Introduction
Most people believe that earth revolves around the sun. Even though the sun is at the center of our solar system, can it be that the earth does not really revolve in an orbit?
The answer to this, and many other questions, lies in revolutionary discoveries by Howard Lawrence Schriefer in pursuit of a Unified Theory of the universe.
Even though earth rapidly circles the sun, the sun is traveling at a more rapid rate through space. The dynamic relationship of earth and the sun in our galaxy results in a corkscrew path of earth through space, with the path of the sun at the axis of the corkscrew.
Evidence
The orbital speed of earth with respect to the sun is an orbital path of 18.51miles/sec. However, the sun is traveling around the center of our galaxy at roughly 150miles/sec. Such a speed is fast enough to travel across the United States in 20seconds. The path of the sun is so large that a circuit around our galaxy is believed to take 220million years. Remember that the sun is dragging earth and the other planets along with it. The illustration at left is a simplified top view of our galaxy with sun and rotation indicated.
Logic
The sun is traveling around the center of the galaxy at 150miles/sec while veering radially outward at 12miles/sec. As earth travels parallel with the sun's circumferential path, earth's speed is 18.5mps + 150mps = 168.5mps, while going the same direction as the sun; and, 150mps - 18.5mps = 131.5mps when running counter to the sun's path. When earth crosses in front of the sun, it travels at 18.5mps + 12mps = 30.5mps. When earth crosses behind the sun, it travels at 18.5mps - 12mps = 6.5mps. One way to visualize the path of earth through space is to think of viewing a horseman, from above, in an arena. The horseman is riding rapidly while circling himself with a lasso. Earth travels a path through space similar to the knot of the lasso.
Significance
The earth path is therefore oscillatory about the sun, alternately ahead and then behind, with greatly variable velocity. Of course, there is also a third dimension of motion variation of the earth because the planes of sun travel and earth travel are not parallel. The earth's path therefore results as a corkscrew rather than a two-dimensional oscillation.
