John Plaxton
John Plaxton | |
|---|---|
| Residence | Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Known for | Earth-based astronomy, Velikovskian catastrophism, Society for Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeoastronomy, catastrophism |
John Plaxton is a Canadian independent researcher based in Lethbridge, Alberta, who works in the fields of archaeoastronomy and catastrophism. He is associated with the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies (SIS), a research group that examines the catastrophist ideas of Immanuel Velikovsky and related theories of ancient planetary and cosmic upheaval.
Biography
Plaxton lives in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. He is an independent contributor to the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies, the British-based membership organization founded in 1974 to study modern catastrophism and the work of Immanuel Velikovsky. His research focuses on how proposed catastrophic events in Earth's past might be tested against the astronomical alignments preserved in ancient monuments.
Work
Plaxton's work applies computer simulation to questions of archaeoastronomy in the context of catastrophist theory. In the journal Chronology & Catastrophism Workshop, published by the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies, he authored the paper "Archaeoastronomical Simulations Assuming Crustal Rotation" (2013). The paper explores how an assumed shift or rotation of the Earth's crust would affect the sightlines and celestial alignments recorded at ancient archaeoastronomical sites, and models the resulting positions of astronomical bodies as they would have been observed from the Earth's surface. His approach reflects the broader interest of Velikovskian and catastrophist researchers in reconciling ancient astronomical observations with proposed changes to the Earth's orientation in space.