 16, 6 BC, the Molnar Star of Bethlehem proposal amazingly fits perfectly with the Book of Mormon. An evaluation of the timeline also helps us establish that a Nephite day was in fact like a Hebrew day in that it ended and started at sunset. Without going extensively into the in depth analysis done by Molnar, a summary of the proposal is that the Magi used a Hellenic form of astrological interpretation and divination, which included the analysis of the signs of royal births in theirs and other countries. Essentially, the first royal condition was that individual constellations represented different countries (in the case of Judea, the constellation Aries), and the appearance of certain of the five known planets, moon or sun in that constellation was the sign of a royal birth. The second regal principle is the configuration of the positions of the planets in respect to the horizon, and the third regal principle of ancient astrology is the cardinal points of the sky with four important sectors with “Midheaven” being the highest sector. In addition, the activity of Jupiter and the Moon had particular implications, specifically, Julius Firmicus Maternus, an astrologer to Roman Emperor Constantine, wrote that an occultation of Jupiter by the moon in Aries was a sign of the birth of a divine king (Firmicus Maternus, 1975, 4.3.9). Molnar than looked at these astrological conditions during the potential time frames of Christ’s birth and determined that April 17, 6 BC was the rare day where all of the regal conditions were present and occurred only once during the life of Herod or the life of Jesus. He also determined that a regal lunar occultation of Jupiter (the Moon passed in front and obscured Jupiter) occurred on that day. It is also a Jewish Sabbath day. The Magi stated “we have seen his star in the east,” which some interpreted the original Greek to mean the “star at its rising” (Nicholl 2015, 48-50). The astrological representation of sunrise and at the time of the occultation of Jupiter by the moon are shown in figures 30 and 31. Using the Stellarium software program, a computer simulation of the appearance of the sky after sunrise in Tehran, Iran and Guatemala City, Guatemala on April 17, 6 BC is depicted in figures 32 and 33. These figures show that the alignment of all the planets, the sun, and the moon is in a straight line, another of the rare astronomical features that occurred on this day. Figure 30 Astrological Aspects at sunrise on April 17, 6 BC (Molnar 2013, 97) Figure 31 Position of the planets with Jupiter at the Midheaven (just after noon) on April 17, 6 BC (Molnar 2013, 98) Based on the work of Molnar, the Star of Bethlehem is the planet Jupiter. Interestingly, Molnar did not note in his work anything about the solar eclipse that occurred the day before April 17, 6 BC and perhaps was not aware of it and its additional implications and evidence of the arising of a new king. There have been some critiques of Molnar’s work (Barthel et al, eds, 2015), and naturally the individuals with their own pet theories seem to be the most critical, but the least viable. Some don’t even appear as if they have read Molnar’s work. Nearly all independent reviews agree that the astronomical configuration is indeed quite rare (once every millennia), and would definitely be indicative of a kingly horoscope. One primary objection has to do with Judea being correlated with Aries, as it is only explicitly indicated by Ptolomy, and he listed other areas that it correlated to in addition to Judea, thus raising the question as to how the Magi would have known to go to Judea given the other possibilities to inquire about a new king. The solar eclipse at sunset to the west in the direction of Judea might help answer that. The other primary objection is that the astrologers at the time, although making prognostications about many other kinds of things, were not known to prognosticate as to the birth of new kings, primarily running their horoscopes after the fact. Perhaps, again, the unusual event of an eclipse at sunset indicating the demise of an existing king may have caused them to run the horoscope for a potentially new king. Figure 32 Image from the Stellarium software showing the alignment of the heavenly bodies after sunrise In Tehran, Iran on April 17, 6 BC (author, 2021) It is now possible to lay down the timeline described in the Book of Mormon with what Molnar has determined in the Old World. Utilizing the Sorenson Book of Mormon geographic model, Zarahemla lay in the general vicinity of the current city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico. On April 15, 6 BC and April 16, 6 BC, at this location, sunset was at 6:26 PM (NOAA 2021). In Jerusalem on April 16, 6 BC sunrise was at 5:09 AM and sunset was at 6:06 PM, and on April 17, 6 BC sunrise was at 5:07 AM. The time in Iran (presumed location of the Magi) is approximately 9 hours and 45 minutes ahead of Tuxtla Gutierrez, so a 6:26 PM sunset in Tuxtla Gutierrez equates to 4:11 AM in Iran. The time in Jerusalem is approximately 8 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Tuxtla Gutierrez, so a 6:26 PM sunset in Tuxtla Gutierrez occurs at 2:56 AM in Jerusalem. We know that prior to sunset on April 15, 6 BC in Mesoamerica, Nephi had “cried mightily unto the Lord all that day” and was then told by the “voice of the Lord” that “on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world” (3 Nephi 1:12-13). Thus we know that Christ was born on “the morrow,” which with the day starting at sunset, his birth was sometime during the time from sunset on April 15, 6 BC to sunset on April 16, 6 BC as measured in Tuxtla Gutierrez (6:26 PM), which in Jerusalem would be sometime between 2:56 AM on April 16, 6 BC to 2:56 AM on April 17, 6 BC. Figure 33 Image from the Stellarium software showing the alignment of the heavenly bodies after sunrise In Guatemala City, Guatemala on April 17, 6 BC with the sun in eclipse (author, 2021) We know from the New Testament that the shepherds were watching their flock “by night” when they were informed by an angel of Christ’s birth, so we know that Christ was born after sunset and before sunrise in Bethlehem (Jerusalem time). Thus Christ would have been born sometime between sunset (which was 6:06 PM) on April 16, 6 BC and 2:56 AM on April 17, 6 BC to satisfy what was told to Nephi. 2:56 AM in Jerusalem is approximately 4:11 AM in Iran. On April 17, 6 BC the Magi at sunrise (5:16 AM in Tehran, Iran) observed all of the astronomical and astrological evidence of a new king in Israel. Using Molnar’s indication that the astronomical signs of Christ’s birth occurred on April 17, 6 BC between sunrise and just after noon presumably as seen in Iran, with the Hebrew measurement of a day being from sunset to sunset, and consistent with what Nephi was told, Christ birth and the subsequent astronomical signs occurred on the same Hebrew day. With a partial solar eclipse at sunset occurring essentially at the beginning of this same Hebrew day signifying the death of an existing king, Christ’s birth occurring during the night prior to 2:56 AM, and then the astronomical and astrological signs arising in the morning of the same Hebrew day indicating the birth of a new king, this must have been an impressive and miraculous divine birth to be sure. The Nephite New Star Given Molnar’s determination using the ancient astrological principles applied by the Magi, it is apparent that a Nephite star would not be this type of star as the astrological techniques of the Magi would not be known or practiced by the Nephites. In addition, the Nephite star is described as a “new star” which Jupiter certainly was not. Further, the Nephite star is indicated to be “beheld” by the people, the Star of Bethlehem was apparently not noticed by anyone except the Magi. Thus, the simple conclusion is that the two stars are not the same star. In evaluating what could be the Nephite new star the following parameters are found: 1. It must be able to be observed by persons in Mesoamerica, but not in Israel. 2. If absent from other astrological records of the time, it likely was not observable from those locations. 3. It would have been present after April 17, 6 BC, but was apparently not present 3 years later (although not specifically mentioned) as it appears to be part of the signs and wonders of heaven that were forgotten (3 Nephi 2:1-3). 4. Similar to the Star of Bethlehem it was said to “arise” (Helaman 14:5) which was noted after that fact that it “did appear, according to the word” (3 Nephi 1:21). 5. It was a star “such as one as ye never have beheld,” meaning the Nephites (Helaman 14:5). The first parameter necessary to be discussed is that of the visibility of the star in Mesoamerica without being noticed in Israel (or other ancient astronomical record keeping areas like Mesopotamia or China). The most clear-cut explanation is the new star not being visible from Israel (or Mesopotamia or China) was because Mesoamerica is further south in latitude. A person standing on the equator is capable through the year of seeing all the stars and constellations, however a person on the north pole cannot observe stars or constellations that appear in the southern hemisphere and vice versa. For example, the Southern Cross, which is the navigational equivalent of the North Star in the Southern Hemisphere can be observed from the Northern Hemisphere from latitudes less than 35 degrees (just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico)(McClure 2021). Israel and Mesopotamia are at approximately 32 degrees latitude, the southernmost portion of China is at 21 degrees latitude. Mesoamerica is at 16 degrees latitude. Thus there is a small portion of the southern sky that is visible from Mesoamerica that is not visible from these other more northern locations. It would seem certain that it would have been noted in the New Testament if there was a significant astronomical event such as a new star at the time of the birth of Christ. In addition, the ancient astronomical records do not appear to be complete. For example there is currently no indication from historical records of a comet matching the description of a comet in 6 BC. The primary ancient astrological record keepers were the Babylonians and the Chinese. Unfortunately there are no Babylonian records for this time period, and it has been demonstrated that all of the combined records that we actually have of the other record keepers, including the Chinese, only account for about a third of the expected number of visible comets during this time period (Nicholl 2015, 119-20), so lack of historical notation of a comet associated with the birth of Christ is not unexpected. Thus, for example, it may have been possible for the star to be an unrecorded comet that was visible in China, meaning that there was a larger swath of Mesoamerican skies where a comet may have appeared. Considering these conditions, there is only one viable scientific possibility for the new star, a comet. As has been mentioned previously with regards to the night of illumination, there has been no evidence of a supernova found during this time period. Stars that change in brightness, called variable stars, are known, however the longest known brightness cycle is 1000 days, so would not be considered a new star, and certainly one that had not been seen before. There are comets that are visible only in the southern hemisphere (see figure 34). As comets do appear with some regularity, there is a question as to how the parameter “one as ye never have beheld” could be met. However, comets are remarkably varied not only in celestial route, but also as to coma and tail size and number, shape, color,and duration. In addition, since the comets that the population may have actually previously witnessed would be expected to be less than a dozen, it need not have been an extremely rare form of comet to be one unlike others that they had seen. Figure 35 shows a variety of differing comet types. Figure 34 Chronological chart of great comets and major comets, 1670 to present. Great comets are marked with a yellow dot and all comets are displayed relative to their spheres of visibility – north, south or both. (McClure 2021) Figure 35 Differing types of comets (Weissman 2021) There is also the possibility that the new star is a comet located in proximity to the sun, which was only visible in Mesoamerica on the day when the sun was in near full eclipse, which definitely would have been a star that they would “never have beheld” and would definitely be observed as rising. This would have to be from a class of comets called “sungrazers.” The proposal of a sungrazer comet as the star to my knowledge was first proposed by Charles Dike (2021). It may have also been possible for only the Magi to see this type of comet during the limited partial eclipse that occurred there. This would be possible for a very bright comet, which the closer to the sun a comet gets, it generally becomes exponentially brighter. There is evidence that ancient Babylonian astronomers used a dark glass of some sort to directly observe eclipses, they may have been able to see an adjacent comet that was not visible to those without such a tool (Simon 2018). In addition, since they could observe the sun directly, they may have been intently watching the sun if that had just observed a brightening of the sun during the start of the CME event. Once having identified the comet during the eclipse, they may have still been able to see it through the dark glass without the eclipse as it rose adjacent to the sun in the east. In Mesoamerica, they would likely have only seen the comet rising in the east, and the Book of Mormon doesn’t mention exactly how long after Christ’s birth that it was visible to them. There is considerable evidence that in Mesoamerica the astronomer priests observed sunspots using the naked eye, perhaps using techniques of reflection off of the Mesoamerican concave mirrors, or perhaps that used in Islam using water reflection, or in China where fine dust from the Gobi Desert becomes suspended in the atmosphere which reduces the suns intensity tolerable to the naked eye, or also at sunrise or sunset when the sun is observed through a thicker slice of hazy atmosphere. Like the Babylonians, the Japanese observers used smoked glass, so perhaps in Mesoamerica they also had this technique that is yet to be documented (Zito, 2017). In Mesoamerica, the appearance of a comet, especially adjacent to a solar eclipse rising from the horizon after a night of illumination and auroras, would have no small religious impact. In Mesoamerica a comets is called “the smoking star” and the appearance of a comet was taken as a portent of a coming catastrophe and was taken as a prophesy of the death of a king, or of war and hunger. The common people believed that the blaze of the comet, which they called “arrow hurling star,” throws out arrows which when hitting a living thing causes a worm to grow in it. For this reason, people made sure that they were well covered up at night to make sure the blaze of the comet did not fall on them (Trejo and Ricalde 1993). It was believed that the fall of Tullan was caused by a comet passing over them. Motecuhzoma’s Comet, which was observed by the Mexican emperor, was one of the events that foretold the coming of the Spaniards. Figure 36 Representation of a comet as a multicolored serpent with barbs in the Telleriano-Remensis Codex Plate 39 (Famsi.org 2021) In the 16th century Aztec Telleriano-Remensis Codex (see figure 36), a comet is depicted as a multicolored snake, again consistent with the auroral event seen just before the arrival of the new comet. The concurrent presence of a comet and a solar eclipse, although the initial appearance was not at the same time (which appears to be the case with the Bethlehem Star) was recorded in 1531, so it is not an impossible event. What the meaning of a comet may have had to Christian Nephites is not really known, but might be expected to be somewhat different to the meaning of a comet in those practicing Mesoamerican religions. While there was a general importance and religious significance attached to astronomy in the Holy Land, no notable developments in astronomy happened there. Only a few stars or constellations are mentioned in the Bible, and only two planets. There is no mention of comets in the Old Testament, so we must look for more recent indications of the appearance of comets in Israel. Although generally comets would be considered unlucky signs in Mesopotamia, it is not necessarily so, and it appears that they may be lucky for the Jews if they occur during a positive event. For example, Halley ’s Comet, that appeared over Judea in 164 BC together with a second comet in 163 BC that appeared over Judea as well, were positive signs in the heavens as: “the liberation of Jerusalem, the subsequent rededication of the temple, and the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes all occurred during the autumn months of 164 B.C when Halley's comet shone in the sky. … the appearance of the comet in the skies over Judaea, at such a momentous moment in Judaean history, was understood by contemporary Judaeans as a portent of their victory over the Seleucid Empire. … the "extraordinary coincidence" of the Judaean victory and the appearance of the comet became part of the background of the Jewish Hanukkah Festival (the Festival of Lights), the very festival that has celebrated the resanctification of the temple on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, from as early as the time of Josephus" (Horowitz 1996) This historical situation would seem to be close to the experience of the righteous Nephites in that a new star in the form of a comet would signify their freedom and liberation from execution. Comparison of April 17, 6 BC date for the birth of Christ with the date of his crucifixion There has been a huge amount of conflicting scholarship evaluating all the possibilities for dates of Christ’s birth and his death. The scope here is not to review and respond to all of that past scholarship, as all of it lacks the current information from the Caractors Document and chronological parameters found in the Book of Mormon as well as recognition of a solar eclipse on the at the time of Christ’s birth as indicated by the text of the Book of Mormon. The scope here is to look at the Old World scholarship to see if there is some agreement for the dates provided by this new information. It should be noted at this point that this work is anticipated to be incorporated into a larger book currently in progress on the chronology of the Book of Mormon. Astute observers of the date of the solar eclipse proposed here will note that, while close, the likely dates currently thought to be the dates of Christ’s crucifixion will not be 33 years and 4 days for the length of Christ’s life as seems to be indicated by the date of destruction in 3 Nephi 8:5, assuming that the year length is 365 days. My yet to be published current research does support a 365 day year for the date given as the date of destruction. A careful reading of the retroactive change to the primary Nephite calendar indicates that the calendar change was made after nine years had passed away after the sign was given, where they “began to reckon their time from this period when the sign was given” (3 Nephi 2:8). The term “period” used elsewhere in the Book of Mormon does not indicate an exact date, but is used, as is the common modern usage as well, to be designation of a stretch of time (1 Nephi 7:13; Mosiah 2:28; Alma 9:11, 17; 51:19; 53:19, 59:5, ad 58:31). We would expect that the “period when the sign was given” would still be approximately close to the exact number of years that Jesus lived (approximately 33 years). In the Old World, from the New Testament, we do know potential dates of Christ’s crucifixion based on the fact that it occurred on Passover. Approximately 33 years from April 17, 6 BC would place the crucifixion in 28 AD (there is no zero year in the Gregorian calendar). There is no scholarly concensus as to the date of Christ’s crucifixion, but there is consensus that he was crucified on or close to the day of Passover, which can be calculated astronomically for each year. As to the Hebrew date month and date for the annual Passover, scholars consider two dates as possibilities, Nisan 14 or Nisan 15 (Finegan 1998, 354): “If the day was reckoned according to the earlier practice from sunrise to sunrise, then both the slaying of the lamb and the eating of the meal took place on one and the same day, namely, on the fourteenth day of Nisan. But it the day was reckoned according to the later practice from sunset to sunset, then the lamb was indeed slain on the fourteenth day of Nisan but the Passover meal held “that night” was actually eaten on the fifteenth day of Nisan which had begun at sunset. Jubilee 49:1 explicitly describes the observance in terms of the latter manner of reckoning.” For 28 AD, there are two potential dates for Passover, Tuesday March 30th (Nisan 14), Wednesday March 31st (Nisan 15), Wednesday, April 28th (Nisan 14), or Thursday April 29th (Nisan 15) (Finegan 1998, 363). The last two dates are indicated if there happened to be an intercalation month inserted in the preceding year, which was necessary to correct the lunar calendar to the solar calendar which was the practice in Israel at that time. The last two April dates are not possible as they would have Christ’s life be longer than the maximum the Book of Mormon indicates as it would be 33 years 19.71 days or 33 years 20.71 days respectively using the 365 day year. The first two dates indicate the length of Christ’s life to be 32 years 355.815 days or 32 years 356.815 days respectively. Either of these days are consistent with the length of Christ’s life in the Book of Mormon. It is possible to further determine which of these dates (a Tuesday or a Wednesday) is consistent with description given of the destruction after the crucifixion and correlation with the Old World Description, which is a Wednesday. A Wednesday Crucifixion Many (probably most) Biblical scholars accept a Friday crucifixion of Christ because the New Testament indicates that the crucifixion was the day prior to the Sabbath (our Saturday)(Mark 15:42; Matt. 28:1; Luke 23:56; John 19:31) and the visit of the women was on the first day of the week (our Sunday)(Mark 16:2; Matt. 28:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). However, the difficult problem with this is that it does not square entirely with the New Testament record since Matt 12:40 is emphatic that Christ would lie in the grave three days and three nights. Various solutions have been proposed (a figurative three days, partial days as full days, etc) to try to square the New Testament record with a Friday crucifixion (Finegan 1998, 354; Ramsundar, 2015). This particular predicament can be resolved as John 19:31 makes it clear that Christ’s crucifixion was a “high day” (an annual Sabbath) which can fall on almost any other day of the year (Lev. 23:6-7). Thus, a Wednesday crucifixion actually becomes the most probable. Additional evidence in favor of a Wednesday crucifixion is that with a death of Christ at about 3:00 pm (Matt. 27:45) it is likely that he was placed in the tomb around dusk, which eliminates a partial daylight period that could be counted as a day. Similarly, John 20:1 indicates that the women came to the tomb Sunday morning while it was still dark, meaning that Sunday cannot be counted as a fraction of a day if a day is counted from sunrise. Luke 23:56 indicates that the women prepared spices and rested on the Sabbath. With High Day Sabbath following the crucifixion, the spices could not be prepared until its completion. With a regular rest day Sabbath following the High Day Sabbath, a Friday crucifixion is not possible, and neither is a Thursday crucifixion since the day following the crucifixion was a High Day Sabbath and no work could be done (Lev 23:7), leaving no opportunity for the women to prepare the spices before the weekly Sabbath started. The Didascalia Apostolorum (1905, 21 = 5.4-6, vol. 1, 272) is a Christian legal treatise which belongs to the genre of the Church Orders. It presents itself as being written by the Twelve Apostles at the time of the Council of Jerusalem; however, scholars agree that it was actually a composition of the 3rd century, perhaps around 230 AD. The apostles are quoted as saying that they ate the Passover Meal on Tuesday evening and that on Wednesday Jesus was taken captive and held in the house of Caiaphas. Researchers from LDS points of view have also noted that the Friday crucifixion is not tenable in light of what the Book of Mormon has to say about the time period between his death and resurrection and noted that the Book of Mormon requires an earlier crucifixion than Friday (Chadwick 2016; Cummings 2007, Dike 2021a). The Book of Mormon text indicates from prophecy that Jesus would “be buried in a sepulchre according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness” (1 Nephi 19:10); that Jesus would be “laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days” (2 Nephi 25:13); “there should be darkness for the space of three days over the face of the land” (3 Nephi 8:3); “and that darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days” (Helaman 14:27). All of these prophecies indicate that the three days of darkness corresponds to the time that Christ was placed in the tomb until his resurrection. The initial statement of prophecy by Samuel the Lamanite would seem to allow that the three days of darkness started at the time of Christ’s death until the time of his resurrection, that “there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead” (Helaman 14:20). The actual recounting of the destruction, presumably by Nephi3, indicates that the storm, initial earthquake, tempests, etc. lasted “for about the space of three hours -- and then behold there was darkness upon the face of the land” (3 Nephi 8:20). This would indicate that Christ’s death corresponds with the start of the destruction, and about three hours later Christ was placed in the sepulchre, corresponding with the start of the Nephite darkness. It is then stated that “it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen” (3 Nephi 8:23) and “thus did three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land” (3 Nephi 10:9-10). As others have discussed, we can determine the time of day when the destruction started because we do have information regarding times of day from the New Testament. Prior to the crucifixion, Jesus’ second trial before Pilate began around 8 AM and according to Mark 15:25 it ended and the crucifixion took place at “the third hour,” which using the Jewish method of counting hours, would correspond to nine o’clock in the morning. Around noon, while Jesus was on the cross, total darkness surrounded the area, until about 3 PM (see Matthew 27:45) when He cried out, “It is finished” and died (John 19:30). Since Jerusalem is 8.5 hours ahead of Mesoamerica (128 degrees difference in latitude) the 3rd Nephi destruction would have occurred starting at approximately 6:30 AM in Mesoamerica. According to the Book of Mormon there were about three hours of initial destruction (ending at 9:30 AM in Mesoamerica) during which Christ was removed from the cross and placed in the tomb (at about 6 PM Jerusalem time). There were three days of darkness in Mesoamerica that occurred starting 3 hours after Christ’s death at 9:30 AM (3 Nephi 8:19), with the darkness dispersing “in the morning” (around 9:30 AM in Mesoamerica, 6 PM in Jerusalem) upon completion of 3 days of darkness (3 Nephi 10:9), which dispersal corresponds with “the time that he shall rise again from the dead” (Helaman 14:20). This time correlation between the New Testament and Book of Mormon is also an independent verification that the place of the Book of Mormon was Mesoamerica (or at least in the proper time zone). We know that the women arrived at the empty tomb of Jesus on Sunday while it was still dark (John 20:1), so with an assumption of an entombment on Friday at dusk, Jesus could have only been in the tomb a maximum of a little over a day and a half (two nights and one day). Thus, a Friday crucifixion is not possible given the Book of Mormon text requiring three days, which we know in Mesoamerica went from morning to morning, and in Jerusalem from dusk to dusk. If fact, a Thursday crucifixion is not possible either, because, with an entombment at dusk on Thursday, a full three days would require that Christ be resurrected at dusk on Sunday, which we know from the New Testament did not happen because the tomb was empty early Sunday morning. A Wednesday crucifixion is the only timeframe that meets the requirements of the both the New Testament times of crucifixion and the Book of Mormon three day requirement. Surprisingly, even given the fairly obvious time requirement, Cummings, although recognizing Wednesday as a possibility, indicates that Jesus was crucified at 9 AM on Thursday, but that only 60 hours passed that Christ laid in the tomb (short of 3 days by 12 hours) and that he was only in the tomb for three days and two nights. The reason given by Cummings for his dismissal of a Wednesday crucifixion is that: “Since, according to John’s gospel, the crucifixion took place on the preparation day for the Passover, this view leads to a Passover Sabbath on Thursday and a weekly Sabbath on Saturday, with the body being embalmed on Friday. A Wednesday crucifixion also puts the resurrection near the end of the weekly Sabbath on Saturday, which conflicts with discovery of the empty tomb early Sunday morning, the first day of the week.” Chadwick recognizes that a Friday crucifixion is not possible and also argues for a Thursday crucifixion. His analysis excluding a Wednesday is: “As affirmed in all four Gospels, Jesus’s body was in the tomb for three days, and his resurrection occurred on a Sunday, the “first day of the week.” Therefore, the crucifixion cannot have occurred on any day from Saturday through Wednesday. Only Thursday and Friday fall within a three-day window of time prior to Sunday, and even this depends on how the three days are counted” Dike, on the other hand, makes the case for a Wednesday crucifixion and points out the deficiencies of Cummings and Chadwick based on the Book of Mormon text. He notes the errors in Cummings and Chadwick timeline and the Book of Mormon text as follows: 1. Their timeline has the end of the initial three hour destruction correlating with the death of Jesus, not the beginning of the three hour destruction contrary to the straightforward statement by Samuel the Lamanite in Helaman 14:21. 2. As discussed above, Dike makes the point that their timeline of 60 hours in the tomb is short of the full three day requirement (72 hours) given by the New Testament timeline in conjunction with the requirement of the Book of Mormon text. 3. Dike addresses Cummings objection to a Saturday evening resurrection, in that it is there is no contradiction or conflict between them finding an empty tomb on Sunday morning and Christ having resurrected earlier on Saturday evening. With regards to Chadwick, there is no New Testament scripture that indicates that Christ was resurrected on Sunday. Although Dike didn’t argue this, even if there was, had Christ been laid in the tomb slightly after sunset, on Saturday, under the Hebrew system, it would be the beginning of Sunday, so that condition would be met even if there was one. Dike does not address Cummings statement that crucifixion took place on “the preparation day” for the Passover (no scriptural citation is given, presumably Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42 are what is being referenced) indicating somehow that this precluded a Wednesday crucifixion. There is no reason given by Cummings why a Wednesday crucifixion is not consistent with a preparation day, in fact it is perfectly consistent with a High Day Sabbath starting at sunset on Wednesday running to sunset on Thursday. Table 1 shows the sequence of events for a Wednesday crucifixion created by Ramsundar (he assumes a Nisan 14 day of Passover instead of Nisan 15): Knowing that the Book of Mormon dictates a Wednesday crucifixion, and noting that Herod died in the spring of 4 BC, and knowing that Christ lived around 33 years (365 days), the latest possible year for consideration for Christ’s death is (remembering there is no 0 year) is 30 AD. The earliest year considered possible for Christ’s death by Bible scholars is 27 AD. There is only one year from 27 AD to 30 AD where Passover (either Nisan 14 or Nisan 15) falls on a Wednesday, which is 28 AD (Finegan 1998, 363). Thus the Book of Mormon text describing the time of the destruction independently confirms the date of Christ’s death, and also the associated date of his birth in April of 6 BC. New Year’s Day of the 92nd year of the Reign of the Judges With the following information that we now have it is possible to calculate the date in the Old World calendar for New Year’s Day of the 92nd year of the Reign of the Judges, and thus know the number of days that had passed after which Christ was born. 1. The raw length of Christ’s life was approximately 32 years 356.815 days. Adjusting for the time of his death versus his birth (a range of hours) there may be a half day difference. 2. Christ’s death was on March 31, 28 AD at 3:00 PM, which in the Hebrew day system would be sunset on March 30 to sunset on March 31, 28 AD. 3. The time from Christ’s crucifixion in Mesoamerica from New Year’s Day of the 92nd year is 33 years and 3.25 days (12048.25 days). Counting back the correct number of days from the death of Christ 12048 days, one arrives at approximately sunset on April 3 to sunset of April 4, 6 BC as the New Year’s Day of the 92nd year, so considering the approximate time window of Christ’s birth (sunset of April 15 to sunset of April 16, 6 BC), and the time difference in Mesoamerica, the time from the start of the Nephite New Year of the 92nd year of the Reign of the Judges to the birth of Christ would be approximately 13 days. Marking of Nephite months by completion of a full moon Knowing that Christ’s death occurred on a Nephite New Years Day, and that the change in the Coming of Christ calendar corresponds with a lunar calendar Nephite New Years Day, it is possible to postulate how the Nephites determined the start of their year and presumably the individual months utilizing the phases of the moon. As already indicated, the Nephite calendar and chronology correlates exactly with Christ’s birth in the Old World calendar utilizing a sunset to sunset Nephite day, as was generally agreed to be the pre-Exile Hebrew practice (Segal 1957, 254). Based on the death of Christ occurring near the time of Passover, which occurs around the time of a full moon, and given his death occurring on a Nephite lunar year New Year, the Nephite year and month appears to start with some point of observation of a full moon. There is extensive evidence that the preExilic Jews utilized the full moon to mark the month and year endings or year beginnings (Snaith 1947, 253), with the year ending and including the full moon which was the Harvest Full Moon, although the new moon was used in Babylon and the Middle East (Segal 1957, 253) and among the Jews at the time of Christ. While we now have the scientific knowledge and tools to determine the exact minute when the moon is directly in opposite alignment to the sun generating a full moon, the ancients had to make their determinations based on visual sightings. The full moon appears such to the naked eye for about three days (or perhaps a bit more) as can be seen in figure 37, so there is room for a few days of variability for any given month if it is just an observation of a full moon (Johnston 2021). Marking of months based on lunar observations also has to accommodate local meteorological conditions that may block visibility for a period of time. This will precipitate some variability as well on any given month (or yearend/beginning). For example, amongst the Jews at the time of Christ, if the new moon was not seen at sunset, or views were blocked on the expected day of the new moon, the next day was automatically determined to be the first day of the month. Figure 37 All phases of the moon (Tanner, 2021) According to our modern scientific calculations, looking at the Nephite days we are interested in, for a full moon for the New Years day of the 92nd year just prior to Christ’s birth, the calculated date is from sunset to sunset of April 3-4, 6 BC. The scientific full moon in that time frame was April 1, 6 BC at 11:17 PM (Mesoamerican time) (Espenak, 2014), thus during the Nephite sunset to sunset day of April 1-2, 6 BC. Thus this Nephite New Year’s date was roughly 2 days after the scientifically noted full moon. The scientific full moon closest to Christ’s death is March 26, 28 AD at 9:47 PM (Mesoamerican time), so would be the Nephite day of sunsets on March 26-27, 28 AD (Espenak, 2014). Christ’s death occurred on the Nephite day of sunsets on March 30-31, 28 AD, so the calendar here shows this Nephite New Year’s date roughly 4 days after the scientific full moon date. With this information, while admittedly for only two of over a thousand New Years Days that occurred in the Book of Mormon, it is still possible to postulate the ways that the Nephites made their visible determination of the change in months/years using the full moon. Following the pre-Exile practice it is clear that they were including the full moon period in the end of a month, meaning that the month did not end until there was an observation that the full moon had ended by observing a dark edge appearing on the moon, as the New Year day is occurring 2 days after the scientific full moon time for the 92nd New Year. In the other instance we have at the date of the 3rd Nephi destruction, there are more than the 2 days. Three additional days might be accommodated by naked eye observation subjectivity, but the fourth day would seem to indicate a similar practice to what the Old World Jews were doing, basically where there was an inability to see the moon, an additional day was added and called the New Year. I had noted in my book, the Geology of the Book of Mormon, that when the San Martín volcano erupted in 1792, which is the best candidate for the 3rd Nephi volcano, it was covered in clouds so the people in 1792 thought the initial eruption was a large storm. The fact that the 3rd Nephi event was also characterized as a “great storm” might be indicative that there were meteorological conditions present that would not allow observation of the moon prior to the eruption. Of course after the eruption there was no observation of anything as there were three days of darkness. Given the difference between 2 and 4 days another possibility to be considered with regards to setting the first day of the month based on the full moon observation is that it may have been a day count from the first observation of the full moon instead of when it ended, along with a requirement that the full moon must not be above the opposite horizon at sunset in order to be considered in a full moon count. Using the Stellarium software, for all the April 6 BC dates, the full moon rose after sunset. For the March 26-31, 28 AD dates, on March 26-27 the moon was already up at sunset, for March 28-31 it rose after sunset. So using this parameter of using March 28-29 it would place the New Year 2 days after the scientific full moon, just as the April 6 BC day is. Summary of the Sequence of the Nephite Event and events of Christ’s birth in the Old World Possible observation of the white flash of the CME solar event by Mesoamerican and/or the Magi – April 13 to April 16, 6 BC. Mesoamerican priests predict the day of the anticipated solar eclipse as April 18, prepare for impending eclipse by making a great uproar, preparing all Nephite prisoners for sacrifice (some with fair complexions) - April 15-16, 6 BC. Night of illumination, signs and wonders – April 16-17, 6 BC. Partial solar eclipse appears at sunrise in in Mesoamerica (possibly with a now visible new comet in close proximity below the sun) at sunset the Magi observe the same solar eclipse and a new comet below the sun, Christ is born -- April 16, 6 BC. Night of Christ’s birth – April 16-17, 6 BC. Magi (and perhaps Mesoamerican astronomer priests) watch and observe sunrise (potentially through a dark glass or other means to see a potential comet) and witness Magi astrological royal astronomical events – April 17, 6 BC. Appearance of new star (comet) likely in the southern skies of Mesoamerica – Night of April 17, 6 BC. Continuing Signs or Wonders Sometime quickly after the conclusion of the Nephite Event, there were “lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen” (3 Nephi 1:22). Presumably Satan was working through the political and religious powers that there were at the time in spreading his lies. The Mesoamerican astrologer priests no doubt were highly motivated to discount the Nephite perspective, as the consequences of the failure to maintain the religious hegemony under which they operated were severe. The failure of the astrologer priests of Montezuma, the Aztec king, to notice the appearance of a comet the night before resulted in dire consequences. Montezuma, who had heard about the comet from a youth, observed the comet himself at midnight. When the astrologer priests were summoned and admitted their failure, Montezuma became enraged and ordered them locked in cages so they could die of hunger. The astrologers wept and pleaded to be put to death instead. Montezuma ordered the astrologers to be slain, their houses sacked and razed to the ground, and condemned their women and children to perpetual slavery (Trejo and Ricalde 1998). Four years after the Nephite Event, it is mentioned that “the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven,” (3 Nephi 2:1) and later mentioned that they “began to disbelieve all which they had heard or seen.” There is a notable detail in the text, in that what occurred during the Nephite Event was always referred to as Nephite Event “signs and wonders” (instead of signs or wonders) and it is apparent that there was not a reoccurrence of these “signs and wonders” as they were forgetting them. In order to forget the signs and wonders that they saw, there must have been a disappearance and no reoccurrence of the signs particular to the Nephite Event (night of illumination, star (comet), aurora). At the close of five years after the Nephite Event it is noted that: “… they did not believe that there should be any more signs or wonders given; and Satan did go about, leading away the hearts of the people, tempting them and causing them that they should do great wickedness in the land” (3 Nephi 2:3). This particular verse does not specify heavenly signs or wonders, it may have been inclusive of the other non-heavenly signs or wonders as well. Also, based on the text, the signs or wonders that followed the Nephite Event need not occur together. There were apparently still signs occurring at times and wonders occurring at times after the Nephite Event, but there was something about them that did not influence them to maintain a belief in Christ. The requisite element of the Nephite Event that drew them to believe in Christ was that the Nephite Event was predicted by Christian religious priests (prophets), and that at least part of the event was something that they hadn’t seen before, giving the prophecy even that much more impact. Had there been no Christian prophecy, it would not seem likely that the Nephite Event would have had any effect in building allegiance to the Christian faith in competition with the other religions present at the time. The lack of inspiration of Christian faith or awe in these post Nephite Event heavenly events would be caused by the prediction of them by competing pagan religions (such as solar or lunar eclipses) in the five subsequent years, not by Nephite priests. Because of the usurpation at the Nephite Event by the Nephite prophets of the ability to predict heavenly events, in order for the pagan religious astronomer priests to start to reestablish credibility, they were going to need to reestablish the ability to have successful predictions of heavenly events, namely solar and lunar eclipses. After the Nephite Event there were six solar eclipses that occurred that were not visible in Mesoamerica that would have been predicted as “eclipse warnings” by the pagan Mesoamerican astronomer priests so did not restore any confidence to the people of their religious power (Espenak and Meeus, 2006). The next solar eclipse visible in Mesoamerica was on August 19, 4 BC approximately 2 solar years and 4 months after the Nephite Event, which is roughly 2.4 years in the Nephite uncorrected lunar calendar. With the Nephite Event happening towards the beginning of the 92nd year, that would put the first accurate prediction of a solar eclipse, towards the middle of the 94th year. The Book of Mormon indicates that there was peace through the 93rd year because of the signs which had come to pass (3 Nephi 1:26-27). In the 94th year there started being Nephite dissenters to the Gaddiantons, led away by some who were Zoramites (3 Nephi 1:28-29). After the predicted solar eclipse in the middle of the 94th year, later in the 94th year there was one additional solar eclipse that would not have been visible in Mesoamerica, but the next one was visible in Mesoamerica and occurred on August 8, 3 BC placing it in the 95th year, which is the year that the people began to stop believing in the Nephite prophets (as they weren’t doing anymore predictions of heavenly signs). At the end of the 96th year the Nephites had reverted back to their old Mesoamerican ways, namely that it was “the power of the devil” (3 Nephi 2:2) that causes the eclipses and other heavenly signs, and their pagan clergy was again reliable in their predictions protecting them from “evil,” and there was no reason to believe in Christ, and that whatever heavenly signs and wonders they had seen had nothing to do with a good god (Christ). Observable lunar eclipses follow a similar pattern. After the Nephite Event, five months later there was a partial lunar eclipse, but only involved an extremely small part of the moon and was below the horizon (not visible) for part of the time. Over the next year and a half there were two anticipated eclipse periods where the lunar eclipses were not visible in Mesoamerica. Two years after the Nephite Event (first part of the 94th year) there was another very small partial lunar eclipse, barely visible which was also below the horizon for part of the time. Six months later (towards the end of the 94th year) there was another partial lunar eclipse. So, similar to the solar eclipse, in the 94th year there was significant predicted observable partial lunar eclipse in Mesoamerica. There was no intervening non-visible expected eclipse from the insignificant partial eclipse from six months earlier, which showed that there was again reliable prediction occurring among the pagan astronomers. After that there were four more “missed” lunar eclipses but then (towards the beginning of the 96th year) another significant predicted observable partial lunar eclipse in Mesoamerica (Espenak and Meeus 2009). Conclusions Based on parameters for the miraculous astronomical events that occurred at the birth of Christ as contained in the text of the Book of Mormon, and known scientific parameters of astronomical phenomenon, a large Coronal Mass Ejection event matches all of these parameters and was the likely cause of the Nephite Event. An anomalous meteor shower may have been involved as well, but is not a required element. Christ’s birth occurred in conjunction with a partial solar eclipse on April 16, 6 BC that appeared upon sunrise of that day in Mesoamerica and appeared in similar fashion at sundown in Babylon and Persia, and was likely observed by the Magi there. The appearance of the Star of Bethlehem as indicated by the astrological determinations of the Magi is consistent with a birth of Christ on April 17, 6 BC matching the Book of Mormon text. Information from the Book of Mormon and the Old World indicates that Christ was crucified on Wednesday, March 31, 28 AD. References American Geophysical Union, 2018, “New kind of aurora is not an aurora at all,” Phys.Org, August 20, 2018, www.phys.org/news/2018-08-kind-aurora.html, accessed July 6, 2021. Andrews, E. Wyllys IV, 1940, Chronology and Astronomy in the Maya Area, in Maya and Their Neighbor, pp. 159- 535. D. Appleton-Century: New York. Aveni, Anthony F., 1981, “Old and New World Naked-eye Astronomy,” in Astronomy of the Ancients, edited by Kenneth Brecher and Michael Feirtag, pp. 61-89. MIT Press: Cambridge. B.T., 2016, “Dancing lights: The sound of aurora borealis,” The Economist, Dec. 29, 2020, www.economist.com/prospero/2020/12/29/the-sound-of-aurora-borealis, accessed July 5, 2021. Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser, 1959, "The Aurora Borealis," September 3, 1859. p. 2; Column 2, www.news.google.com/newspapers?nid=tCoNjB6AT50C&dat=18590903&printsec=frontpage, accessed July 5, 2021. Barthel, Peter, van Kooten, George H. (Editors), 2015, The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Experts on the Ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman World, and Modern Astronomy (Themes in Biblical Narrative: Jewish and Christian Traditions, 19), Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2015. Blanchard, Andrew, Nesvorný David, and Jenniskens Peter, (Inset) Cantin, Dominic Science, 2010, “Researchers Solve the Mystery of the Zodiacal Light” (in article authored Richard A. Kerr), April 16, 2010, by Swri/Seti Institute, www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/04/researchers-solve-mystery-zodiacallight, accessed July 3, 2021. BMC Team, 2016, “How was There a Night Without Darkness?,” KnoWhy #188, September 15, 2016, www.knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/how-was-there-a-night-withoutdarkness#footnote5_3yz20i2, accessed June 30, 2021. Bone, Neil, 1996, The Aurora: Sun-Earth Interactions, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons: Eastergate England. Bottéro, Jean, 1992, "The Substitute King and His Fate," in Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods, trans. Zainab Bahrani and Marc Van De Mieroop, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 138– 155. Bricker, Harvey M., Bricker, Victoria R., Aveni, Anthony F., Closs, Michael P., Edmonson, Munro S., Lounsbury, Floyd G. and Taladoire, Eric, 1983, “Classic Maya Prediction of Solar Eclipses [and Comments and Reply],” Current Anthropology, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Feb., 1983), pp. 1-23. Budge, E. A. Wallis. 1920. An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary in Two Volumes. Dover edition, 1978. New York: Dover Publications. Carrington, R. C., Esq., 1859, “Description of a Singular Appearance seen in the Sun on September 1, 1859,” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 20, Issue 1, November 1859, Pages 13–15, www.academic.oup.com/mnras/article/20/1/13/983482, accessed July 16, 2021. Cartwright, T. B., 2014, Star of Bethlehem Coins – A Set of Serial Commemoratives, www.beastcoins.com/Collections/Star-Of-Bethlehem/Star-Of-Bethlehem.htm, October 1, 2014, accessed August 15, 2021. Chadwick, Jeffrey, 2010. Dating the Birth of Christ, BYU Studies Journal 49:4, pgs. 4-38. Chadwick, Jeffrey, 2016. Dating the Death of Jesus Christ, BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 135–191. Chillymanjaro, 2011, A Guide for Solar Watchers - Part 1, November 5, 2011, www.watchers.news/2011/11/05/a-guide-for-solar-watchers-pt-1/, accessed July 6, 2021. Closs, Michael P, 1986, “Cognitive Aspects of Ancient Maya Eclipse Theory,” in World Archaeoastronomy: selected papers from the 2nd Oxford International Conference on Archaeoastronomy, held at Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, 13-17 January, 1986, edited by Anthony F. Aveni, pp. 389-415. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Corliss, William R., 1982, Lightning, Auroras, Nocturnal Lights and Related Luminous Phenomena: a Catalog of Geophysical Anomalies, The Source Book Project: Glen Arm, Maryland. Closs, Michael P, 1989, “A Glyph for Venus as Evening Star,” in Seventh Palenque Round Table, edited by Merle Greene Robertson, pp. 229-236. Pre-Colombian Art Research Institute: San Francisco. Cummings, David B., 2007. “Three Days and Three Nights: Reassessing Jesus’s Entombment,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 16, no. 1 (2007):56-63. Davis, Neil, 1992, The Aurora Watcher’s Handbook, University of Alaska Press: Fairbanks, Alaska. Dickson, Paul. 2006. Dictionary of Middle Egyptian in Gardiner Classification Order, December 1, 2006. http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/documents/DicksonDictionary.pdf. Didascalia et Constitutiones apostolorum, in Apostolic Constitutions, 1905, edited by F. X. Funk (2 volumes), Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schoeningh, www.archive.org/details/didascaliaetcons00funk/page/n3/mode/2up, accessed September 2, 2021. Dike, Charles, 2021, “A Comet, Christ’s Birth, and Herod’s Rage,” June 14, 2021, unpublished manuscript. Dike, Charles 2021a, “Reconciling Time: A Wednesday Crucifixion,” May 16, 2021, unpublished manuscript. Dresden Codex, 11th or 12 Century AD, www.digital.slubdresden.de/data/kitodo/codedrm_280742827/codedrm_280742827_tif/jpegs/codedrm_280742827.pd, accessed July 14, 2021. Eather, Robert H., 1980, Majestic Lights: The Aurora in Science, History, and the Arts, American Geophysical Union: Washington, D. C. Elfiehall, 2015, “'STEVE' on 17 August 2015 at Little Bow Resort, AB,” Canada, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve(atmospheric_phenomenon)#/media/File:Optical_Steve.jpg, accessed July 6, 2021. ESO/Y. Beletsky, 2008, Wikipedia Commons - ESO, CC BY 4.0, May 2, 2008, www.commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22975456, accessed July 3, 2021. Espenak, Fred and Meeus, Jean, 2006, Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: –1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE), NASA/TP–2006–214141, Web Based Catalog, NASA Center for AeroSpace Information: Hanover, Maryland, www.eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SE-0099-0000.html, accessed July 16, 2021. Espenak, Fred and Meeus, Jean, 2007, Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: –1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE), Revision 1.0 (2007 May 11), NASA/TP–2006–214141, NASA Center for AeroSpace Information: Hanover, Maryland, www.eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSE/5MCSEText11.pdf, accessed July 16, 2021. Espenak, Fred and Meeus, Jean, 2009, Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000, NASA/TP-2009-214172, NASA Center for AeroSpace Information: Hanover, Maryland, www.eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEpubs/5MCLE.html, accessed July 24, 2021. Espenak, Fred, 2014, Six Millennium Catalog of Phases of the Moon Moon Phases from -1999 to +4000 (2000 BCE to 4000 CE), Astropixels.com, www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phasescat.html accessed September 10, 2021 Famsi.org, 2021, Universitätsbibliothek Rostock - Codex Telleriano-Remensis (Loubat 1901), www.famsi.org/research/loubat/Telleriano-Remensis/page_39v.jpg, accessed July 22, 2021. Finegan, Jack, 1998, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, Revised Edition, Hendrickson Publishers: USA. Firmicus Maternus, Julius, 1975, [334 AD], Ancient Astrology Theory and Practice: Matheseos Libri VIII by Firmicus Maternus, Trans Jean Rhys Bram, Park Ridge, N.J.: Noyes Press. Fox, Nicky, 2021, "Coronal Mass Ejections," NASA/International Solar-Terrestrial Physics, www.pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/nicky/cme-chase.html, accessed July 9, 2021. Frank, L., and Craven, J., 2021, “The SAR Arc from the Dynamics Explorer 1,” Windows to the Universe, https://www.windows2universe.org/glossary/aurora_SARARC.html, accessed July 5, 2021. Gadsden, M.; Parviainen, P., 1995, Observing Noctilucent Clouds, International Association of Geomagnetism & Aeronomy, ISBN 978-0-9650686-0-4, web.archive.org/web/20081031003710/http://www.iugg.org/IAGA/iaga_pages/pdf/ONC_Sep06.pdf, accessed July 1, 2021. Gardner, Brant A., 2007, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume 5, Helaman through Third Nephi, (Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2007). González-Esparza, J.A., and Cuevas-Cardona, M.C., 2018, Observations of Low-Latitude Red Aurora in Mexico During the 1859 Carrington Geomagnetic Storm, AGU100 Advancing Earth and Space Science, Space Weather, Volume 16, Issue 6, (June 16 2018), www.agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2017SW001789, accessed July 7, 2021 German, Boris R., 2010, “About Noctilucent Clouds of the Tunguska Phenomenon” EPSC Abstracts Vol. 5, EPSC2010-428, 2010/ European Planetary Science Congress 2010. Green, James L., Boardsen, Scott, 2007, “Duration and extent of the great auroral storm of 1859,” Advances in Space Research, Volume 38, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 130-135, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0273117705012093, accessed July 7, 2021. Gunn, Alastair, 2021, “Can you hear a meteor?,” BBC Science Focus Magazine, www.sciencefocus.com/space/can-you-hear-a-meteor/, accessed July 13, 2021. Hayakawa, Hisashi, Ebihara, Yusuke, Hand, David P., Hayakawa Satoshi, Kumar Sandeep, Mukherjee Shyamoli, and Veenadhari, B., 2010, “Low-latitude Aurorae during the Extreme Space Weather Events in 1859,” The Astrophysical Journal, 869:57, December 10, 2018. Herbert, Count Frank, 1909, "The Great Aurora of 1859". The Daily News. Perth, WA. p. 9, (October 8, 1909), www.trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/77351480, accessed July 5, 2021. Hodgson, R., Esq., 1859, “On a curious Appearance seen in the Sun,” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 20, Issue 1, November 1859, Pages 15–16, https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/20/1/15/983497, accessed July 16, 2021. ISS, 2010, ISS Expedition 23 crew, “Aurora Australis From ISS,” Mission: ISS023 Roll: E Frame: 58455 Mission ID on the Film or image: ISS023, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event#/media/File:Aurora_Australis_From_ISS.JPG, accessed July 5, 2021. Horowitz, Wayne, 1996. “Halley's Comet and Judaean Revolts Revisited,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 3 (July 1996), pp. 456-459, Catholic Biblical Association, www.jstor.org/stable/43722716, accessed September 13, 2021. Jewish Virtual Library, 2021, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/tractate-sukkah-chapter-2, accessed August 3, 2021. Johnston, Gordon, 2021, Full Moon Guide: July – August 2021, July 19, 2021, www.solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1933/full-moon-guide-july-august-2021/, accessed September 10, 2021. Klein, Christopher, 2018, “A Perfect Solar Superstorm: The 1859 Carrington Event,” History.com, August 22, 2018, www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event, accessed July 6, 2021. Korte, M., Donadini, F., Constable, C. G., 2009, “Geomagnetic field for 0–3 ka: 2. A new series of timevarying global models,” AGU Advancing Earth and Space Science, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Volume 10, Issue 6, June 13, 2009, www.agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2008GC002297, accessed July 7, 2021, link to download ARCH3K.1 model at https://geomagia.gfz-potsdam.de/models.php. Laine, Unto Kalervo, 2016, “Auroral Acoustics project – a progress report with a new hypothesis,” Conference: Baltic-Nordic Acoustic Meeting, BNAM 2016At: Stockholm, Sweden (June 2016), www.researchgate.net/publication/304252270_Auroral_Acoustics_project__a_progress_report_with_a_new_hypothesis, accessed July 13, 2021. Landa, Diego de, 1978, Yucatan Before and After the Conquest: Translated with Notes by William Gates, Dover Publications: New York. Lang, 2010, “The Aurora Oval,” Courtesy of the Visible Imaging System, University of Iowa and NASA. www.ase.tufts.edu/cosmos/view_picture.asp?id=151, accessed July 6, 2021. Lithopsian, 2012, Wikimedia Commons, Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, June 4, 2012, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19764762, accessed June 30, 2021. Live Science, 2012, “How Far Away is the Horizon?”, www.livescience.com/32111-how-far-away-is-thehorizon.html, accessed June 29, 2021. Lovett, Richard A., 2011, “What If the Biggest Solar Storm on Record Happened Today?”, National Geographic News, March 4, 2011, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/110302-solar-flaressun-storms-earth-danger-carrington-event-science, accessed July 5, 2021. Mackiel, Tom, 2016, “Scary 'Face' Photographed in Aurora Borealis,” May 19, 2016, www.weather.com/sports-recreation/ski/news/scary-face-photographed-aurora-borealis-20141114, accessed July 5, 2021. Major, Jason, 2012, “Incoming! CME On Its Way Toward Earth,” Universe Today, July 13, 2012, www.universetoday.com/96286/incoming-cme-on-its-way-toward-earth/, accessed July 6, 2021. McClure, Bruce, 2021, How To See The Southern Cross From The Northern Hemisphere, Earthsky, earthsky.org, April 1, 2021, www.earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/the-southern-cross-signpost-ofsouthern-skies/, accessed September 1, 2021. Mechanics Magazine, 1833, Mechanics' magazine, and journal of the Mechanics' Institute, Volume 2, 1833, pgs. 287-288, www.babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000901565x&view=1up&seq=303, accessed July 8, 2021. Miller, Mary, and Taube, Karl, 2007, An Illustrated Dictionary of The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, Thames and Hudson: New York. Möller G. 1965. HIERATISCHE PALÄOGRAPHIE. Leipzig, 1909-1936, Neudruck der 2. verbesserten Auflage. Osnabrück. Molnar, Michael R., 2013, Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi, Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, New Jersey. NASA, CXC, M.Weiss, 2017, www.chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/sn2006gy/more.html#sn2006gy_xray, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2080784, accessed June 30, 2021. Neumeyer, G. 1864, Meteorological and Nautical Taken in the Colony of Victoria, Melbourne: Ferres. Nibley, Hugh, 2004, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, 4 vols. (American Fork and Provo, UT: Covenant Communications and FARMS, 2004), 3:291. Nicholl, Colin R., 2015, The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem , Crossway: Illinois. NOAA, 2021, NOAA ESRL Sunrise/Sunset Calculator, www.gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/sunrise.html, accessed August 31, 2021. NOAA National Center for Environmental Information, 2021, Paleo Data Search, www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo-search/, accessed July 12, 2021. Noao.ed, 2003, “Astronomers Peg Brightness of History’s Brightest Star,” National Optical Astronomy Observatory News, NSF Noir Lab, March 5, 2003, noao0305 - Science Release, www.noirlab.edu/public/news/noao0305/, accessed June 30, 2021. Odenwald, Sten F.; Green, James L., 2008, "Bracing the Satellite Infrastructure for a Solar Superstorm". Scientific American. 299 (2): 80–7, (July 28, 2008). Pärn, Janek, 2019, Corel Discovery Center, www.learn.corel.com/contest-entry/noctilucent-cloud/, October 31, 2019, accessed July 1, 2021. Planetary Society, 2021, Bruce Murray Space Image Library, www.planetary.org/space-images/earthsmagnetosphere-and-plasmasheet, accessed July 6, 2021. Ramsundar, Pallant, 2015, Dating Christ’s crucifixion, Academia.edu, 12/21/2015, www.academia.edu/12139993/Dating_Christ_s_crucifixion, accessed September 2, 2021. Review and Herald Publishing Company, 1889, Bible Readings For The Home Circle, Pacific Press Publishing Company: Oakland. Rubtsov, Vladimir, 2009, The Tunguska Mystery (New York, NY: Springer, 2009), 15. Sadler, D.H., 1966, Predictions of Eclipses, Nature 211:1119-1121. Sahagún, Bernardino de, 16th Century, Florentine Codex Book 7 - The Sun, Moon, and Stars, and the Binding of the Years, translated by Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble, School of American Research/University of Utah, 1953. Schlyter, Paul, 2017, Radiometry and photometry in astronomy, www.stjarnhimlen.se/comp/radfaq.html#10, accessed July 6, 2021. Science Photo Library, 2014, “Aurora borealis,” www.fineartamerica.com/featured/2-aurora-borealisscience-photo-library.html, accessed July 5, 2021. Scifo, A. , Kuitems, M., Neocleous, A., Pope, B. J. S., Miles, D., Jansma, E., Doeve, P., Smith, A. M., Miyake, F., and Dee, M. W., 2019, Radiocarbon Production Events and their Potential Relationship with the Schwabe Cycle, Scientific Reports, Vol. 9, Article number: 17056 (2019). Simon, Zoltan A., 2018, Astronomy and ancient eclipse art–Is it a science?, Medcrave Arts and Humanities Open Access Journal, Volume 2 Issue 5, www.researchgate.net/publication/330759209_Astronomy_and_ancient_eclipse_art-Is_it_a_science, accessed July 21, 2021. Skousen, Royal, 2014, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part Five: Alma 56 - 3 Nephi 19, Provo, Utah: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Snaith, Norman H., 1947. The Jewish New Year Festival: Its Origins and Development, London: SPCK. Spaceweather.com, 2017, “The Most Powerful Solar Flares Ever Recorded,” www.spaceweather.com/solarflares/topflares.html, accessed July 9, 2021. Steele, John M., 2000, Eclipse Prediction in Mesopotamia, Arch. Hist. Exact Sci. 54 (2000) 421-454. Stone, Perry, 2009. Breaking the Jewish Code: 12 Secrets that Will Transform Your Life, Family, Health, and Finances, Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House. Stothers, R., 1979, Solar Activity during Classical Antiquity, Astron. Astrophys. 77, 121-127 (1979). Strømme, Trond, 2014, www.flickr.com/photos/trondstromme/16150413176, accessed July 1, 2021. Sutherland, Scott, 2021, Night-shining clouds over Calgary: What's the cause of this spectacular sight?, Météo Média, https://www.meteomedia.com/ca/nouvelles/article/noctilucent-clouds-over-calgarywhat-causes-this-spectacular-sight, accessed July 26, 2021. Tanner, Jay, 2021, Individual Moon images from Wikimedia Commons, www.grade8science.com/2-3viewing-the-moon-phases-and-eclipses/, accessed September 14, 2021. Taylor, David, 2012, “The Official Seasons,” Ideas Of Physics Homepage, Northwestern University, Spring, 2012www.faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~infocom/Ideas/solstice.html, accessed June 30, 2021. Tom15745, 2021, tumbler.com, “Tomoya's Tumblr,” tom15745.tumblr.com/post/21848933388/auroraborealis-red-colors, accessed July 14, 2021. Trejo, J. Galindo, 2002, “The Astronomy in the Mexican Prehispanic Past,” in Galaxies: The Third Dimension, ASP Conference Series, Vol. 282, 2002, (M. Rosado, L. Binette, and L. Arias, eds.), pgs. 3-15. Trejo, Jesus Galindo, and Ricalde, Arcadio Poveda, 1998, Comets in Pre-Hispanic Mexico, Voices of Mexico, Number 42, January-March, 1998, pp. 33-39. Tvedtnes, John A., 1998, “A Modern Example of Night without Darkness,” Insights: An Ancient Window 18, no. 5 (October 1998): 4. Usoskin, I.G., Kromer, B., Ludlow, F., Beer, J., Friedrich, M., Kovaltsov, G.A., Solanki, S.K., and Wacker, L., 2013, “The AD775 cosmic event revisited: the Sun is to blame,” Astronomy & Astrophysics 552, L3 (February 26, 2013), www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2013/04/aa21080-13.pdf, accessed July 12, 2021. Velux, 2021, www.rethinkdaylight.si/~/media/microsites/rethink/pdf/how%20to%20evaluate%20daylight.pdf. Wallpaper Access, 2021, Zodiacal Light Wallpapers, www.wallpaperaccess.com/zodiacal-light, accessed July 3, 2021. Wandering Owl, 2020, “Northern Lights Facts,” September 24, 2020, www.wanderingowl.com/northernlights-facts/, accessed July 5, 2021. Weissman, Paul, 2021, “Comet Astronomy,” Brittanic.com, www.britannica.com/science/cometastronomy/History, accessed September 9, 2021. Wirth, Diane E., 2002, Quetzalcoatl, the Maya Maize God, and Jesus Christ,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 11 (2002):8. www.intcal.org, 2020, http://intcal.org/JS/JSintcal20/, accessed July 12, 2021. Yau, K K C, Stephenson, F R, and Willis, D M, 1995, “A Catalogue of Auroral Observations from China, Korea and Japan (193 B.C. - A.D. 1770),” Council for The Central Laboratory of the Research Councils, December 1995, Technical Report RAL-TR-95-073. www.researchgate.net/publication/4713391_A_catalogue_of_auroral_observations_from_China_Korea _and_Japan_193_BC_-_AD_1770, accessed July 7, 2021. Zito, Richard R., 2017, Possible Mesoamerican Naked-Eye Observation of Sunspots – VI: Evidence from Yaxchilan Lintel 48, Sociology and Anthropology 5(12): 1041-1051, www.hrpub.org/download/20171130/SA9-19610561.pdf, accessed July 21, 2021.