NASA Discovers a Missing Day in History

From SkepticWiki

1 Definition
2 Origins
3 Discussion
4 References and Further Reading

[edit] Definition

The "Missing Day" hoax is an anecdote that supposedly proves the biblical account of Joshua’s command to make the sun stand still, based on astronomical data. The origins of this legend go back to 1890, but recently the story has been propagated via fax, email, and the internet, and has become attached to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

As related by a typical internet instance:

…They were checking the position of the sun, moon, and planets out in space where they would be 100 years and 1000 years from now. We have to know this so we won't send a satellite, up and have it bump into something later on in its orbits. We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite, and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.

They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong either with the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out and they said, "What's wrong?"

Well, they found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair. There was no answer.

Finally, a Christian man on the team said, "You know, one time I was in Sunday School and they talked about the sun standing still." While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, "Show us."

He got a Bible and went back to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with "common sense." There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, "Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee."

Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy and if darkness fell they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That's right — "The sun stood still and the moon stayed — and hasted not to go down about a whole day!" (Joshua 10:12-13)

The astronauts and scientists said, "There is the missing day!"…

The story goes on to make additional corrections for the sun moving backwards (Isaiah 38:8)[1], and may include additional praises to God and exhortations to propagate the legend. Many different versions exist.

For the most part, the story of NASA’s Missing Day has been recognized as a hoax, or at least a parable, by fundamentalist Christian organizations [2]. Nevertheless, it continues to be reported as fact via chain-email and on a few serious web-sites.

[edit] Origins

According to creationist organization AnswersInGenesis who denounces the story as a myth, the story originates from Charles Totten's 1890 publication Joshua's Long Day and the Dial of Ahaz: A Scientific Vindication. AiG adds that Totten's book purports to prove that a day has gone missing in time, but it does not include the calculations used to deduce the finding [3].

James J. Lippard adds that the version of the myth involving NASA originated in 1960 by Harold Hill, who says he was present at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center when the above events allegedly took place [4].

[edit] Discussion

The story features a typical device of evangelistic legends: the Godless establishment getting comeuppance from a humble but pious believer. (cf. the Broken Chalk Legend)

Aside from NASA’s denial [5] of the story, the following points argue against its truth:

In the real world, no one would call for technical service on a computer when the data or the program is suspect. This facet of the story indicates that it is a fabrication by someone unfamiliar with the use of those complicated gizmos.

To predict orbits of most solar-system objects, it is not necessary to plot the orbits far back in time. Furthermore, highly accurate records of planetary positions go back only five hundred years or so; without additional data, it would be impossible to find “missing days” from the time of Joshua.

In the real world, even the idea of checking the Bible for help with a computer problem would seem absurd from the start. This is a bit of “character development” to indicate that the scientists are not ignorant of the Word, but have voluntarily rejected it.

There is probably little concern at NASA about satellites bumping into any large bodies, since satellites are rarely higher than 35,000 km or so. The nearest astronomical body is the Moon, which is at about ten times that distance. If Jupiter were to come 35,000 km from the earth, NASA would have bigger problems than a satellite being knocked out.