Lilith is the name given to a hypothetical second moon of Earth, about the same mass as the Earth's Moon, proposed by astrologer Walter Gornold (Sepharial) in 1918. Gornold claimed that Lilith was the same second moon that scientist Georg Waltemath claimed to have discovered at the turn of the century.^[1][2] Gornold also claimed to have seen Waltemath's moon and opined that it was dark enough to have escaped visual detection.^[3] However, Georg Waltemath's proposed natural satellites had already been discredited by two Austrian Astronomers at the turn of the century.

Gornold took the name Lilith from medieval Jewish legend, where she is described as the first wife of Adam.^[4]

[edit] History

In 1898, Hamburg scientist Dr. Georg Waltemath announced he had located a second moon^[5] inside a system of tiny moons orbiting the Earth.^[6] However, after the failure of a corroborating observation of this invisible moon by the scientific community, the idea of a second moon was discredited. In 1918, astrologer Walter Gornold, also known as Sepharial, claimed to have confirmed the existence of a second moon. He named it Lilith and believed it to be the same moon Waltemath claimed to have observed. Sepharial affirmed that Lilith was indeed invisible for most of the time but claimed to have viewed it as it crossed the sun.^[3] The majority of scientists object to these theories, pointing out that any second moon of the Earth would have been seen by now.^[7] There are many readily apparent holes in the arguments supporting Lilith's existence (not least of which is her defiance of the laws of gravity), and the existence of this astronomical object is believed only by fringe groups.

The asteroid 1181 Lilith, discovered in 1927 by astronomer Benjamin Jekhowsky, is not the same body, but is only similar in name.

[edit] See also

• Other moons of Earth
• Lost asteroids

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Earth's Second Moon, 1846-present
• A detailed explanation of secondary moon theories