PHOTO: Zeta Reticuli Star Map

Zeta Reticuli Star Map

Star Map of Zeta Reticuli -- the likeliest to be inhabited planetary objects closest to Earth (about 57 light years away, IIRC).

© The Weirding, 2018

Watch Worlds in Collision: Immanuel Velikovsky Streaming Free

Velikovsky's Worlds in Collision

Immanuel Velikovsky is largely unknown today, though he rose to fame in the '60s and '70s for his 1950 work, Worlds in Collision.  A resurgence of casual interest in comparative mythology and Catastrophist theory in the 1970s was somewhat derisively termed Velikovskyism (it has also been applied to theories that attempt to rectify ancient tales and legends with scientific evidence).

The popularity of the questions he raised prompted inquiries by major scientific organizations, and became such a spectacle that it was its own scientific event, examined in "The Velikovsky Affair." Velikovsky's work and theories were vociferously mocked throughout the established scientific community well into the mid-1980s, but supporters still exist despite his "debunking."

Immanuel Velikovsky died in 1979, but the theories he proposed so captured the interest of both the public and the scientific community, that they continue to be debated.  Worlds in Collision remains a hot topic in some discussions.

Many of Immanuel Velikovsky's unpublished works are also available online.

© The Weirding, 2016

Antikythera Mechanism Solved?

Antikythera Mechanism - AP

Speaking from a conference at the Katerina Laskaridis Historical Foundation Library in Greece, researchers claim to have made great strides in determining what the 2100+ year-old Antikythera Mechanism was used for.

Discovered in a shipwreck off of Crete in 1900, the Antikythera Mechanism was long thought to have been used in some manner for Astronomical and Astrological means. Similar devices are mentioned in ancient texts. But researchers have been able to use modern technology to read the Greek text on the mechanism, some of which is merely ¹/₂₀^th an inch wide.

According to a team of scientists who have worked on this for decades, the Antikythera Mechanism was not only used to determine the position of the moon, sun, and stars, but to predict lunar and solar eclipses. Interestingly, one of its functions may have been to predict the color of these eclipses, although the reasoning behind this is unknown.

The team also said that it appears the Antikythera Mechanism was manufactured by at least two people, maybe more, and was not the work of a single individual.

© The Weirding, 2016

White Spots on Mars

L.J. Wilson of Nashville, TN reported having seen several white spots on the face of Mars in 1911.  The spots were seen near the region of Hesperia.  The account was carried by the magazine, Nature.

In December of 1911, a Prof. Luther of the Dusseldorf Observatory claimed to have witnessed "half of the disc of Mars nearest the Moon" turn green.  The Professor theorized it must have been due to a lunar event, but made no claims beyond that.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Skyquakes - The Moodus Phenomenon

The Moodus phenomena is a now satisfactorily explained curiosity which had perplexed men for ages. Explained variously as "cracks" in the distance, cannon fire, or soft thunderclaps seeming to originate from the air itself, author Jerome Clark termed them simply "skyquakes," and their history stretches back at least as far as the 16^th-Century (recorded, anyway).

The Moodus phenomena was well-noted around Connecticut (where they were termed the Moodus Noises), as well as in India, New Jersey, and elsewhere across the world. American Indian legends attributed these "skyquakes" to evil spirits, while God-fearing, white settlers blamed the Indians for summoning devils. Some investigators in the 20^th-Century even attributed skyquakes to UFO activity. 

American frontiersmen, Lewis and Clark experienced the Moodus Noises!

But research conducted in the 1980s determined that the Moodus phenomena is actually the result of small earthquakes in the area occurring close to the surface. The noises originate from underground, although scientists are not entirely certain how or why the sound travels the way it does.

Skyquakes can be more than just noise: 

In 1888, Moodus Noises rang the church bell in Salem, Massachusetts. For six months from 1977 to the summer of 1978, Americans heard "booms" up and down the East Coast. Government agencies investigated and determined that about ¹/₃ of the noises could be attributed to aircraft; the rest remain unexplained, but are assumed to be the periodic Moodus phenomena, or "skyquakes."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Mars Hoax

According to some news sources, an e-mail is circulating which claims that Mars will be "as large as the full moon" tonight (August 27^th, 2010) and tonight only: "NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN," the e-mail concludes. The e-mail sounds so plausible because it is, in fact, true... except that the August 27^th Mars event happened in 2003.

Yes, Mars did come as close to the Earth as it has in some 60,000 years (!), but it never appeared "as large as the moon," nor will it ever. Actually, tonight, Mars will be as far away from our planet as it gets, as its orbit around the sun is longer than that of Earth's.

Live Science says the e-mail circulates every year and has, since 2003.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Have a Nice Day

Australians spent a pleasant night beneath a giant smiley face in the sky. Thanks to a rare planetary alignment between Venus and Jupiter, the crescent moon beneath formed a smiley in Australian skies. The event was not visible to US or European skygazers.

A similar alignment was visible to the naked eye in 1998, when a sad face formed. Rightly so, some astrologists would note, as the last decade has sucked; maybe this bodes well for coming times?

The next time the three will be similarly aligned is 2036.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Is There Anybody Out There?

Social networking site, Bebo, held their A Message from Earth competition, from which 501 photos, drawings, and text messages were chosen to be transmitted to a planet some 20 light years from Earth.

A radio-telescope in the Ukraine, normally used to track asteroids, was used to transmit the content to the planet, though possibly capable of sustaining life.  Organizers hope the binary "package" will reach Gliese 581C by 2029.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Meteorite Impact Discovered in Scotland

Researchers believe they have discovered the site where a crater may have hit the Scotland Isles some 1.2 billion years ago.

Unexplained rock formations in the area were previously thought to have been caused by volcanic activity, but the lack of a volcano puzzled investigators. Clinical analysis of some of the surrounding rock discovered the presence of the element, iridium, most often associated with extra-terrestrial activity. 

While collecting the evidence was an arduous and time-consuming task, researchers eventually came to the conclusion that the all the baffling evidence could mean only one thing: A meteorite struck the British Isles a little over a billion years ago!

The only other impact site in the area lay beneath the sea, and many question its origins.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Was Moses ON DOPE!?

An Israeli professor of cognitive psychology has forwarded the theory that Moses may have been under the influence of hallucinogens when he saw the burning bush and received the Ten Commandments atop Mt. Sinai.

Benny Shanon mentioned his own psychedelic experiences, taken as part of religious ceremonies, which led to religious-based hallucinations and allowed him to "see sound."  He also noted that the use of psychedelics in religious ceremonies is a time-honored tradition in many religions around the world.  In fact, concoctions made from the bark of the acacia tree, oft-mentioned in The Bible, have hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of ayahuasca, an hallucinogen still in use in religious ceremonies in the Amazon.

Like the acacia, ayahuasca is a plant with hallucinogenic properties.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Mt. Sinai is listed as "E 101st St, New York, NY 10029, USA" because Israel's current borders are rightfully unrecognized by the entire world outside of the US MIC (and Israel).  This may be the address of AIPAC/religious -backed, legal representatives.  Mt. Sinai absolutely never existed in North America; it is located in disputed areas in the Middle East.  I just had to include this to point-out the incredible overreach of the US military industrial complex (operating in this case under the name Google, Ltd.) and its continued terrorist activities.  That is fucking crazy. - 2018

One Dead Star

Ah, Astrophysics. Infinitely fascinating, but I would so be lying if I said I understood much of it.

Scientists have discovered what they call a "neutron star" high above our galaxy, which they have named Calvera. They are uncertain what kind of neutron star it is. As one scientist puts it, "Either Calvera is an unusual example of a known type of neutron star, or it is some new type of neutron star, the first of its kind." There are seven other known neutron stars, which are often called The Magnificent Seven within the scientific community. Calvera was the name of the villain in said movie.

A neutron star is apparently a heavenly body which has gone supernova some time in the past and lost their outer layers, forming a supernova remnant. The center of the star collapses under gravity, causing protons and electrons to form neutrons - hence the name.

I could go on and on, but like I said, I don't know much about this stuff, so I'll refer you instead to the BBC article.

Oldest Galaxies Found?

Astronomers have announced that they may have found light from what are thought to be the oldest stars in the universe. They say they knew exactly where to look, as well as the specific zoom lenses they needed to use, and have had the stars in their sights for nearly two years now. They have tested and retested their results and are no confident their assessment is correct, though they admit their will be skeptics. The entire findings have taken some three years’ of painstaking work.

Perhaps the most important findings of this study are that, since the scientists involved were focused on such a small area of the sky, these galaxies must be very numerous.

- Source: BBC

NASA Visiting Asteroids

NASA will launch the Dawn Mission from Cape Canaveral on July 7th. This mission will visit two of the largest asteroids nearby, Ceres and Vesta. It will touch down on the former in 2011 and then the latter in 2015.

Ceres was recently upgraded to "dwarf planet" - the same classification as Pluto (though Pluto's status seems to be in a constant state of flux, as late). It is thought to have a layer of ice at least 40 miles deep, and possibly up to 80, beneath its rocky surface. Vesta is void of water and appears to have been resurfaced by ancient lava flows.

The mission's objectives are:

• study internal structure and density
• determine size, composition, shape and mass
• examine surface features and craters
• understand the role of water in controlling asteroid evolution

American Ice Age?

Scientists have found evidence across North America suggesting there was some kind of cosmic explosion around 13,000 years ago which may have wiped-out the first Stone Age culture and created the Laurentide Ice sheet, which covered thousands of square miles of North America.

They think the explosion may have occurred in the atmosphere or the ice sheet may have erased the crater.  The evidence they do have will be revealed at a meeting in Mexico later this week, but includes the fact that layers of sediment in over 20 North American locations contain "exotic" materials, such as nanodiamonds, tiny spheres of glass and carbon, and levels of iridium too high to have come from Earth.  This would have brought about the period known as the Younger Dryas.

This event is thought to have caused the extinction of the giant land mammals, including the giant sloth and the woolly mammoth.

Out of This World! - Super-Earth, France Releases X-Files, Hawking Flies

There's been a flurry of activity in and around our atmosphere this week and I didn't have the time to document it all as it happened, so I collected me a buncha these bookmarks and now I'm gonna lay it all down for you:

• Scientists have discovered a "super-Earth" near the Gliese star about 20.5 light-years from the Libra Constellation.  This is unrelated to the planet recently discovered in the Pegasus Constellation which they claim may also have water.  According to researchers, models suggest the planet should either be mountainous or oceanic.  The exoplanet is the smallest they've discovered yet and has been given the name, Gliese 581 C.
• France launched a website on which it has organized some 50+ years' worth of UFO (called ONVIs in France) reports, including scanned police reports.  The server crashed hours after the announcement due to high traffic.  The CNES handles over 1500 UFO or ONVI cases annually.  About 25% of these are labeled "Class D," meaning there is no official explanation.  About 10% of the total cases result in on-site investigations.
• Science maven, Stephen Hawking, went 0-G for up to 4 minutes yesterday in the "vomit comet."  He is hoping to go into space in 2009, when Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic starts.   It will take private citizens into space for a hefty sum -- about $200k!

© C Harris Lynn, 2007-08