The Creation of the Universe
This paper will go over the creation of the universe. There are many theories about this
issue. I will briefly summarize a few of them, and then give whatever evidence is available for or
against each.
There are many theories regarding the creation of the universe, for example, there is an
ancient Egyptian legend that says that Osiris Khepera created himself out of a dark, boundless ocean
called "Nu". Then out of this ocean, he created the universe. I will be writing about these theories:
The Big Bang theory is what most people believe, also there is a theory called "Steady State", which
is the opposite of the Big Bang theory. There is the theory of an "Oscillating Universe", which is sort
of a compromise between the Big Bang theory, and the Steady State theory. There is also the
religious theory, in which God created everything.
There are a lot of different theories regarding the creation of the universe. It is a very
controversial topic, because most theories don't follow the story of Genesis in the bible. There is the
"Big Bang" theory, the "Steady State" theory, and the religious theory. The theory that best explains
creation is the Big Bang theory,
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Solar Oven
SOLAR OVEN
Why it will work:
It will work because the cold air under the box will be separated by
four (4) wood pegs. The black, non-glossy paint will attract heat, rather
than reflect it. The glass, double panel, will allow heat to pass through, but
not allow it to escape. The charcoal cubes and shavings will absorb the heat
in the box and store the excess heat allowing the flow to continuously warm
the oven. The tin foil will reflect heat and subsequently heat up the oven.
The polyurethane material will trap the heat inside the oven. The mirrors
will help the heat stay inside the box.
Materials used:
Shoe Box
Tin Foil
Sheets of Glass
Charcoal Cubes and Shavings
Scissors
Glue
Knives
Polyurethane
Non-Glossy, Black Spay Paint
Four (4) Wood Pegs
Mirrors
Sealer
Why it will work:
It will work because the cold air under the box will be separated by
four (4) wood pegs. The black, non-glossy paint will attract heat, rather
than reflect it. The glass, double panel, will allow heat to pass through, but
not allow it to escape. The charcoal cubes and shavings will absorb the heat
in the box and store the excess heat allowing the flow to continuously warm
the oven. The tin foil will reflect heat and subsequently heat up the oven.
The polyurethane material will trap the heat inside the oven. The mirrors
will help the heat stay inside the box.
Materials used:
Shoe Box
Tin Foil
Sheets of Glass
Charcoal Cubes and Shavings
Scissors
Glue
Knives
Polyurethane
Non-Glossy, Black Spay Paint
Four (4) Wood Pegs
Mirrors
Sealer
Copernicus
Copernicus' work on planetary motion stood an a very high mathematical level for his times. His
theory explained how all the celestial bodies move around the Sun. It took Nicolaus 30 years of mathematical research to form a theory about planetary motion. The three most popular instruments which Copernicus used were quadrant, armilla, and triquetrum. All furnish some measure of the position of the heavenly body. It took an endless amount of mathematical calculations to come up with the Copernicus' theory. He had to find out how fast the Earth spins around the Sun, and how far the Sun is. He also had to calculate the length of the orbit of the Earth. People use math in every walk of life. In our days everything is related to math, and Copernicus used his knowledge of mathematics to provide the human kind with an important discovery.
Only a small amount of people are interested in Copernicus' work. If it wasn't for Copernicus' love of scientific truth, the people would not know that the Earth spins around the Sun, and not the other way around. That's way we should live with the knowledge that someone spent 30 years researching and finding the truth, and that man was Nicolaus Copernicus.
theory explained how all the celestial bodies move around the Sun. It took Nicolaus 30 years of mathematical research to form a theory about planetary motion. The three most popular instruments which Copernicus used were quadrant, armilla, and triquetrum. All furnish some measure of the position of the heavenly body. It took an endless amount of mathematical calculations to come up with the Copernicus' theory. He had to find out how fast the Earth spins around the Sun, and how far the Sun is. He also had to calculate the length of the orbit of the Earth. People use math in every walk of life. In our days everything is related to math, and Copernicus used his knowledge of mathematics to provide the human kind with an important discovery.
Only a small amount of people are interested in Copernicus' work. If it wasn't for Copernicus' love of scientific truth, the people would not know that the Earth spins around the Sun, and not the other way around. That's way we should live with the knowledge that someone spent 30 years researching and finding the truth, and that man was Nicolaus Copernicus.
Asteroid Defense
Asteroid Defense
When it comes down to developing a way to defend the entire planet from destruction I am all for it. A large asteroid or comet hitting the earth is not a common occurrence. But it has happened many times before and when it does happen again the asteroid may wipe out all life, including humans. If our government did develop an anti-asteroid defense system, it would not only have to protect our country, but the whole planet.
If we had such technology we would first have to be very sure it would work.
We wouldn't want to shoot a nuclear weapon at an asteroid just to have it break into multiple pieces and have those pieces raining down on Earth. One of the most important parts of defending our planet would be to find and chart every asteroid that could threaten us. That would be a very tedious and never ending job, but is necessary for the defense system to work. It would do us humans no good to have some sort of defense against asteroids if we don't know when they will strike.
So after thinking about an anti-asteroid defense system, I think that our government should look into constructing one. When one thinks about what an asteroid could do to our planet it is usually a very scary thought. In the past we have been very lucky with where asteroids have hit our earth. Back in 1908 in the Tunguska region of Siberia, an object from space hit there causing miles of forest to be devastated. If that same object had hit New York, it would have probably been like a 20 megaton bomb going off in Times Square. That would have completely altered history. What makes it worse is that it is thought that a small comet hit in Tunguska. What if a huge comet had hit there? These examples are very good reasons why I think that humankind needs to come up with a way to stop asteroids or any other type of object that could kill off all life on earth.
When it comes down to developing a way to defend the entire planet from destruction I am all for it. A large asteroid or comet hitting the earth is not a common occurrence. But it has happened many times before and when it does happen again the asteroid may wipe out all life, including humans. If our government did develop an anti-asteroid defense system, it would not only have to protect our country, but the whole planet.
If we had such technology we would first have to be very sure it would work.
We wouldn't want to shoot a nuclear weapon at an asteroid just to have it break into multiple pieces and have those pieces raining down on Earth. One of the most important parts of defending our planet would be to find and chart every asteroid that could threaten us. That would be a very tedious and never ending job, but is necessary for the defense system to work. It would do us humans no good to have some sort of defense against asteroids if we don't know when they will strike.
So after thinking about an anti-asteroid defense system, I think that our government should look into constructing one. When one thinks about what an asteroid could do to our planet it is usually a very scary thought. In the past we have been very lucky with where asteroids have hit our earth. Back in 1908 in the Tunguska region of Siberia, an object from space hit there causing miles of forest to be devastated. If that same object had hit New York, it would have probably been like a 20 megaton bomb going off in Times Square. That would have completely altered history. What makes it worse is that it is thought that a small comet hit in Tunguska. What if a huge comet had hit there? These examples are very good reasons why I think that humankind needs to come up with a way to stop asteroids or any other type of object that could kill off all life on earth.
Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and was born in 348 B.C. He studied under another philopsopher Plato and later tutored Alexander the Great at the Macedonian court. In 335 B.C. he opened a school in the Athenian Lyceum. During the anti-macedonian agitation after Alexander's death Aristotle fled to Chalcis where he later died in 322 B.C. His extant writings, largely in the form of lecture notes made by his students, include the Organum (treatises of logic); Physics; Metaphysics; De Anima (on the soul); Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics; Politics: De Poetica: Rhetoric; and works biology and physics. Aristotle held philosophy to be the the discerning, through the use of systematic logic as expressed in Syllogisms, of the self-evident, changeless first principles that form the basis of all knowledge. He taught that knowledge of a thing requires an inquiry into causality and that the "final cause"-the purpose or function of the thing-is primary.
This is a direct quote from his works (translated):
"The highest good for the individual is the complete exercise of the specifically human function of rationality. In contrast to the Platonic belief that a concrete reality partakes of a from but does not embody it with the exception of the Prime Mover (God), form has no separate existence but is immanent in matter."
Aristotle's work was lost following the decline of the Roman Empire but was reintroduced to the West through the work of Arab and Jewish scholars, becoming the basis of medieval scholasticism.
In my opinion Aristotle was one of the greatest and most important of the philosophers and scientists of the world's history.
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and was born in 348 B.C. He studied under another philopsopher Plato and later tutored Alexander the Great at the Macedonian court. In 335 B.C. he opened a school in the Athenian Lyceum. During the anti-macedonian agitation after Alexander's death Aristotle fled to Chalcis where he later died in 322 B.C. His extant writings, largely in the form of lecture notes made by his students, include the Organum (treatises of logic); Physics; Metaphysics; De Anima (on the soul); Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics; Politics: De Poetica: Rhetoric; and works biology and physics. Aristotle held philosophy to be the the discerning, through the use of systematic logic as expressed in Syllogisms, of the self-evident, changeless first principles that form the basis of all knowledge. He taught that knowledge of a thing requires an inquiry into causality and that the "final cause"-the purpose or function of the thing-is primary.
This is a direct quote from his works (translated):
"The highest good for the individual is the complete exercise of the specifically human function of rationality. In contrast to the Platonic belief that a concrete reality partakes of a from but does not embody it with the exception of the Prime Mover (God), form has no separate existence but is immanent in matter."
Aristotle's work was lost following the decline of the Roman Empire but was reintroduced to the West through the work of Arab and Jewish scholars, becoming the basis of medieval scholasticism.
In my opinion Aristotle was one of the greatest and most important of the philosophers and scientists of the world's history.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Your Bones in Space
============================================================================== Your Bones in Space ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCE SIG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hypogravitational Osteoporosis: A review of literature. By Lambert Titus Parker. May 19 1987. (GEnie Spaceport) Osteoporosis: a condition characterized by an absolute decrease in the amount of bone present to a level below which it is capable of maintaining the structural integrity of the skeleton. To state the obvious, Human beings have evolved under Earth's gravity "1G". Our musculoskeleton system have developed to help us navigate in this gravitational field, endowed with ability to adapt as needed under various stress, strains and available energy requirement. The system consists of Bone a highly specialized and dynamic supporting tissue which provides the vertebrates its rigid infrastructure. It consists of specialized connective tissue cells called osteocytes and a matrix consisting of organic fibers held together by an organic cement which gives bone its tenacity, elasticity and its resilience. It also has an inorganic component located in the cement between the fibers consisting of calcium phosphate [85%]; Calcium carbonate [10%] ; others [5%] which give it the hardness and rigidity. Other than providing the rigid infrastructure, it protects vital organs like the brain], serves as a complex lever system, acts as a storage area for calcium which is vital for human metabolism, houses the bone marrow within its mid cavity and to top it all it is capable of changing its architecture and mass in response to outside and inner stress. It is this dynamic remodeling of bone which is of primary interest in microgravity. To feel the impact of this dynamicity it should be noted that a bone remodeling unit [a coupled phenomena of bone reabsorption and bone formation] is initiated and another finished about every ten seconds in a healthy adult. This dynamic system responds to mechanical stress or lack of it by increasing the bone mass/density or decreasing it as per the demand on the system. -eg; a person dealing with increased mechanical stress will respond with increased mass / density of the bone and a person who leads a sedentary life will have decreased mass/density of bone but the right amount to support his structure against the mechanical stresses she/she exists in. Hormones also play a major role as seen in postmenopausal females osteoporosis (lack of estrogens) in which the rate of bone reformation is usually normal with the rate of bone re-absorption increased. In Skeletal system whose mass represent a dynamic homeostasis in 1g weight- bearing,when placed in microgravity for any extended period of time requiring practically no weight bearing, the regulatory system of bone/calcium reacts by decreasing its mass. After all, why carry all that extra mass and use all that energy to maintain what is not needed? Logically the greatest loss -demineralization- occurs in the weight bearing bones of the leg [Os Calcis] and spine. Bone loss has been estimated by calcium-balance studies and excretion studies. An increased urinary excretion of calcium , hydroxyproline & phosphorus has been noted in the first 8 to 10 days of microgravity suggestive of increased bone re-absorption. Rapid increase of urinary calcium has been noted after takeoff with a plateau reached by day 30. In contrast, there was a steady increase off mean fecal calcium throughout the stay in microgravity and was not reduced until day 20 of return to 1 G while urinary calcium content usually returned to preflight level by day 10 of return to 1G. There is also significant evidence derived primarily from rodent studies that seem to suggest decreased bone formation as a factor in hypogravitational osteoporosis. Boy Frame,M.D a member of NASA's LifeScience Advisory Committee [LSAC] postulated that "the initial pathologic event after the astronauts enter zero gravity occurs in the bone itself, and that changes in mineral homeostasis and the calcitropic hormones are secondary to this. It appears that zero gravity in some ways stimulate bone re-absorption, possibly through altered bioelectrical fields or altered distribution of tension and pressure on bone cells themselves. It is possible that gravitational and muscular strains on the skeletal system cause friction between bone crystals which creates bioelectrical fields. This bioelectrical effect in some way may stimulate bone cells and affect bone remodeling." In the early missions, X-ray densitometry was used to measure the weight-bearing bones pre & post flight. In the later Apollo, Skylab and Spacelab missions Photon absorptiometry (a more sensitive indicator of bone mineral content) was utilized. The results of these studies indicated that bone mass [mineral content] was in the range of 3.2% to 8% on flight longer than two weeks and varying directly with the length of the stay in microgravity. The accuracy of these measurements have been questioned since the margin of error for these measurements is 3 to 7% a range being close to the estimated bone loss. Whatever the mechanism of Hypogravitational Osteoporosis, it is one of the more serious biomedical hazard of prolonged stay in microgravity. Many forms of weight loading exercises have been tried by the astronauts & cosmonauts to reduce the space related osteoporosis. Although isometric exercises have not been effective, use of Bungee space suit have shown some results. However use of Bungee space suit [made in such a way that everybody motion is resisted by springs and elastic bands inducing stress and strain on muscles and skeletal system] for 6 to 8 hrs a day necessary to achieve the desired effect are cumbersome and require significant workload and reduces efficiency thereby impractical for long term use other than proving a theoretical principle in preventing hypogravitational osteoporosis. Skylab experience has shown us that in spite of space related osteoporosis humans can function in microgravity for six to nine months and return to earth's gravity. However since adults may rebuild only two-third of the skeletal mass lost, even 0.3 % of calcium loss per month though small in relation to the total skeletal mass becomes significant when Mars mission of 18 months is contemplated. Since adults may rebuild only two-thirds of the skeletal mass lost in microgravity, even short durations can cause additive effects. This problem becomes even greater in females who are already prone to hormonal osteoporosis on Earth. So far several studies are under way with no significant results. Much study has yet to be done and multiple experiments were scheduled on the Spacelab Life Science [SLS] shuttle missions prior to the Challenger tragedy. Members of LSAC had recommended that bone biopsies need to be performed for essential studies of bone histomorphometric changes to understand hypogravitational osteoporosis. In the past, astronauts with the Right Stuff had been resistant and distrustful of medical experiments but with scientific personnel with life science training we should be able to obtain valid hard data. [It is of interest that in the SLS mission, two of the mission specialists were to have been physicians, one physiologist and one veterinarian.] After all is said, the problem is easily resolved by creation of artificial gravity in rotating structures. However if the structure is not large enough the problem of Coriolis effect must be faced. To put the problem of space related osteoporosis in perspective we should review our definition of Osteoporosis: a condition characterized by an absolute decrease in the amount of bone present to a level below which it is capable of maintaining the structural integrity of the skeleton. In microgravity where locomotion consists mostly of swimming actions with stress being exerted on upper extremities than lower limbs resulting in reduction of weight bearing bones of lower extremities and spine which are NOT needed for maintaining the structural integrity of the skeleton. So in microgravity the skeletal system adapts in a marvelous manner and problem arises only when this microgravity adapted person need to return to higher gravitational field. So the problem is really a problem of re-adaptation to Earth's gravity. To the groups wanting to justify space related research: Medical expense due to osteoporosis in elderly women is close to 4 billion dollars a year and significant work in this field alone could justify all space life science work. It is the opinion of many the problem of osteoporosis on earth and hypogravity will be solved or contained, and once large rotating structures are built the problem will become academic. For completeness sake: Dr. Graveline, at the School of Aerospace Medicine, raised a litter of mice on a animal centrifuge simulating 2G and compared them with a litter mates raised in 1G. "They were Herculean in their build, and unusually strong...." reported Dr.Graveline. Also X-ray studies showed the 2G mice to have a skeletal density to be far greater than their 1G litter mates.
What are NEOs
NEAR EARTH OBJECTS
What are NEOs? Where do they come from? Do they pose any real threat to
Earth? Can they provide viable space resources? All of these questions are now under investigation by planetary scientist. There are two highly recognized research programs that I will discuss with you. The Spaceguard program is sponsored and run by NASA Ames Space Science Division: Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazard. Also under the direction of Dr. Tom Gehrels the University of Arizona has the Spacewatch program.
NEOs can be either asteroid or comets. Ninety percent of the information that I came across discussed asteroids. Therefore, I will concentrate on asteroids alone. I'm not fully knowledgeable on the subject but I did learn a great deal.
What are NEOs? The "Webster's New World Dictionary" states, "Any of the small planets between Mars and Jupiter". The "Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia from Infopedia" states, "One of the many small or minor planets that are members of the solar system and that move in elliptical orbits primarily between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter".
Where dot they come from? The NEOs are small objects (<7 miles) with a range of compositions spanning all common asteroid types. They are derived from a mixture of main-belt collisional fragments and burned-out short-period comets. According to Dr. Tom Gehrels of the University of Arizona Spacewatch program, "The total number of NEOs over 100 meters is estimated to be about 100,000, with 150 or so currently known".
Do they pose any real threat to Earth? The Earth orbits the Sun in sort of a cosmic shooting gallery, subject to impacts from asteroids. It is only fairly recent that we have come to appreciate that these impacts by asteroids pose a significant hazard to life and property. Although the annual probability of the Earth being struck by a large asteroid is extremely small, the consequences of such a collision are so devastating that it is prudent to assess the nature of the threat and prepare to deal with it.
Studies have shown that the risk from a cosmic impact increases with the size of the projectile. The greatest risk is associated with objects large enough to perturb the Earth's climate on a global scale by injecting large quantities of dust into the stratosphere. Such an event could depress temperatures around the globe, leading to massive loss of food crops and possible breakdown of society. Global catastrophes are qualitatively different from other more common hazards that we face (except nuclear war), because of their potential effect on the entire planet and its population.
Various studies have suggested that the minimum mass impacting body to produce such global consequences is several ten of billions of tons, resulting in a groundburst explosion with energy in the vicinity if a million megatons of TNT. The diameter for Earth-crossing asteroids are between 1 3/5 and 3 1/4 miles. Smaller objects (down to 32 feet in diameter) can cause severe local damage but pose no global threat.
According to Spaceguard, "Of approximately 200 Earth-crossing asteroids, fewer that 200 have actually been discovered. At present no asteroid is known to be on a collision course with the Earth. David Morrison of the NASA Spaceguard Research Center states, "The chances of a collision within the next century with an object 1 3/5 mile in diameter or more are very small (less than 1 in a 100). But, such a collision is possible and could happen at any time. If we did have sufficient warning, however, the incoming object could be deflected or destroyed". Cosmic impacts are the only known natural disaster that could be avoided entirely by the appropriate application of space technology.
The Spacewatch telescope located on Kitt Peak is used to survey for moving objects, including asteroids whose orbits approach or cross the orbit of the Earth. Among these are asteroids that may someday be used as sources of raw materials. Spacewatch uses a Charg-Coupled Device or (CCD) and an automated computer program to discover NEOs.
`The Spacewatch Observatory has already detected one of the smallest asteroids known, and also the one that passed very close to Earth, the Apollo asteroid 1991 BA. The semi-automatic Spacewatch system at the University of Arizona has considerably increased the discovery rate, and will have profound consequences on the utility of NEOs as near-Earth space resources.
What are NEOs? Where do they come from? Do they pose any real threat to
Earth? Can they provide viable space resources? All of these questions are now under investigation by planetary scientist. There are two highly recognized research programs that I will discuss with you. The Spaceguard program is sponsored and run by NASA Ames Space Science Division: Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazard. Also under the direction of Dr. Tom Gehrels the University of Arizona has the Spacewatch program.
NEOs can be either asteroid or comets. Ninety percent of the information that I came across discussed asteroids. Therefore, I will concentrate on asteroids alone. I'm not fully knowledgeable on the subject but I did learn a great deal.
What are NEOs? The "Webster's New World Dictionary" states, "Any of the small planets between Mars and Jupiter". The "Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia from Infopedia" states, "One of the many small or minor planets that are members of the solar system and that move in elliptical orbits primarily between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter".
Where dot they come from? The NEOs are small objects (<7 miles) with a range of compositions spanning all common asteroid types. They are derived from a mixture of main-belt collisional fragments and burned-out short-period comets. According to Dr. Tom Gehrels of the University of Arizona Spacewatch program, "The total number of NEOs over 100 meters is estimated to be about 100,000, with 150 or so currently known".
Do they pose any real threat to Earth? The Earth orbits the Sun in sort of a cosmic shooting gallery, subject to impacts from asteroids. It is only fairly recent that we have come to appreciate that these impacts by asteroids pose a significant hazard to life and property. Although the annual probability of the Earth being struck by a large asteroid is extremely small, the consequences of such a collision are so devastating that it is prudent to assess the nature of the threat and prepare to deal with it.
Studies have shown that the risk from a cosmic impact increases with the size of the projectile. The greatest risk is associated with objects large enough to perturb the Earth's climate on a global scale by injecting large quantities of dust into the stratosphere. Such an event could depress temperatures around the globe, leading to massive loss of food crops and possible breakdown of society. Global catastrophes are qualitatively different from other more common hazards that we face (except nuclear war), because of their potential effect on the entire planet and its population.
Various studies have suggested that the minimum mass impacting body to produce such global consequences is several ten of billions of tons, resulting in a groundburst explosion with energy in the vicinity if a million megatons of TNT. The diameter for Earth-crossing asteroids are between 1 3/5 and 3 1/4 miles. Smaller objects (down to 32 feet in diameter) can cause severe local damage but pose no global threat.
According to Spaceguard, "Of approximately 200 Earth-crossing asteroids, fewer that 200 have actually been discovered. At present no asteroid is known to be on a collision course with the Earth. David Morrison of the NASA Spaceguard Research Center states, "The chances of a collision within the next century with an object 1 3/5 mile in diameter or more are very small (less than 1 in a 100). But, such a collision is possible and could happen at any time. If we did have sufficient warning, however, the incoming object could be deflected or destroyed". Cosmic impacts are the only known natural disaster that could be avoided entirely by the appropriate application of space technology.
The Spacewatch telescope located on Kitt Peak is used to survey for moving objects, including asteroids whose orbits approach or cross the orbit of the Earth. Among these are asteroids that may someday be used as sources of raw materials. Spacewatch uses a Charg-Coupled Device or (CCD) and an automated computer program to discover NEOs.
`The Spacewatch Observatory has already detected one of the smallest asteroids known, and also the one that passed very close to Earth, the Apollo asteroid 1991 BA. The semi-automatic Spacewatch system at the University of Arizona has considerably increased the discovery rate, and will have profound consequences on the utility of NEOs as near-Earth space resources.
UFOs Are Real
"Little Green Men", "Martians", "Outer Limits" ! That is what people think about
when aliens and UFOs come to mind. Aliens have been around, as far as we can see,
since 1561. The question is now asked, How come because they [UFOs] have been
sighted, encountered, and taken hostage; Why have we been kept in the dark by our
governments? "Since UFOs were considered a security risk, the report on these sightings
was originally classified as secret (Kadrey 22)." The name 'flying saucer' was 'coined' by
a Air Force pilot in 1947, when he stated that he had saw something that looked like a
'flying saucer'. "The government knew about UFOs and have been tracking them since
1947, which is to be believed when the 'Age of UFOs' started (Stacey 55). So, through the
next pages the theory that UFOs are real because of evidence the government has covered
up, the number of sightings, and the uncountable number of abductions, will become a
reality.
The first reason that is going to be addressed, is the secrecy and Government
coverup of UFOs.
"National Security Agency, or NSA, an acronym often assumed by insiders to
mean 'NEVER SAY ANYTHING' , (Stacey 40) " has been blamed for millions of UFO
governmental cover-ups around the nation. "Our problem is with government secrecy,
because it widens the gap between citizens and the government, making it much more
difficult to participate in the democratic process (Stacey 40)," says Steven Aftergood
while addressing UFO secrecy. The UFO enigma, or as it is formerly know as the
"'Cosmic Watergate' : the ongoing cover-up of the government's knowledge about
extraterrestrial UFOs and their terrestrial activities (Stacey 36)" is believed to be started
during the Nixon administration, which is still under alot of scrutiny. The Nixon
Administration also established the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] in the 1970s', it
opened the door to alot of truth and more coverups. " I don't think they would do a 300-
page report on everything they detect," says Joe Stefula who is a UFO researcher. The
"military would far rather have people blame such things on flying saucers than them
(Brookesmith 14). "
Several secret UFO Projects have proven the existence of UFOs. One of the more
popular ones was 'Project Blue Book' which "was organized by the Air Force. "The panel
employed a number of scientists, including phycists, engineers, meteorlogists, and an
astronomer. It had three main goals : 1) To explain all reported sightings of UFOs. 2) To
decide if UFOs posed a threat to the national security of the United States. 3) And to
determine whether UFOs were using any advanced technology that the Unted States
could use ( Kadrey 25 ) ." Another less popular two were also organized, 'Project Moon
Dust' and 'Project Blue Fly'. Project(s) Moon Dust and Blue Fly was "efforts aimed at
retrieving man-made space objects that re-enter the atmosphere and crash (Kadrey 38)."
Even with all this evidence, the authorities often "dismiss such experiences with
desperate 'rational explanations' ranging from 'spots before the eyes' to 'fireflies'. and that
old stand-by 'hallucinations' (Brookesmith 21) ."
Although, not all UFOs are UFOs to the government. Such things as weather
balloons, pie plates, and Venus have been proven to cause people to see things, but it still
does not give bearing for what is out there and the numerous life witnesses of
extraterrestrials. The UFO enigma is "the most 'well-kept and explosive secret in world
history (Stacey 36). "
The next issue that is going to be covered to prove the existence of UFOs is
Sightings of UFOs.
'Flying Saucers' , 'fireballs' , or 'Unidentified Flying Objects '. Whatever the name,
people just seem to exactly know what your saying. A private pilot named Kenneth
Arnold "spotted nine weird, cresent-shaped disks flashing through the air as he was flying
over the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, USA. Accounts of Arnold's experience
were flashed around the world by the news media, and triggered a wave of 'flying saucer'
reports across the United States. By 4 July 1947, there had been sightings in every state
but Georgia and West Virginia; by 16 July 1947, the United States Army Air Forces had
received over eight-hundred fifty reports. (Brookesmith 19)" Then the 'Age of UFOs' was
born on 24 June 1947. Although, "many other UFO sightings turned out to be such
objects as weather balloons, satellites, aircraft lights, or formations of birds (Kadrey 24),
" it still does not give light to all of the other sightings that do not turn out to be such
things.
"Its only when 'Venus' suddenly executes an abrupt right-angle or divides into two
smaller lights that streak away at high speed that we find our attention attracted and
realize we may, in fact, be in the middle of a UFO sighting (Huyghe 50)." "During World
War II, especially after 1943, there were many reports of balls of light, varying in color
and in size from several feet to a few inches across, flying in pursuit of warplanes.
Because these 'fireballs' never attacked aircraft, Allied pilots assumed they were enemy
inventions - either reconnaissance drones or psychological - warfare weapons. When
captured enemy aircrew were interrogated it became clear that both German and
Japanese fliers had also been pursued by 'Foo Fighters'. The same phenomenon was also
reported during the Korean War, between 1950 and 1953 (Brookesmith 17). " Although,
"many UFO sightings have dated back from the year 1561 (Jueneman 25). Many people
still believe that something is out there and also it seems like the egyptians had too, it has
been proven that the egyptians may have thought 'aliens' to be 'gods'.
Its 6:05 A.M. on the morning of 6 February 1966 at Nederland, Texas. Three
witnesses witnessed a famous UFO event for approximately five minutes. The primary
witness described the event, "the neighboorhood has lit up in a red glow. My first thought
was that a police car was parked nearby or a fire truck. I called to my wife that something
must be wrong in the neighboorhood and to come and see. Suddenly I realized the light
was coming from overhead [Fig. 1 ] . I looked up andsaw the outline of an object moving
out past the pitch of my roof, approximately two-hundred fifty to five-hundred feet high.
The red glow was coming from beneath the object, about center. It appeared as a stream
of light coming from inside a hole (Huyghe "UFO Crime Lab" 60)." Many UFOs are
described such as this. Is it a UFO or something else? Remember, a UFO is only a UFO if
not explained.
"On the same day, but at 11:50 A.M., five technicians, including a Colonel and a
Major, were watching two P-82 and an A-26 aircraft conduct an ejection-seat experiment
at 20, 000 feet (6100 meters). They viewed a circular object, a color of aluminum, and at
first "resembled a 'parachute canopy' come into view. The ejection-seat canopy opened
30 seconds later. The UFO, clearly nearer to the ground, descended three times faster
than the parachute, rotating or oscillating. The men noted no smoke, flame, propellar
arcs, engine noise, or other means of propulsion. The UFO reacheaced ground level and
then rose again (Brookesmith 19)," this clearly states either UFOs are more more
advanced or are not UFOs, but secret military project 'screwups', that would raither have
people like us blame things on extraterrestrials; just so they don't look stupid.
The next topic that is going to be covered is the alien abductions and government
encounters with them.
"During the period of 1969-1971, MJ-12 representing the U.S. Government made
a deal with these creatures, called EBEs (Extraterrestrial Biological Entities, named by
Delev Bronk, original MJ-12 member and 6th President of Johns Hopkins University).
The 'deal' was that in exchange for 'technology' that they would provide to us, we agreed
to 'ignore' the abductions that were going on and suppress information on the cattle
mutilations. The EBEs assured MJ-12 that the abductions (usually lasting about 2 hours)
were merely the ongoing monitoring of developing civilizations.
In fact, the purposes for the abductions turned out to be:
(1) The insertion of a 3mm spherical device through the nasal cavity of the
abductee into the brain; the device is used for the biological monitoring, tracking, and
control of the abductee.
(2) Implementation of Posthypnotic Suggestion to carry out a specific activity
during a specific time period, the actuation of which will occur within the next 2 to 5
years.
(3) Termination of some people so that they could function as living sources for
biological material and substances.
(4) Termination of individuals who represent a threat to the continuation of their
activity.
(5) Effect genetic engineering experiments.
(6) Impregnation of human females and early termination of pregnancies to
secure the crossbreed infant.
The U.S. Government was not initially aware of the far reaching consequences of
their 'deal'. They were led to believe that the abductions were essentially benign and since
they figured the abductions would probably go on anyway whether they agreed or not,
they merely insisted that a current list of abductees be submitted, on a periodic basis, to
MJ-12 and the National Security Council. Does this sound incredible? An actual list of
abductees sent to the National Security Council? Read on, because I have news for you.
The EBEs have a genetic disorder in that their digestive system is atrophied and
not functional. Some speculate that they were involved in some type of accident or
nuclear war, or possibly on the back side of an evolutionary genetic curve. In order to
sustain themselves they use an enzyme or hormonal secretion obtained from the tissue
that they extract from humans and animals. (Note: Cows and Humans are genetically
similar. In the event of a national disaster, cow's blood can be used by humans.)
The secretions obtained are then mixed with hydrogen peroxide and applied on
the skin by spreading or dipping parts of their bodies in the solution. The body absorbs
the solution, then excretes the waste back through the skin. The cattle mutiliations that
were prevalent throughout the period from 1973 to 1983 and publicly noted through
newspaper and magazine stories and included a documentary produced by Linda Hoew
for the Denver CBS affiliate KMGH-TV, were for the collection of these tissues by the
aliens. The mutiliations included genitals taken, rectums cored out to the colon, eyes,
tongue, and throat all surgically removed with extreme precision. In some cases the
incisions were made by cutting between the cells, a process we are not yet capable of
performing in the field. In many of the mutilations there was no blood found at all in the
carcass, yet there was no vascular collapse of the internal organs.
The various parts of the body are taken to various underground laboratories, one
of which is known to be near the small New Mexico town of Dulce. This jointly occupied
(CIA-Alien) facility has been described as enormous, with huge tiled walls that 'go on
forever'. Witnesses have reported huge vats filled with amber liquid with parts of human
bodies being stirred inside.
During the period between 1979 and 1983 it became increasingly obvious to MJ-
12 that things were not going as planned. It became known that many more people (in the
thousands) were being abducted than were listed on the official abduction lists. In
addtion it became obvious that some, not all, but some of the nation's missing children
had been used for secretions and other parts required by the aliens.
By 1984, MJ-12 must have been in stark terror at the mistake they had made in
dealing with the EBEs. They had subtly promoted Close Encounters of the Third Kind
and E.T. to get the public used to 'odd looking' aliens that were compassionate,
benevolent and very much our 'space brothers'. MJ-12 'sold' the EBEs to the public, and
were now faced with the fact that quite the opposite was true. In addition, a plan was
formulated in 1968 to make the public aware of the existence of aliens on earth over the
next 20 years to be culminated with several documentaries to be realeased during 1985-
1987 period of time. These documentarieswould explain the history and intentions of the
EBEs. The discovery of the 'Grand Deception' put the entire plans, hopes and dreams of
MJ-12 into utter confusion and panic.
Meeting at the 'Country Club', a remote lodge with private golf course,
comfortable sleeping and working quarters, and its own private airstrip built by and
exclusively for the members of MJ-12, it was a factional fight of what to do now. Part of
MJ-12 wanted to confess the whole scheme and shambles it had become to the public,
beg their forgiveness and ask for their support. The other part (and majority ) of MJ-12
argued that there was no way they could do that, that the situation was untenable and
there was no use in exciting the public with the 'horrible truth' and that the best plan was
to continue the development of a weapon that could be used against the EBEs under the
guise of 'SDI'. the Strategic Defense Initiative, which had nothin whatsoever to with a
defense for inbound Russian nuclear missles. (Brookesmith 112 and 113) "
Although, this did not stop the the EBEs. A woman named Myrna Hansen and her
six-year old son are a good example of the EBEs power.
"Driving home on a road near Cimarron once evening in the spring of 1980, 28-
year old Myna Hansen and her six-year old saw five UFOs descending into a cow pasture.
Until hypnotically regressed, she had confused memories of a close encounter, and could
not account for a period of 'missing time' of some four hours. She was regressed in
sessions held between 11 May and 3 June by Dr. Leo Sprinkle, in the company of Dr.
Paul Bennewitz, an electronics engineer who was also an investigator for the Aerial
Phenomena Research Organization.
According to Ms. Hansen's accounts under hypnosis, two white-suited figures
emerged from one of the UFOs and mutilated one of the cows in the field, while it was
alive, with an 18-inch (45 cm)-long knife. She remonstrated with them, and she and her
son were captured and taken to seperate ships. She continued to resist but was undressed
and given a physical examination, including a (censor) probe that reportedly later
produced a sever infection.
The procedure was interrupted by what appeared to be a tail, jaundiced human,
who apologized and ordered the aliens punished. He then took Ms. Hansen on a tour of
this and possible some other UFOs. The last seems to have taken flight, as she was next
led out into a landscape that at one point she believed she recognized as being west of
Las Cruces, and at another had the impression was near Roswell. Here she was taken into
an underground base, where she managed to escape briefly. She found herself in a room
full of what appeared to be water tanks, and was horrified to discover they were vats in
which were floating human body parts, including an arm that had an hand attached to it.
Ms. Hansen was then dragged out of this area, and she and her son were both put
through a further painful process involving loud noises and blinding lights. before being
taken back aboard the UFO and flown (with her car also aboard) back to the site of the
abduction. (Brookesmith 108) "
In conclusion, I believe that UFOs, Aliens, EBEs, or whatever you call them; do
have the key to our future in the existence of mankind. Although, secret pacts with our
governments may not exactly get what we want, we can fight back. Lets jump back for a
second and ask ourselves a question now: What if we were in the same predicament,
wouldn't we want ourselves to be healthy too, and take what we need? If we look at the
aliens actions from their perspective, what they are doing is exactly what we are doing to
ourselves by destroying the o-zone layer. So why can't they do the same to us? I feel that
the thesis to prove the existence of UFOs as stated that Government coverups do pose a
threat to the truth and national security of our country, UFO sightings and abductions do
pose a threat at this time and we must be ready at all odds to expose the Government and
The aliens.
The End.
èÒø‰Fú‰Vü&lsqauo;Fü
FútJ&lsqauo;Fú&lsqauo;Vü%
when aliens and UFOs come to mind. Aliens have been around, as far as we can see,
since 1561. The question is now asked, How come because they [UFOs] have been
sighted, encountered, and taken hostage; Why have we been kept in the dark by our
governments? "Since UFOs were considered a security risk, the report on these sightings
was originally classified as secret (Kadrey 22)." The name 'flying saucer' was 'coined' by
a Air Force pilot in 1947, when he stated that he had saw something that looked like a
'flying saucer'. "The government knew about UFOs and have been tracking them since
1947, which is to be believed when the 'Age of UFOs' started (Stacey 55). So, through the
next pages the theory that UFOs are real because of evidence the government has covered
up, the number of sightings, and the uncountable number of abductions, will become a
reality.
The first reason that is going to be addressed, is the secrecy and Government
coverup of UFOs.
"National Security Agency, or NSA, an acronym often assumed by insiders to
mean 'NEVER SAY ANYTHING' , (Stacey 40) " has been blamed for millions of UFO
governmental cover-ups around the nation. "Our problem is with government secrecy,
because it widens the gap between citizens and the government, making it much more
difficult to participate in the democratic process (Stacey 40)," says Steven Aftergood
while addressing UFO secrecy. The UFO enigma, or as it is formerly know as the
"'Cosmic Watergate' : the ongoing cover-up of the government's knowledge about
extraterrestrial UFOs and their terrestrial activities (Stacey 36)" is believed to be started
during the Nixon administration, which is still under alot of scrutiny. The Nixon
Administration also established the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] in the 1970s', it
opened the door to alot of truth and more coverups. " I don't think they would do a 300-
page report on everything they detect," says Joe Stefula who is a UFO researcher. The
"military would far rather have people blame such things on flying saucers than them
(Brookesmith 14). "
Several secret UFO Projects have proven the existence of UFOs. One of the more
popular ones was 'Project Blue Book' which "was organized by the Air Force. "The panel
employed a number of scientists, including phycists, engineers, meteorlogists, and an
astronomer. It had three main goals : 1) To explain all reported sightings of UFOs. 2) To
decide if UFOs posed a threat to the national security of the United States. 3) And to
determine whether UFOs were using any advanced technology that the Unted States
could use ( Kadrey 25 ) ." Another less popular two were also organized, 'Project Moon
Dust' and 'Project Blue Fly'. Project(s) Moon Dust and Blue Fly was "efforts aimed at
retrieving man-made space objects that re-enter the atmosphere and crash (Kadrey 38)."
Even with all this evidence, the authorities often "dismiss such experiences with
desperate 'rational explanations' ranging from 'spots before the eyes' to 'fireflies'. and that
old stand-by 'hallucinations' (Brookesmith 21) ."
Although, not all UFOs are UFOs to the government. Such things as weather
balloons, pie plates, and Venus have been proven to cause people to see things, but it still
does not give bearing for what is out there and the numerous life witnesses of
extraterrestrials. The UFO enigma is "the most 'well-kept and explosive secret in world
history (Stacey 36). "
The next issue that is going to be covered to prove the existence of UFOs is
Sightings of UFOs.
'Flying Saucers' , 'fireballs' , or 'Unidentified Flying Objects '. Whatever the name,
people just seem to exactly know what your saying. A private pilot named Kenneth
Arnold "spotted nine weird, cresent-shaped disks flashing through the air as he was flying
over the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, USA. Accounts of Arnold's experience
were flashed around the world by the news media, and triggered a wave of 'flying saucer'
reports across the United States. By 4 July 1947, there had been sightings in every state
but Georgia and West Virginia; by 16 July 1947, the United States Army Air Forces had
received over eight-hundred fifty reports. (Brookesmith 19)" Then the 'Age of UFOs' was
born on 24 June 1947. Although, "many other UFO sightings turned out to be such
objects as weather balloons, satellites, aircraft lights, or formations of birds (Kadrey 24),
" it still does not give light to all of the other sightings that do not turn out to be such
things.
"Its only when 'Venus' suddenly executes an abrupt right-angle or divides into two
smaller lights that streak away at high speed that we find our attention attracted and
realize we may, in fact, be in the middle of a UFO sighting (Huyghe 50)." "During World
War II, especially after 1943, there were many reports of balls of light, varying in color
and in size from several feet to a few inches across, flying in pursuit of warplanes.
Because these 'fireballs' never attacked aircraft, Allied pilots assumed they were enemy
inventions - either reconnaissance drones or psychological - warfare weapons. When
captured enemy aircrew were interrogated it became clear that both German and
Japanese fliers had also been pursued by 'Foo Fighters'. The same phenomenon was also
reported during the Korean War, between 1950 and 1953 (Brookesmith 17). " Although,
"many UFO sightings have dated back from the year 1561 (Jueneman 25). Many people
still believe that something is out there and also it seems like the egyptians had too, it has
been proven that the egyptians may have thought 'aliens' to be 'gods'.
Its 6:05 A.M. on the morning of 6 February 1966 at Nederland, Texas. Three
witnesses witnessed a famous UFO event for approximately five minutes. The primary
witness described the event, "the neighboorhood has lit up in a red glow. My first thought
was that a police car was parked nearby or a fire truck. I called to my wife that something
must be wrong in the neighboorhood and to come and see. Suddenly I realized the light
was coming from overhead [Fig. 1 ] . I looked up andsaw the outline of an object moving
out past the pitch of my roof, approximately two-hundred fifty to five-hundred feet high.
The red glow was coming from beneath the object, about center. It appeared as a stream
of light coming from inside a hole (Huyghe "UFO Crime Lab" 60)." Many UFOs are
described such as this. Is it a UFO or something else? Remember, a UFO is only a UFO if
not explained.
"On the same day, but at 11:50 A.M., five technicians, including a Colonel and a
Major, were watching two P-82 and an A-26 aircraft conduct an ejection-seat experiment
at 20, 000 feet (6100 meters). They viewed a circular object, a color of aluminum, and at
first "resembled a 'parachute canopy' come into view. The ejection-seat canopy opened
30 seconds later. The UFO, clearly nearer to the ground, descended three times faster
than the parachute, rotating or oscillating. The men noted no smoke, flame, propellar
arcs, engine noise, or other means of propulsion. The UFO reacheaced ground level and
then rose again (Brookesmith 19)," this clearly states either UFOs are more more
advanced or are not UFOs, but secret military project 'screwups', that would raither have
people like us blame things on extraterrestrials; just so they don't look stupid.
The next topic that is going to be covered is the alien abductions and government
encounters with them.
"During the period of 1969-1971, MJ-12 representing the U.S. Government made
a deal with these creatures, called EBEs (Extraterrestrial Biological Entities, named by
Delev Bronk, original MJ-12 member and 6th President of Johns Hopkins University).
The 'deal' was that in exchange for 'technology' that they would provide to us, we agreed
to 'ignore' the abductions that were going on and suppress information on the cattle
mutilations. The EBEs assured MJ-12 that the abductions (usually lasting about 2 hours)
were merely the ongoing monitoring of developing civilizations.
In fact, the purposes for the abductions turned out to be:
(1) The insertion of a 3mm spherical device through the nasal cavity of the
abductee into the brain; the device is used for the biological monitoring, tracking, and
control of the abductee.
(2) Implementation of Posthypnotic Suggestion to carry out a specific activity
during a specific time period, the actuation of which will occur within the next 2 to 5
years.
(3) Termination of some people so that they could function as living sources for
biological material and substances.
(4) Termination of individuals who represent a threat to the continuation of their
activity.
(5) Effect genetic engineering experiments.
(6) Impregnation of human females and early termination of pregnancies to
secure the crossbreed infant.
The U.S. Government was not initially aware of the far reaching consequences of
their 'deal'. They were led to believe that the abductions were essentially benign and since
they figured the abductions would probably go on anyway whether they agreed or not,
they merely insisted that a current list of abductees be submitted, on a periodic basis, to
MJ-12 and the National Security Council. Does this sound incredible? An actual list of
abductees sent to the National Security Council? Read on, because I have news for you.
The EBEs have a genetic disorder in that their digestive system is atrophied and
not functional. Some speculate that they were involved in some type of accident or
nuclear war, or possibly on the back side of an evolutionary genetic curve. In order to
sustain themselves they use an enzyme or hormonal secretion obtained from the tissue
that they extract from humans and animals. (Note: Cows and Humans are genetically
similar. In the event of a national disaster, cow's blood can be used by humans.)
The secretions obtained are then mixed with hydrogen peroxide and applied on
the skin by spreading or dipping parts of their bodies in the solution. The body absorbs
the solution, then excretes the waste back through the skin. The cattle mutiliations that
were prevalent throughout the period from 1973 to 1983 and publicly noted through
newspaper and magazine stories and included a documentary produced by Linda Hoew
for the Denver CBS affiliate KMGH-TV, were for the collection of these tissues by the
aliens. The mutiliations included genitals taken, rectums cored out to the colon, eyes,
tongue, and throat all surgically removed with extreme precision. In some cases the
incisions were made by cutting between the cells, a process we are not yet capable of
performing in the field. In many of the mutilations there was no blood found at all in the
carcass, yet there was no vascular collapse of the internal organs.
The various parts of the body are taken to various underground laboratories, one
of which is known to be near the small New Mexico town of Dulce. This jointly occupied
(CIA-Alien) facility has been described as enormous, with huge tiled walls that 'go on
forever'. Witnesses have reported huge vats filled with amber liquid with parts of human
bodies being stirred inside.
During the period between 1979 and 1983 it became increasingly obvious to MJ-
12 that things were not going as planned. It became known that many more people (in the
thousands) were being abducted than were listed on the official abduction lists. In
addtion it became obvious that some, not all, but some of the nation's missing children
had been used for secretions and other parts required by the aliens.
By 1984, MJ-12 must have been in stark terror at the mistake they had made in
dealing with the EBEs. They had subtly promoted Close Encounters of the Third Kind
and E.T. to get the public used to 'odd looking' aliens that were compassionate,
benevolent and very much our 'space brothers'. MJ-12 'sold' the EBEs to the public, and
were now faced with the fact that quite the opposite was true. In addition, a plan was
formulated in 1968 to make the public aware of the existence of aliens on earth over the
next 20 years to be culminated with several documentaries to be realeased during 1985-
1987 period of time. These documentarieswould explain the history and intentions of the
EBEs. The discovery of the 'Grand Deception' put the entire plans, hopes and dreams of
MJ-12 into utter confusion and panic.
Meeting at the 'Country Club', a remote lodge with private golf course,
comfortable sleeping and working quarters, and its own private airstrip built by and
exclusively for the members of MJ-12, it was a factional fight of what to do now. Part of
MJ-12 wanted to confess the whole scheme and shambles it had become to the public,
beg their forgiveness and ask for their support. The other part (and majority ) of MJ-12
argued that there was no way they could do that, that the situation was untenable and
there was no use in exciting the public with the 'horrible truth' and that the best plan was
to continue the development of a weapon that could be used against the EBEs under the
guise of 'SDI'. the Strategic Defense Initiative, which had nothin whatsoever to with a
defense for inbound Russian nuclear missles. (Brookesmith 112 and 113) "
Although, this did not stop the the EBEs. A woman named Myrna Hansen and her
six-year old son are a good example of the EBEs power.
"Driving home on a road near Cimarron once evening in the spring of 1980, 28-
year old Myna Hansen and her six-year old saw five UFOs descending into a cow pasture.
Until hypnotically regressed, she had confused memories of a close encounter, and could
not account for a period of 'missing time' of some four hours. She was regressed in
sessions held between 11 May and 3 June by Dr. Leo Sprinkle, in the company of Dr.
Paul Bennewitz, an electronics engineer who was also an investigator for the Aerial
Phenomena Research Organization.
According to Ms. Hansen's accounts under hypnosis, two white-suited figures
emerged from one of the UFOs and mutilated one of the cows in the field, while it was
alive, with an 18-inch (45 cm)-long knife. She remonstrated with them, and she and her
son were captured and taken to seperate ships. She continued to resist but was undressed
and given a physical examination, including a (censor) probe that reportedly later
produced a sever infection.
The procedure was interrupted by what appeared to be a tail, jaundiced human,
who apologized and ordered the aliens punished. He then took Ms. Hansen on a tour of
this and possible some other UFOs. The last seems to have taken flight, as she was next
led out into a landscape that at one point she believed she recognized as being west of
Las Cruces, and at another had the impression was near Roswell. Here she was taken into
an underground base, where she managed to escape briefly. She found herself in a room
full of what appeared to be water tanks, and was horrified to discover they were vats in
which were floating human body parts, including an arm that had an hand attached to it.
Ms. Hansen was then dragged out of this area, and she and her son were both put
through a further painful process involving loud noises and blinding lights. before being
taken back aboard the UFO and flown (with her car also aboard) back to the site of the
abduction. (Brookesmith 108) "
In conclusion, I believe that UFOs, Aliens, EBEs, or whatever you call them; do
have the key to our future in the existence of mankind. Although, secret pacts with our
governments may not exactly get what we want, we can fight back. Lets jump back for a
second and ask ourselves a question now: What if we were in the same predicament,
wouldn't we want ourselves to be healthy too, and take what we need? If we look at the
aliens actions from their perspective, what they are doing is exactly what we are doing to
ourselves by destroying the o-zone layer. So why can't they do the same to us? I feel that
the thesis to prove the existence of UFOs as stated that Government coverups do pose a
threat to the truth and national security of our country, UFO sightings and abductions do
pose a threat at this time and we must be ready at all odds to expose the Government and
The aliens.
The End.
èÒø‰Fú‰Vü&lsqauo;Fü
FútJ&lsqauo;Fú&lsqauo;Vü%
The Tragic Challanger Explosion
The Tragic Challenger Explosion
Space Travel. It is a sense of national pride for many Americans. If you ask anyone who
was alive at the time, they could probably tell you exactly where they were when they
heard that Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the Moon. But all of the success
in our space programs is overshadowed by tragedy. On January 28, 1986, one of the worst
disasters in our space program's history occurred. Many people were watching at the
moment because it was the highly televised space mission where, for the first time, a
civilian was a member of the crew that was to be shot into space. This civilian was the
winner of the "Teacher in Space" contest, Christa McAuliffe. The disaster: the explosion
of the Space Shuttle Challenger. (Compton's 1) Many people thought that disaster couldn't
strike because a civilian was on board. But as the whole nation found out, nobody is
immortal. By examining this further, we will look at the lives of the seven who died in this
dumbfounding calamity, take a look at exactly what went wrong during this fateful mission,
and the outcome from this sorrowful occurrence.
First, who exactly were those astronauts that died on the Challenger? Sharon Christa
Corrigan McAuliffe, born in 1948, was the famous winner of the teacher-in-space
program, was a high school teacher at Concord, N. H., a wife, and a mother of two
children. She touched the lives of all those she knew and taught. As a school official in
Concord said after her death, "To us, she seemed average. But she turned out to be
remarkable. She handled success so beautifully." She also wanted everyone to learn
more, including herself. Demonstrating her aspirations after entering the space program,
she is quoted saying, "What are we doing here? We're reaching for the stars." Also, after
reflecting on her position, she said in August 1995, "I touch the future, I teach (Gray 32)."
Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, born in 1948, was a tremendous enthusiast for aviation and the
space program. At 18 years old, he enlisted in the Air Force. While working as a
mechanic in the service, he put himself through night school, eventually earning a degree in
aerospace engineering that helped him become an officer and a pilot. He loved flying.
Scobee once observed, :You know, it's a real crime to be paid for a job that I have so much
fun doing." On one of his space missions, he carried a banner made for him by students at
Auburn High, his old high school. It read "TROJANS FLY HIGH WITH SCOBEE."
School officials announced after the tragic explosion that the banner would be put on
display to remind others at Auburn High that other seemingly ordinary students can too fly
high. (Gray 33)
Judith Resnik, born 1949, had a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. She was very ambitious
and loved everything. She once said, "I want to do everything there is to be done." Being
chosen for the space program gave her the opportunity to meet a few self-described
personal goals:
"To learn a lot about quite a number of different technologies; to be able to use them
somehow, to do something that required a concerted team effort and, finally, a great
individual effort (Gray 33)."
She had said once, when asked, about the dangers of the space program, "I think something
is only dangerous if you are not prepared for it or if you don't have control over it or if you
can't think through how to get yourself out of a problem." For Resnik, danger was simply
another unknown to be mastered.
Ronald McNair, born in 1950, was the second black man in space. He was truly
remarkable growing up in his segregated South Carolina school. He was remembered by
those he knew as "one who was always looking to the clouds." Jesse Jackson, one of his
collage classmate's at N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University said McNair saw
participation in the space program as "the highest way he could contribute to the system
that gave him so much." McNair did think much of the space program. He once said, "The
true courage of space flight comes from enduring . . . persevering and believing in oneself
(page 34)."
Michael Smith, born in 1945, always had his head in the clouds. At the age of 16, he
soloed in a single-engine Aeronca. After the U.S. put its first astronaut into space in 1961,
Smith decided that was where he wanted to be. His older brother said, "In high school he
paid a lot of attention to academics because he knew that was the best way to get in." He
also thought much of the space program. He once said, "Everybody looks at flying the
shuttle as something dangerous. But it's not. It's a good program, and something the
country should be proud of (Gray 34)."
Ellison Onizuka, born in 1946, became an instant hero to both the Hawaiians and the
Japanese Americans because he was the first member of either group to fly in space. He
was one who was always fascinated by the vastness of outer space and spend a lot of time
studying it. When he was young, he spent much of his time examining the universe through
a telescope at Honolulu's Bishop Museum. He also said before the Challenger launch, "I'll
be looking at Halley's comet. They tell me I'll have on of the best views around (Gray
35)." His family always looked favorably upon his achievement. After the tragedy, his
mother remembered that "Ellison always had it in his mind to become an astronaut, but was
too embarrassed to tell anyone. When he was growing up, there were no Asian astronauts,
no black astronauts, just white ones (Gray 35)." Ellison will be forever remembered as
being the first Japanese American in space.
Finally, the last member of the seven person crew, Gregory Jarvis, born in 1944. Gregory
was very dedicated to the space program. Despite being bumped off two previous flights,
he finally got his chance. Unfortunately, his only flight was that of the Challenger. It is
very saddening to see seven bright lives vanish in a ball of fire, but it is said that the
explosion was so rapid that the crew did not realize their coming fate. (Gray 35) Perhaps
we can all take comfort in the fact that their last vision was that of the stars.
Now, many people haven't heard exactly what went wrong to cause such an explosion.
(Dumoulin, 1-2) The Challenger finally launched after five days of delays. On January 28,
1986, the morning of the launch, there was ice at Kennedy Space Center. After an
inspection crew gave the go-ahead, the launch was underway. Just after liftoff at .678
seconds into the flight, photographic data show a strong puff of gray smoke was spurting
from the vicinity of the aft field joint on the right solid rocket booster. Computer graphic
analysis of film from pad cameras indicated the initial smoke came from the 270 to 310-
degree sector of the circumference of the aft field joint of the right solid rocket booster.
This area of the solid booster faces the External Tank. The vaporized material streaming
from the joint indicated there was not complete sealing action within the joint. Eight more
distinctive puffs of increasingly blacker smoke were recorded between .836 and 2.500
seconds. The smoke appeared to puff upwards from the joint. While each smoke puff was
being left behind by the upward flight of the Shuttle, the next fresh puff could be seen near
the level of the joint. The multiple smoke puffs in this sequence occurred at about four
times per second, approximating the frequency of the structural load dynamics and resultant
joint flexing. As the Shuttle increased its upward velocity, it flew past the emerging and
expanding smoke puffs. The last smoke was seen above the field joint at 2.733 seconds.
The black color and dense composition of the smoke puffs suggest that the grease, joint
insulation and rubber O-rings in the joint seal were being burned and eroded by the hot
propellant gases. At approximately 37 seconds, Challenger encountered the first of several
high-altitude wind shear conditions, which lasted until about 64 seconds. The wind shear
created forces on the vehicle with relatively large fluctuations. These were immediately
sensed and countered by the guidance, navigation and control system. The steering system
(thrust vector control) of the solid rocket booster responded to all commands and wind
shear effects. The wind shear caused the steering system to be more active than on any
previous flight. Both the Shuttle main engines and the solid rockets operated at reduced
thrust approaching and passing through the area of maximum dynamic pressure of 720
pounds per square foot. Main engines had been throttled up to 104 percent thrust and the
solid rocket boosters were increasing their thrust when the first flickering flame appeared
on the right solid rocket booster in the area of the aft field joint. This first very small flame
was detected on image enhanced film at 58.788 seconds into the flight. It appeared to
originate at about 305 degrees around the booster circumference at or near the aft field
joint. One film frame later from the same camera, the flame was visible without image
enhancement.
It grew into a continuous, well-defined plume at 59.262 seconds. At about the same time
(60 seconds), telemetry showed a pressure differential between the chamber pressures in
the right and left boosters. The right booster chamber pressure was lower, confirming the
growing leak in the area of the field joint. As the flame plume increased in size, it was
deflected rearward by the aerodynamic slipstream and circumferentially by the protruding
structure of the upper ring attaching the booster to the External Tank. These deflections
directed the flame plume onto the surface of the External Tank. This sequence of flame
spreading is confirmed by analysis of the recovered wreckage. The growing flame also
impinged on the strut attaching the solid rocket booster to the External Tank. The first
visual indication that swirling flame from the right solid rocket booster breached the
External Tank was at 64.660 seconds when there was an abrupt change in the shape and
color of the plume. This indicated that it was mixing with leaking hydrogen from the
External Tank. Telemetered changes in the hydrogen tank pressurization confirmed the leak.
Within 45 milliseconds of the breach of the External Tank, a bright sustained glow
developed on the black-tiled underside of the Challenger between it and the External Tank.
Beginning at about 72 seconds, a series of events occurred extremely rapidly that
terminated the flight. Telemetered data indicate a wide variety of flight system actions that
support the visual evidence of the photos as the Shuttle struggled futility against the forces
that were destroying it. At about 72.20 seconds the lower strut linking the solid rocket
booster and the External Tank was severed or pulled away from the weakened hydrogen
tank permitting the right solid rocket booster to rotate around the upper attachment strut.
This rotation is indicated by divergent yaw and pitch rates between the left and right solid
rocket boosters. At 73.124 seconds,. a circumferential white vapor pattern was observed
blooming from the side of the External Tank bottom dome. This was the beginning of the
structural failure of hydrogen tank that culminated in the entire aft dome dropping away.
This released massive amounts of liquid hydrogen from the tank and created a sudden
forward thrust of about 2.8 million pounds, pushing the hydrogen tank upward into the
intertank structure. At about the same time, the rotating right solid rocket booster impacted
the intertank structure and the lower part of the liquid oxygen tank. These structures failed
at 73.137 seconds as evidenced by the white vapors appearing in the intertank region.
Within milliseconds there was massive, almost explosive, burning of the hydrogen
streaming from the failed tank bottom and liquid oxygen breach in the area of the intertank.
At this point in its trajectory, while traveling at a Mach number of 1.92 at an altitude of
46,000 feet, the Challenger was totally enveloped in the explosive burn. The Challenger's
reaction control system ruptured and a hypergolic burn of its propellants occurred as it
exited the oxygen-hydrogen flames. The reddish brown colors of the hypergolic fuel burn
are visible on the edge of the main fireball. The Orbiter, under severe aerodynamic loads,
broke into several large sections which emerged from the fireball. Separate sections that
can be identified on film include the main engine/tail section with the engines still burning,
one wing of the Orbiter, and the forward fuselage trailing a mass of umbilical lines pulled
loose from the payload bay. The Explosion 73 seconds after liftoff claimed crew and
vehicle. Cause of explosion was determined to be an O-ring failure in right solid rocket
booster. Cold weather was a contributing factor.
Finally, what was the outcome of this terrible disaster? (Compton's, page 1) The shuttle
program was suspended until the exact cause could be found. It wasn't until September
1988 when the next shuttle launch happened. After many hours of investigating and finding
out what exactly caused the disaster, many changes were made to the structural designs of
the space shuttle. Also, they don't allow launches when the temperature is that low. Also,
the explosion delayed the now famous Hubble Telescope program (Church 38). We have
seen the tremendous photographs the Telescope has sent to Earth, it's a shame they couldn't
have been received sooner.
From a media standpoint, this disaster really changed the way television was used to report
major disasters. It may seem fairly common when Special Reports interrupt normal
programming, but in 1986, it was pretty unusual. In fact, ABC switchboards alone fielded
more than 1,200 complaints from people who wanted to watch soap operas rather than an
all-day report about the Challenger and the late breaking news related to it (Zoglin 42).
Television definitely had a tremendous impact on reporting this story. ABC Anchorman
Peter Jennings said, "We all shared in this experience in an instantaneous way because of
television. I can't recall any time or crisis in history when television has had such an
impact. (Zoglin 42)"
The disaster even affected President Reagan's State of the Union address. When asked
about the State of the Union speech, Reagan replied, "There could be no speech without
mentioning this, but you can't stop governing the nation because of a tragedy of this kind
(Magnuson 29)."
In conclusion, it is such a sad tragedy that this negligence led to such a disaster. If we
learn from our mistakes, then hopefully, this sort of disaster won't happen again.
Works Cited
"Space Shuttle Missions: Challenger." Compton's Encyclopedia of American History on
CD-ROM. Compton's New Media, Inc., 1994.
Morrow, Lance. "A Nation Mourns." Time 10 February 1986: 23.
Magnuson, Ed. "A Nation Mourns." Time 10 February 1986: 24-31.
Gray, Paul. "Seven Who Flew for All of Us." Time 10 February 1986: 32-35.
Friedrich, Otto. "Looking for What Went Wrong." Time 10 February 1986: 36-37.
Church, George J. "Putting the Future on Hold." Time 10 February 1986: 38-41.
Zoglin, Richard. "Covering the Awful Unexpected." Time 10 February 1986: 42-45.
Murphy, Jamie. "It Was Not the First Time." Time 10 February 1986: 45.
Dumoulin, Jim. "51-L" [Online] Available http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-
l/mission-51-l.html, October 5, 1996.
Annotated Bibliography
"Space Shuttle Missions: Challenger." Compton's Encyclopedia of American History
on CD-ROM. Compton's New Media, Inc., 1994.
This article gave a nice overview of the incident, but didn't really get detailed. It
helped me get a picture of what happened and what caused the failure. This is a secondary
source.
Morrow, Lance. "A Nation Mourns." Time 10 February 1986: 23.
This article gave a nice portrayal of what people felt while watching the launch on
television. This is a secondary source.
Magnuson, Ed. "A Nation Mourns." Time 10 February 1986: 24-31.
This article gave a good look at the National perspective of things after the
explosion. It also gave a good account of the memorial service. This is a secondary
source.
Gray, Paul. "Seven Who Flew for All of Us." Time 10 February 1986: 32-35.
This article gave me most of my report. It gave a nice description of the seven
astronauts that died on the shuttle. This is a secondary source.
Friedrich, Otto. "Looking for What Went Wrong." Time 10 February 1986: 36- 37.
This article gave an account of the theories that appeared afterwards about why the
shuttle exploded. It also told about the NASA press conference held afterwards. This is a
secondary source.
Church, George J. "Putting the Future on Hold." Time 10 February 1986: 38-41.
This article told about the setbacks to the space program that the explosion would
cause. It mainly told about the Hubble space telescope. This is a secondary source.
Zoglin, Richard. "Covering the Awful Unexpected." Time 10 February 1986: 42-45.
This article went to the media's perspective of covering the accident. It told about
how the three major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) spend their time covering the disaster.
This is a secondary source.
Murphy, Jamie. "It Was Not the First Time." Time 10 February 1986: 45.
This article told about previous disasters in the space programs of the United States
and Russia. This is a secondary source.
Dumoulin, Jim. "51-L" [Online] Available
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-l/mission-51-l.html, October 5, 1996.
This article from NASA also contributed a lot to my report. It is the official report
about the Challenger explosion. This is a primary source.
Space Travel. It is a sense of national pride for many Americans. If you ask anyone who
was alive at the time, they could probably tell you exactly where they were when they
heard that Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the Moon. But all of the success
in our space programs is overshadowed by tragedy. On January 28, 1986, one of the worst
disasters in our space program's history occurred. Many people were watching at the
moment because it was the highly televised space mission where, for the first time, a
civilian was a member of the crew that was to be shot into space. This civilian was the
winner of the "Teacher in Space" contest, Christa McAuliffe. The disaster: the explosion
of the Space Shuttle Challenger. (Compton's 1) Many people thought that disaster couldn't
strike because a civilian was on board. But as the whole nation found out, nobody is
immortal. By examining this further, we will look at the lives of the seven who died in this
dumbfounding calamity, take a look at exactly what went wrong during this fateful mission,
and the outcome from this sorrowful occurrence.
First, who exactly were those astronauts that died on the Challenger? Sharon Christa
Corrigan McAuliffe, born in 1948, was the famous winner of the teacher-in-space
program, was a high school teacher at Concord, N. H., a wife, and a mother of two
children. She touched the lives of all those she knew and taught. As a school official in
Concord said after her death, "To us, she seemed average. But she turned out to be
remarkable. She handled success so beautifully." She also wanted everyone to learn
more, including herself. Demonstrating her aspirations after entering the space program,
she is quoted saying, "What are we doing here? We're reaching for the stars." Also, after
reflecting on her position, she said in August 1995, "I touch the future, I teach (Gray 32)."
Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, born in 1948, was a tremendous enthusiast for aviation and the
space program. At 18 years old, he enlisted in the Air Force. While working as a
mechanic in the service, he put himself through night school, eventually earning a degree in
aerospace engineering that helped him become an officer and a pilot. He loved flying.
Scobee once observed, :You know, it's a real crime to be paid for a job that I have so much
fun doing." On one of his space missions, he carried a banner made for him by students at
Auburn High, his old high school. It read "TROJANS FLY HIGH WITH SCOBEE."
School officials announced after the tragic explosion that the banner would be put on
display to remind others at Auburn High that other seemingly ordinary students can too fly
high. (Gray 33)
Judith Resnik, born 1949, had a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. She was very ambitious
and loved everything. She once said, "I want to do everything there is to be done." Being
chosen for the space program gave her the opportunity to meet a few self-described
personal goals:
"To learn a lot about quite a number of different technologies; to be able to use them
somehow, to do something that required a concerted team effort and, finally, a great
individual effort (Gray 33)."
She had said once, when asked, about the dangers of the space program, "I think something
is only dangerous if you are not prepared for it or if you don't have control over it or if you
can't think through how to get yourself out of a problem." For Resnik, danger was simply
another unknown to be mastered.
Ronald McNair, born in 1950, was the second black man in space. He was truly
remarkable growing up in his segregated South Carolina school. He was remembered by
those he knew as "one who was always looking to the clouds." Jesse Jackson, one of his
collage classmate's at N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University said McNair saw
participation in the space program as "the highest way he could contribute to the system
that gave him so much." McNair did think much of the space program. He once said, "The
true courage of space flight comes from enduring . . . persevering and believing in oneself
(page 34)."
Michael Smith, born in 1945, always had his head in the clouds. At the age of 16, he
soloed in a single-engine Aeronca. After the U.S. put its first astronaut into space in 1961,
Smith decided that was where he wanted to be. His older brother said, "In high school he
paid a lot of attention to academics because he knew that was the best way to get in." He
also thought much of the space program. He once said, "Everybody looks at flying the
shuttle as something dangerous. But it's not. It's a good program, and something the
country should be proud of (Gray 34)."
Ellison Onizuka, born in 1946, became an instant hero to both the Hawaiians and the
Japanese Americans because he was the first member of either group to fly in space. He
was one who was always fascinated by the vastness of outer space and spend a lot of time
studying it. When he was young, he spent much of his time examining the universe through
a telescope at Honolulu's Bishop Museum. He also said before the Challenger launch, "I'll
be looking at Halley's comet. They tell me I'll have on of the best views around (Gray
35)." His family always looked favorably upon his achievement. After the tragedy, his
mother remembered that "Ellison always had it in his mind to become an astronaut, but was
too embarrassed to tell anyone. When he was growing up, there were no Asian astronauts,
no black astronauts, just white ones (Gray 35)." Ellison will be forever remembered as
being the first Japanese American in space.
Finally, the last member of the seven person crew, Gregory Jarvis, born in 1944. Gregory
was very dedicated to the space program. Despite being bumped off two previous flights,
he finally got his chance. Unfortunately, his only flight was that of the Challenger. It is
very saddening to see seven bright lives vanish in a ball of fire, but it is said that the
explosion was so rapid that the crew did not realize their coming fate. (Gray 35) Perhaps
we can all take comfort in the fact that their last vision was that of the stars.
Now, many people haven't heard exactly what went wrong to cause such an explosion.
(Dumoulin, 1-2) The Challenger finally launched after five days of delays. On January 28,
1986, the morning of the launch, there was ice at Kennedy Space Center. After an
inspection crew gave the go-ahead, the launch was underway. Just after liftoff at .678
seconds into the flight, photographic data show a strong puff of gray smoke was spurting
from the vicinity of the aft field joint on the right solid rocket booster. Computer graphic
analysis of film from pad cameras indicated the initial smoke came from the 270 to 310-
degree sector of the circumference of the aft field joint of the right solid rocket booster.
This area of the solid booster faces the External Tank. The vaporized material streaming
from the joint indicated there was not complete sealing action within the joint. Eight more
distinctive puffs of increasingly blacker smoke were recorded between .836 and 2.500
seconds. The smoke appeared to puff upwards from the joint. While each smoke puff was
being left behind by the upward flight of the Shuttle, the next fresh puff could be seen near
the level of the joint. The multiple smoke puffs in this sequence occurred at about four
times per second, approximating the frequency of the structural load dynamics and resultant
joint flexing. As the Shuttle increased its upward velocity, it flew past the emerging and
expanding smoke puffs. The last smoke was seen above the field joint at 2.733 seconds.
The black color and dense composition of the smoke puffs suggest that the grease, joint
insulation and rubber O-rings in the joint seal were being burned and eroded by the hot
propellant gases. At approximately 37 seconds, Challenger encountered the first of several
high-altitude wind shear conditions, which lasted until about 64 seconds. The wind shear
created forces on the vehicle with relatively large fluctuations. These were immediately
sensed and countered by the guidance, navigation and control system. The steering system
(thrust vector control) of the solid rocket booster responded to all commands and wind
shear effects. The wind shear caused the steering system to be more active than on any
previous flight. Both the Shuttle main engines and the solid rockets operated at reduced
thrust approaching and passing through the area of maximum dynamic pressure of 720
pounds per square foot. Main engines had been throttled up to 104 percent thrust and the
solid rocket boosters were increasing their thrust when the first flickering flame appeared
on the right solid rocket booster in the area of the aft field joint. This first very small flame
was detected on image enhanced film at 58.788 seconds into the flight. It appeared to
originate at about 305 degrees around the booster circumference at or near the aft field
joint. One film frame later from the same camera, the flame was visible without image
enhancement.
It grew into a continuous, well-defined plume at 59.262 seconds. At about the same time
(60 seconds), telemetry showed a pressure differential between the chamber pressures in
the right and left boosters. The right booster chamber pressure was lower, confirming the
growing leak in the area of the field joint. As the flame plume increased in size, it was
deflected rearward by the aerodynamic slipstream and circumferentially by the protruding
structure of the upper ring attaching the booster to the External Tank. These deflections
directed the flame plume onto the surface of the External Tank. This sequence of flame
spreading is confirmed by analysis of the recovered wreckage. The growing flame also
impinged on the strut attaching the solid rocket booster to the External Tank. The first
visual indication that swirling flame from the right solid rocket booster breached the
External Tank was at 64.660 seconds when there was an abrupt change in the shape and
color of the plume. This indicated that it was mixing with leaking hydrogen from the
External Tank. Telemetered changes in the hydrogen tank pressurization confirmed the leak.
Within 45 milliseconds of the breach of the External Tank, a bright sustained glow
developed on the black-tiled underside of the Challenger between it and the External Tank.
Beginning at about 72 seconds, a series of events occurred extremely rapidly that
terminated the flight. Telemetered data indicate a wide variety of flight system actions that
support the visual evidence of the photos as the Shuttle struggled futility against the forces
that were destroying it. At about 72.20 seconds the lower strut linking the solid rocket
booster and the External Tank was severed or pulled away from the weakened hydrogen
tank permitting the right solid rocket booster to rotate around the upper attachment strut.
This rotation is indicated by divergent yaw and pitch rates between the left and right solid
rocket boosters. At 73.124 seconds,. a circumferential white vapor pattern was observed
blooming from the side of the External Tank bottom dome. This was the beginning of the
structural failure of hydrogen tank that culminated in the entire aft dome dropping away.
This released massive amounts of liquid hydrogen from the tank and created a sudden
forward thrust of about 2.8 million pounds, pushing the hydrogen tank upward into the
intertank structure. At about the same time, the rotating right solid rocket booster impacted
the intertank structure and the lower part of the liquid oxygen tank. These structures failed
at 73.137 seconds as evidenced by the white vapors appearing in the intertank region.
Within milliseconds there was massive, almost explosive, burning of the hydrogen
streaming from the failed tank bottom and liquid oxygen breach in the area of the intertank.
At this point in its trajectory, while traveling at a Mach number of 1.92 at an altitude of
46,000 feet, the Challenger was totally enveloped in the explosive burn. The Challenger's
reaction control system ruptured and a hypergolic burn of its propellants occurred as it
exited the oxygen-hydrogen flames. The reddish brown colors of the hypergolic fuel burn
are visible on the edge of the main fireball. The Orbiter, under severe aerodynamic loads,
broke into several large sections which emerged from the fireball. Separate sections that
can be identified on film include the main engine/tail section with the engines still burning,
one wing of the Orbiter, and the forward fuselage trailing a mass of umbilical lines pulled
loose from the payload bay. The Explosion 73 seconds after liftoff claimed crew and
vehicle. Cause of explosion was determined to be an O-ring failure in right solid rocket
booster. Cold weather was a contributing factor.
Finally, what was the outcome of this terrible disaster? (Compton's, page 1) The shuttle
program was suspended until the exact cause could be found. It wasn't until September
1988 when the next shuttle launch happened. After many hours of investigating and finding
out what exactly caused the disaster, many changes were made to the structural designs of
the space shuttle. Also, they don't allow launches when the temperature is that low. Also,
the explosion delayed the now famous Hubble Telescope program (Church 38). We have
seen the tremendous photographs the Telescope has sent to Earth, it's a shame they couldn't
have been received sooner.
From a media standpoint, this disaster really changed the way television was used to report
major disasters. It may seem fairly common when Special Reports interrupt normal
programming, but in 1986, it was pretty unusual. In fact, ABC switchboards alone fielded
more than 1,200 complaints from people who wanted to watch soap operas rather than an
all-day report about the Challenger and the late breaking news related to it (Zoglin 42).
Television definitely had a tremendous impact on reporting this story. ABC Anchorman
Peter Jennings said, "We all shared in this experience in an instantaneous way because of
television. I can't recall any time or crisis in history when television has had such an
impact. (Zoglin 42)"
The disaster even affected President Reagan's State of the Union address. When asked
about the State of the Union speech, Reagan replied, "There could be no speech without
mentioning this, but you can't stop governing the nation because of a tragedy of this kind
(Magnuson 29)."
In conclusion, it is such a sad tragedy that this negligence led to such a disaster. If we
learn from our mistakes, then hopefully, this sort of disaster won't happen again.
Works Cited
"Space Shuttle Missions: Challenger." Compton's Encyclopedia of American History on
CD-ROM. Compton's New Media, Inc., 1994.
Morrow, Lance. "A Nation Mourns." Time 10 February 1986: 23.
Magnuson, Ed. "A Nation Mourns." Time 10 February 1986: 24-31.
Gray, Paul. "Seven Who Flew for All of Us." Time 10 February 1986: 32-35.
Friedrich, Otto. "Looking for What Went Wrong." Time 10 February 1986: 36-37.
Church, George J. "Putting the Future on Hold." Time 10 February 1986: 38-41.
Zoglin, Richard. "Covering the Awful Unexpected." Time 10 February 1986: 42-45.
Murphy, Jamie. "It Was Not the First Time." Time 10 February 1986: 45.
Dumoulin, Jim. "51-L" [Online] Available http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-
l/mission-51-l.html, October 5, 1996.
Annotated Bibliography
"Space Shuttle Missions: Challenger." Compton's Encyclopedia of American History
on CD-ROM. Compton's New Media, Inc., 1994.
This article gave a nice overview of the incident, but didn't really get detailed. It
helped me get a picture of what happened and what caused the failure. This is a secondary
source.
Morrow, Lance. "A Nation Mourns." Time 10 February 1986: 23.
This article gave a nice portrayal of what people felt while watching the launch on
television. This is a secondary source.
Magnuson, Ed. "A Nation Mourns." Time 10 February 1986: 24-31.
This article gave a good look at the National perspective of things after the
explosion. It also gave a good account of the memorial service. This is a secondary
source.
Gray, Paul. "Seven Who Flew for All of Us." Time 10 February 1986: 32-35.
This article gave me most of my report. It gave a nice description of the seven
astronauts that died on the shuttle. This is a secondary source.
Friedrich, Otto. "Looking for What Went Wrong." Time 10 February 1986: 36- 37.
This article gave an account of the theories that appeared afterwards about why the
shuttle exploded. It also told about the NASA press conference held afterwards. This is a
secondary source.
Church, George J. "Putting the Future on Hold." Time 10 February 1986: 38-41.
This article told about the setbacks to the space program that the explosion would
cause. It mainly told about the Hubble space telescope. This is a secondary source.
Zoglin, Richard. "Covering the Awful Unexpected." Time 10 February 1986: 42-45.
This article went to the media's perspective of covering the accident. It told about
how the three major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) spend their time covering the disaster.
This is a secondary source.
Murphy, Jamie. "It Was Not the First Time." Time 10 February 1986: 45.
This article told about previous disasters in the space programs of the United States
and Russia. This is a secondary source.
Dumoulin, Jim. "51-L" [Online] Available
http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-l/mission-51-l.html, October 5, 1996.
This article from NASA also contributed a lot to my report. It is the official report
about the Challenger explosion. This is a primary source.
The Search for Black Holes
The Search for Black Holes:
Both As A Concept And An Understanding
For ages people have been determined to explicate on everything. Our search for explanation rests only when there is a lack of questions. Our skies hold infinite quandaries, so the quest for answers will, as a result, also be infinite. Since its inception, Astronomy as a science speculated heavily upon discovery, and only came to concrete conclusions later with closer inspection. Aspects of the skies which at one time seemed like reasonable explanations are now laughed at as egotistical ventures. Time has shown that as better instrumentation was developed, more accurate understanding was attained. Now it seems, as we advance on scientific frontiers, the new quest of the heavens is to find and explain the phenomenom known as a black hole.
The goal of this paper is to explain how the concept of a black hole came about, and give some insight on how black holes are formed and might be tracked down in our more technologically advanced future. Gaining an understanding of a black hole allows for a greater understanding of the concept of spacetime and maybe give us a grasp of both science fiction and science fact. Hopefully, all the clarification will come by the close of this essay.
A black hole is probably one of the most misunderstood ideas among people outside of the astronomical and physical communities. Before an understanding of how it is formed can take place, a bit of an introduction to stars is necessary. This will shed light (no pun intended) on the black hole philosophy.
A star is an enormous fire ball, fueled by a nuclear reaction at its core which produces massive amounts of heat and pressure. It is formed when two or more enormous gaseous clouds come together which forms the core, and as an aftereffect the conversion, due to that impact, of huge amounts of energy from the two clouds. The clouds come together with a great enough force, that a nuclear reaction ensues. This type of energy is created by fusion wherein the atoms are forced together to form a new one. In turn, heat in excess of millions of degrees farenheit are produced.
This activity goes on for eons until the point at which the nuclear fuel is exhausted. Here is where things get interesting. For the entire life of the star, the nuclear reaction at its core produced an enormous outward force. Interestingly enough, an exactly equal force, namely gravity, was pushing inward toward the center. The equilibrium of the two forces allowed the star to maintain its shape and not break away nor collapse.
Eventually, the fuel for the star runs out, and it this point, the outward force is overpowered by the gravitational force, and the object caves in on itself. This is a gigantic implosion. Depending on the original and final mass of the star, several things might occur. A usual result of such an implosion is a star known as a white dwarf. This star has been pressed together to form a much more massive object. It is said that a teaspoon of matter off a white dwarf would weigh 2-4 tons. Upon the first discovery of a white dwarf, a debate arose as to how far a star can collapse. And in the 1920's two leading astrophysicists, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekgar and Sir Arthur Eddington came up with different conclusions. Chandrasekhar looked at the relations of mass to radius of the star, and concluded an upper limit beyond which collapse would result in something called a neutron star. This limit of 1.4 solar masses was an accurate measurement and in 1983, the Nobel committee recognized his work and awarded him their prize in Physics. The white dwarf is massive, but not as massive as the next order of imploded star known as a neutron star. Often as the nuclear fuel is burned out, the star will begin to shed its matter in an explosion called a supernovae. When this occurs the star loses an enormous amount of mass, but that which is left behind, if greater than 1.4 solar masses, is a densely packed ball of neutrons. This star is so much more massive that a teaspoon of it's matter would weigh somewhere in the area of 5 million tons in earth's gravity. The magnitude of such a dense body is unimaginable. But even a neutron star isn't the extreme when it comes to a star's collapse. That brings us to the focus of this paper. It is felt, that when a star is massive enough, any where in the area of or larger than 3-3.5 solar masses, the collapse would cause something of a much greater mass. In fact, the mass of this new object is speculated to be infinite. Such an entity is what we call a black hole.
After a black hole is created, the gravitational force continues to pull in space debris and all other types of matter in. This continuous addition makes the hole stronger and more powerful and obviously more massive.
The simplest three dimensional geometry for a black hole is a sphere. This type of black hole is called a Schwarzschild black hole. Kurt Schwarzschild was a German astrophysicist who figured out the critical radius for a given mass which would become a black hole. This calculation showed that at a specific point matter would collapse to an infinitely dense state. This is known as singularity. Here too, the pull of gravity is infinitely strong, and space and time can no longer be thought of in conventional ways. At singularity, the laws defined by Newton and Einstein no longer hold true, and a "myterious" world of quantum gravity exists. In the Schwarzschild black hole, the event horizon, or skin of the black hole, is the boundary beyond which nothing could escape the gravitational pull.
Most black holes would tend to be in a consistent spinning motion, because of the original spin of the star. This motion absorbs various matter and spins it within the ring that is formed around the black hole. This ring is the singularity. The matter keeps within the Event Horizon until it has spun into the center where it is concentrated within the core adding to the mass. Such spinning black holes are known as Kerr Black Holes. Roy P. Kerr, an Australian mathematician happened upon the solution to the Einstein equations for black holes with angular momentums. This black hole is very similar to the previous one. There are, however, some differences which make it more viable for real, existing ones. The singularity in the this hole is more time-like, while the other is more space-like. With this subtle difference, objects would be able to enter the black whole from regions away from the equator of the event horizon and not be destroyed.
The reason it is called a black hole is because any light inside of the singularity would be pulled back by the infinite gravity so that none of it could escape. As a result anything passing beyond the event horizon would dissappear from sight forever, thus making the black hole impossible for humans to see without using technologicalyl advanced instruments for measuring such things like radiation. The second part of the name referring to the "hole" is due to the fact that the actual hole, is where everything is absorbed and where the center core presides. This core is the main part of the black hole where the mass is concentrated and appears purely black on all readings even through the use of radiation detection devices.
The first scientists to really take an in depth look at black holes and the collapsing of stars, were a professor, Robert Oppenheimer and his student Hartland Snyder, in the early nineteen hundreds. They concluded on the basis of Einstein's theory of relativity that if the speed of light was the utmost speed over any massive object, then nothing could escape a black hole once in it's clutches.
It should be noted, all of this information is speculation. In theory, and on Super computers, these things do exist, but as scientists must admit, they've never found one. So the question arises, how can we see black holes? Well, there are several approaches to this question. Obviously, as realized from a previous paragraph, by seeing, it isn't necessarily meant to be a visual representation. So we're left with two approaches. The first deals with X-ray detection. In this precision measuring system, scientists would look for areas that would create enormous shifts in energy levels. Such shifts would result from gases that are sucked into the black hole. The enormous jolt in gravitation would heat the gases by millions of degrees. Such a rise could be evidence of a black hole. The other means of detection lies in another theory altogether. The concept of gravitational waves could point to black holes, and researchers are developing ways to read them.
Gravitational Waves are predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. They are perturbations in the curvature of spacetime. Sir Arthur Eddington was a strong supporter of Einstein, but was skeptical of gravity waves and is reported to have said, "Graviatational waves propagate at the speed of thought." But what they are is important to a theory. Gravitational waves are enormous ripples eminating from the core of the black hole and other large masses and are said to travel at the speed of light, but not through spacetime, but rather as the backbone of spacetime itself. These ripples pass straight through matter, and their strength weakens as it gets farther from the source. The ripples would be similar to a stone dropped in water, with larger ones toward the center and fainter ones along the outer circumference. The only problem is that these ripples are so minute that detecting them would require instrumentation way beyond our present capabilities. Because they're unaffected by matter, they carry a pure signal, not like X-rays which are diffused and distorted. In simulations the black hole creates a unique frequency known as it natural mode of vibrations. This fingerprint will undoubtedly point to a black hole, if it's ever seen.
Just recently a major discovery was found with the help of The Hubble Space Telescope. This telescope has just recently found what many astronomers believe to be a black hole, after being focused on a star orbiting an empty space. Several picture were sent back to Earth from the telescope showing many computer enhanced pictures of various radiation fluctuations and other diverse types of readings that could be read from the area in which the black hole is suspected to be in.
Because a black hole floats wherever the star collapsed, the truth is, it can vastly effect the surrounding area, which might have other stars in it. It could also absorb a star and wipe it out of existance. When a black hole absorbs a star, the star is first pulled into the Ergosphere, this is the area between the event horizon and singularity, which sweeps all the matter into the event horizon, named for it's flat horizontal appearance and critical properties where all transitions take place. The black hole doesn't just pull the star in like a vaccuum, rather it creates what is known as an accretion disk which is a vortex like phenomenom where the star's material appears to go down the drain of the black hole. When the star is passed on into the event horizon the light that the star ordinarily gives off builds inside the ergosphere of the black hole but doesn't escape. At this exact point in time, high amounts of radiation are given off, and with the proper equipment, this radiation can be detected and seen as an image of emptiness or as preferred, a black hole. Through this technique astronomers now believe that they have found a black hole known as Cygnus X1. This supposed black hole has a huge star orbiting around it, therefore we assume there must be a black hole that it is in orbit with.
Science Fiction has used the black hole to come up with several movies and fantastical events related to the massive beast. Tales of time travel and of parallel universes lie beyond the hole. Passing the event horizon could send you on that fantastical trip. Some think there would be enough gravitational force to possible warp you to an end of the universe or possibly to a completely different one. The theories about what could lie beyond a black hole are endless. The real quest is to first find one. So the question remains, do they exist?
Black holes exist, unfortunately for the scientific community, their life is restricted to formulas and super computers. But, and there is a but, the scientific community is relentless in their quest to build a better means of tracking. Already the advances of hyper-sensitive equipment is showing some good signs, and the accuracy will only get better.
Both As A Concept And An Understanding
For ages people have been determined to explicate on everything. Our search for explanation rests only when there is a lack of questions. Our skies hold infinite quandaries, so the quest for answers will, as a result, also be infinite. Since its inception, Astronomy as a science speculated heavily upon discovery, and only came to concrete conclusions later with closer inspection. Aspects of the skies which at one time seemed like reasonable explanations are now laughed at as egotistical ventures. Time has shown that as better instrumentation was developed, more accurate understanding was attained. Now it seems, as we advance on scientific frontiers, the new quest of the heavens is to find and explain the phenomenom known as a black hole.
The goal of this paper is to explain how the concept of a black hole came about, and give some insight on how black holes are formed and might be tracked down in our more technologically advanced future. Gaining an understanding of a black hole allows for a greater understanding of the concept of spacetime and maybe give us a grasp of both science fiction and science fact. Hopefully, all the clarification will come by the close of this essay.
A black hole is probably one of the most misunderstood ideas among people outside of the astronomical and physical communities. Before an understanding of how it is formed can take place, a bit of an introduction to stars is necessary. This will shed light (no pun intended) on the black hole philosophy.
A star is an enormous fire ball, fueled by a nuclear reaction at its core which produces massive amounts of heat and pressure. It is formed when two or more enormous gaseous clouds come together which forms the core, and as an aftereffect the conversion, due to that impact, of huge amounts of energy from the two clouds. The clouds come together with a great enough force, that a nuclear reaction ensues. This type of energy is created by fusion wherein the atoms are forced together to form a new one. In turn, heat in excess of millions of degrees farenheit are produced.
This activity goes on for eons until the point at which the nuclear fuel is exhausted. Here is where things get interesting. For the entire life of the star, the nuclear reaction at its core produced an enormous outward force. Interestingly enough, an exactly equal force, namely gravity, was pushing inward toward the center. The equilibrium of the two forces allowed the star to maintain its shape and not break away nor collapse.
Eventually, the fuel for the star runs out, and it this point, the outward force is overpowered by the gravitational force, and the object caves in on itself. This is a gigantic implosion. Depending on the original and final mass of the star, several things might occur. A usual result of such an implosion is a star known as a white dwarf. This star has been pressed together to form a much more massive object. It is said that a teaspoon of matter off a white dwarf would weigh 2-4 tons. Upon the first discovery of a white dwarf, a debate arose as to how far a star can collapse. And in the 1920's two leading astrophysicists, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekgar and Sir Arthur Eddington came up with different conclusions. Chandrasekhar looked at the relations of mass to radius of the star, and concluded an upper limit beyond which collapse would result in something called a neutron star. This limit of 1.4 solar masses was an accurate measurement and in 1983, the Nobel committee recognized his work and awarded him their prize in Physics. The white dwarf is massive, but not as massive as the next order of imploded star known as a neutron star. Often as the nuclear fuel is burned out, the star will begin to shed its matter in an explosion called a supernovae. When this occurs the star loses an enormous amount of mass, but that which is left behind, if greater than 1.4 solar masses, is a densely packed ball of neutrons. This star is so much more massive that a teaspoon of it's matter would weigh somewhere in the area of 5 million tons in earth's gravity. The magnitude of such a dense body is unimaginable. But even a neutron star isn't the extreme when it comes to a star's collapse. That brings us to the focus of this paper. It is felt, that when a star is massive enough, any where in the area of or larger than 3-3.5 solar masses, the collapse would cause something of a much greater mass. In fact, the mass of this new object is speculated to be infinite. Such an entity is what we call a black hole.
After a black hole is created, the gravitational force continues to pull in space debris and all other types of matter in. This continuous addition makes the hole stronger and more powerful and obviously more massive.
The simplest three dimensional geometry for a black hole is a sphere. This type of black hole is called a Schwarzschild black hole. Kurt Schwarzschild was a German astrophysicist who figured out the critical radius for a given mass which would become a black hole. This calculation showed that at a specific point matter would collapse to an infinitely dense state. This is known as singularity. Here too, the pull of gravity is infinitely strong, and space and time can no longer be thought of in conventional ways. At singularity, the laws defined by Newton and Einstein no longer hold true, and a "myterious" world of quantum gravity exists. In the Schwarzschild black hole, the event horizon, or skin of the black hole, is the boundary beyond which nothing could escape the gravitational pull.
Most black holes would tend to be in a consistent spinning motion, because of the original spin of the star. This motion absorbs various matter and spins it within the ring that is formed around the black hole. This ring is the singularity. The matter keeps within the Event Horizon until it has spun into the center where it is concentrated within the core adding to the mass. Such spinning black holes are known as Kerr Black Holes. Roy P. Kerr, an Australian mathematician happened upon the solution to the Einstein equations for black holes with angular momentums. This black hole is very similar to the previous one. There are, however, some differences which make it more viable for real, existing ones. The singularity in the this hole is more time-like, while the other is more space-like. With this subtle difference, objects would be able to enter the black whole from regions away from the equator of the event horizon and not be destroyed.
The reason it is called a black hole is because any light inside of the singularity would be pulled back by the infinite gravity so that none of it could escape. As a result anything passing beyond the event horizon would dissappear from sight forever, thus making the black hole impossible for humans to see without using technologicalyl advanced instruments for measuring such things like radiation. The second part of the name referring to the "hole" is due to the fact that the actual hole, is where everything is absorbed and where the center core presides. This core is the main part of the black hole where the mass is concentrated and appears purely black on all readings even through the use of radiation detection devices.
The first scientists to really take an in depth look at black holes and the collapsing of stars, were a professor, Robert Oppenheimer and his student Hartland Snyder, in the early nineteen hundreds. They concluded on the basis of Einstein's theory of relativity that if the speed of light was the utmost speed over any massive object, then nothing could escape a black hole once in it's clutches.
It should be noted, all of this information is speculation. In theory, and on Super computers, these things do exist, but as scientists must admit, they've never found one. So the question arises, how can we see black holes? Well, there are several approaches to this question. Obviously, as realized from a previous paragraph, by seeing, it isn't necessarily meant to be a visual representation. So we're left with two approaches. The first deals with X-ray detection. In this precision measuring system, scientists would look for areas that would create enormous shifts in energy levels. Such shifts would result from gases that are sucked into the black hole. The enormous jolt in gravitation would heat the gases by millions of degrees. Such a rise could be evidence of a black hole. The other means of detection lies in another theory altogether. The concept of gravitational waves could point to black holes, and researchers are developing ways to read them.
Gravitational Waves are predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. They are perturbations in the curvature of spacetime. Sir Arthur Eddington was a strong supporter of Einstein, but was skeptical of gravity waves and is reported to have said, "Graviatational waves propagate at the speed of thought." But what they are is important to a theory. Gravitational waves are enormous ripples eminating from the core of the black hole and other large masses and are said to travel at the speed of light, but not through spacetime, but rather as the backbone of spacetime itself. These ripples pass straight through matter, and their strength weakens as it gets farther from the source. The ripples would be similar to a stone dropped in water, with larger ones toward the center and fainter ones along the outer circumference. The only problem is that these ripples are so minute that detecting them would require instrumentation way beyond our present capabilities. Because they're unaffected by matter, they carry a pure signal, not like X-rays which are diffused and distorted. In simulations the black hole creates a unique frequency known as it natural mode of vibrations. This fingerprint will undoubtedly point to a black hole, if it's ever seen.
Just recently a major discovery was found with the help of The Hubble Space Telescope. This telescope has just recently found what many astronomers believe to be a black hole, after being focused on a star orbiting an empty space. Several picture were sent back to Earth from the telescope showing many computer enhanced pictures of various radiation fluctuations and other diverse types of readings that could be read from the area in which the black hole is suspected to be in.
Because a black hole floats wherever the star collapsed, the truth is, it can vastly effect the surrounding area, which might have other stars in it. It could also absorb a star and wipe it out of existance. When a black hole absorbs a star, the star is first pulled into the Ergosphere, this is the area between the event horizon and singularity, which sweeps all the matter into the event horizon, named for it's flat horizontal appearance and critical properties where all transitions take place. The black hole doesn't just pull the star in like a vaccuum, rather it creates what is known as an accretion disk which is a vortex like phenomenom where the star's material appears to go down the drain of the black hole. When the star is passed on into the event horizon the light that the star ordinarily gives off builds inside the ergosphere of the black hole but doesn't escape. At this exact point in time, high amounts of radiation are given off, and with the proper equipment, this radiation can be detected and seen as an image of emptiness or as preferred, a black hole. Through this technique astronomers now believe that they have found a black hole known as Cygnus X1. This supposed black hole has a huge star orbiting around it, therefore we assume there must be a black hole that it is in orbit with.
Science Fiction has used the black hole to come up with several movies and fantastical events related to the massive beast. Tales of time travel and of parallel universes lie beyond the hole. Passing the event horizon could send you on that fantastical trip. Some think there would be enough gravitational force to possible warp you to an end of the universe or possibly to a completely different one. The theories about what could lie beyond a black hole are endless. The real quest is to first find one. So the question remains, do they exist?
Black holes exist, unfortunately for the scientific community, their life is restricted to formulas and super computers. But, and there is a but, the scientific community is relentless in their quest to build a better means of tracking. Already the advances of hyper-sensitive equipment is showing some good signs, and the accuracy will only get better.
The Roswell Incident
THE ROSWELL INCIDENT
--------------------
Forty-seven years ago an incident occurred in the southwestern desert of the United States that could have significant implications for all mankind. It involved the recovery by the U.S. Military of material alleged to be of extraterrestrial origin. The event was announced by the Army Air Force on July 8, 1947 through a press release carried by newspapers throughout the country. It was subsequently denied by what is now believed to be a cover story claiming the material was nothing more than a weather balloon. It has remained veiled in government secrecy ever since.
The press release announcing the unusual event was issued by the Commander of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who later went on to become a four-star general and Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. That the weather balloon story was a cover-up has been confirmed by individuals directly involved, including the late General Thomas DuBose, who took the telephone call from Washington, D.C. ordering the cover-up. Numerous other credible military and civilian witnesses have testified that the original press release was correct and that the Roswell wreckage was of extraterrestrial origin. One such individual was Major Jesse Marcel, the Intelligence Officer of the 509th Bomb Group and one of the first military officers at the scene.
On January 12, 1994, United States Congressman Steven Schiff of Albuquerque, New Mexico, announced to the press that he had been stonewalled by the Defense Department when requesting information on the 1947 Roswell event on behalf of constituents and witnesses. Indicating that he was seeking further investigation into the matter, Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack of response "astounding" and concluded it was apparently "another government cover-up."
History has shown that unsubstantiated official assurances or denials by government are often meaningless. Nevertheless, there is a logical and straightforward way to ensure that the truth about Roswell will emerge: an Executive Order declassifying any information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an action would be appropriate and warranted. To provide positive assurance for all potential witnesses, it would need to be clearly stated and written into law. Such a measure is essentially what presidential candidate Jimmy Carter promised and then failed to deliver to the American people eighteen years ago in 1976.
If, as is officially claimed, no information on Roswell, UFOs, or extraterrestrial intelligence is being withheld, an Executive Order declassifying it would be a mere formality, as there would be nothing to disclose. The Order would, however, have the positive effect of setting the record straight once and for all. Years of controversy and suspicion would be ended, both in the eyes of the United States' own citizens and in the eyes of the world.
If, on the other hand, the Roswell witnesses are telling the truth and information on extraterrestrial intelligence does exist, it is not something to which a privileged few in the United States Government should have exclusive rights. It is knowledge of profound importance to which all people throughout the world should have an inalienable right. Its release would unquestionably be universally acknowledged as an historic act of honesty and goodwill.
I support the request, as outlined above, for an Executive Order declassifying any U.S. Government information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Whether such information exists or whether it does not, I feel that the people of the world have a right to know the truth about this issue and that it is time to put an end to the controversy surrounding it.
THE ROSWELL INCIDENT FILM
-------------------------
This film was taken by a high security government photographer, in the summer of 1947, when the most thoroughly documented and witnessed crash of a flying saucer occurred in a remote desert of New Mexico. (see the book, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, by Randle and Schmitt)
After filming the amazing events, including the crash site and two autopsies, the cameraman turned over 300 minutes of 16mm black and white film to the Pentagon. He still had 90 minutes of film left to develop at his private lab. Incredibly, the Pentagon never retrieved these remaining reels from him. He ended up taking them home with him in 1952, when he went on to civilian work. He secretly kept the film reels in his house, under his bed, for over forty years.
The footage was sold by the cameraman (now 80 years old), last November, to London producer Ray Santilli, who is preparing to release this important film to the public in the near future. A number of U.S. Senators and Representatives recently saw the autopsy footage, and it appears that an investigation is in progress. We may soon know how much has been covered up by the military all these years.
It seems that those who have said we are not alone in the Universe were right.
So far, this does not appear to be a hoax. If it is a hoax, it is an incredibly elaborate one, costing a fortune. Prepare yourself for a shock. Below, you'll find several still frames from the film. Just a taste of things to come.
Above, the being, apparently non-human, and dead, is ready for the autopsy to proceed, at a Dallas, Texas operating theater, in 1947. The being appears to be about 5 feet tall. The right hand is severed. That may be a crash related injury, along with the burned or damaged thigh. Note the way the head flares out toward the back. It is huge. Note also the fact that this humanoid being has six digits on each limb, bizarre hips, odd musculature, and other anomalies. At first glance, many people believe that it is a female, but given the absence of a navel or even nipples, that may be jumping to conclusions. There are many creatures who's males have no external genitals.
Above, the surgeon, who is dressed in a full biohazard suit, uses a scalpel to make the first incisions. Note the black eyes, the lack of teeth, the muzzle around the mouth, the lack of hair, and the very low, strangely shaped ears.
In this still frame from the film, the surgeon is removing the thin black membrane that covered the left eye, using tweezers. The right eye still has its covering.
This frame shows the damaged thigh tissues, and the right hand. Note how thin the thumb is, and how long the pinkie finger is.
In this frame from the film, the left hand is being examined. You can clearly see five fingers, plus a very delicate thumb. The six toes of the feet are visible as well. Note that, unlike humans in general, the big toe is longer than any of the other toes. And there are no visible indications of toe or fingernails.
--------------------
Forty-seven years ago an incident occurred in the southwestern desert of the United States that could have significant implications for all mankind. It involved the recovery by the U.S. Military of material alleged to be of extraterrestrial origin. The event was announced by the Army Air Force on July 8, 1947 through a press release carried by newspapers throughout the country. It was subsequently denied by what is now believed to be a cover story claiming the material was nothing more than a weather balloon. It has remained veiled in government secrecy ever since.
The press release announcing the unusual event was issued by the Commander of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who later went on to become a four-star general and Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. That the weather balloon story was a cover-up has been confirmed by individuals directly involved, including the late General Thomas DuBose, who took the telephone call from Washington, D.C. ordering the cover-up. Numerous other credible military and civilian witnesses have testified that the original press release was correct and that the Roswell wreckage was of extraterrestrial origin. One such individual was Major Jesse Marcel, the Intelligence Officer of the 509th Bomb Group and one of the first military officers at the scene.
On January 12, 1994, United States Congressman Steven Schiff of Albuquerque, New Mexico, announced to the press that he had been stonewalled by the Defense Department when requesting information on the 1947 Roswell event on behalf of constituents and witnesses. Indicating that he was seeking further investigation into the matter, Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack of response "astounding" and concluded it was apparently "another government cover-up."
History has shown that unsubstantiated official assurances or denials by government are often meaningless. Nevertheless, there is a logical and straightforward way to ensure that the truth about Roswell will emerge: an Executive Order declassifying any information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an action would be appropriate and warranted. To provide positive assurance for all potential witnesses, it would need to be clearly stated and written into law. Such a measure is essentially what presidential candidate Jimmy Carter promised and then failed to deliver to the American people eighteen years ago in 1976.
If, as is officially claimed, no information on Roswell, UFOs, or extraterrestrial intelligence is being withheld, an Executive Order declassifying it would be a mere formality, as there would be nothing to disclose. The Order would, however, have the positive effect of setting the record straight once and for all. Years of controversy and suspicion would be ended, both in the eyes of the United States' own citizens and in the eyes of the world.
If, on the other hand, the Roswell witnesses are telling the truth and information on extraterrestrial intelligence does exist, it is not something to which a privileged few in the United States Government should have exclusive rights. It is knowledge of profound importance to which all people throughout the world should have an inalienable right. Its release would unquestionably be universally acknowledged as an historic act of honesty and goodwill.
I support the request, as outlined above, for an Executive Order declassifying any U.S. Government information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Whether such information exists or whether it does not, I feel that the people of the world have a right to know the truth about this issue and that it is time to put an end to the controversy surrounding it.
THE ROSWELL INCIDENT FILM
-------------------------
This film was taken by a high security government photographer, in the summer of 1947, when the most thoroughly documented and witnessed crash of a flying saucer occurred in a remote desert of New Mexico. (see the book, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, by Randle and Schmitt)
After filming the amazing events, including the crash site and two autopsies, the cameraman turned over 300 minutes of 16mm black and white film to the Pentagon. He still had 90 minutes of film left to develop at his private lab. Incredibly, the Pentagon never retrieved these remaining reels from him. He ended up taking them home with him in 1952, when he went on to civilian work. He secretly kept the film reels in his house, under his bed, for over forty years.
The footage was sold by the cameraman (now 80 years old), last November, to London producer Ray Santilli, who is preparing to release this important film to the public in the near future. A number of U.S. Senators and Representatives recently saw the autopsy footage, and it appears that an investigation is in progress. We may soon know how much has been covered up by the military all these years.
It seems that those who have said we are not alone in the Universe were right.
So far, this does not appear to be a hoax. If it is a hoax, it is an incredibly elaborate one, costing a fortune. Prepare yourself for a shock. Below, you'll find several still frames from the film. Just a taste of things to come.
Above, the being, apparently non-human, and dead, is ready for the autopsy to proceed, at a Dallas, Texas operating theater, in 1947. The being appears to be about 5 feet tall. The right hand is severed. That may be a crash related injury, along with the burned or damaged thigh. Note the way the head flares out toward the back. It is huge. Note also the fact that this humanoid being has six digits on each limb, bizarre hips, odd musculature, and other anomalies. At first glance, many people believe that it is a female, but given the absence of a navel or even nipples, that may be jumping to conclusions. There are many creatures who's males have no external genitals.
Above, the surgeon, who is dressed in a full biohazard suit, uses a scalpel to make the first incisions. Note the black eyes, the lack of teeth, the muzzle around the mouth, the lack of hair, and the very low, strangely shaped ears.
In this still frame from the film, the surgeon is removing the thin black membrane that covered the left eye, using tweezers. The right eye still has its covering.
This frame shows the damaged thigh tissues, and the right hand. Note how thin the thumb is, and how long the pinkie finger is.
In this frame from the film, the left hand is being examined. You can clearly see five fingers, plus a very delicate thumb. The six toes of the feet are visible as well. Note that, unlike humans in general, the big toe is longer than any of the other toes. And there are no visible indications of toe or fingernails.
The Mercury Program
Project Mercury, the first manned U.S. space project, became an official NASA program
on October 7, 1958. The Mercury Program was given two main but broad objectives: 1. to
investigate man's ability to survive and perform in the space environment and 2. to develop basic
space technology and hardware for manned space flight programs to come.
NASA also had to find astronauts to fly the spacecraft. In 1959 NASA asked the U.S.
military for a list of their members who met certain qualifications. All applicants were required to
have had extensive jet aircraft flight experience and engineering training. The applicants could be
no more than five feet eleven inches tall, do to the limited amount of cabin space that the Mercury
modules provided. All who met these requirements were also required to undergo numerous
intense physical and psychological evaluations. Finally, out of a field of 500 people who met the
experience, training, and height requirements, NASA selected seven to become U.S. astronauts.
There names, Lieutenant M. Scott Carpenter; Air Force Captains L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Virgil
"Gus" Grissom, and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton; Marine Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr.;
and Navy Lieutenant commanders Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Of these, all
flew in Project Mercury except Deke Slayton who was grounded for medical reasons. He later
became an American crewmember of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
The Mercury module was a bell shaped craft. Its base measured exactly 74.5 inches wide
and it was nine feet tall. For its boosters NASA chose two U.S. military rockets: the Army's
Redstone, which provided 78,000 pounds of thrust, was used for suborbital flights, and the Air
Force Atlas, providing 360,000 pounds of thrust, was used for orbital fights. The Mercury craft
was fastened to the top of the booster for launch. Upon reaching the limits of Earth's atmosphere
the boosters were released from the module, and fell into uninhabited ocean.
The first Mercury launch was performed on May 5, 1961. The ship, Freedom 7, was the
first U.S. craft used for manned space flight. Astronaut Alan Shepard, Jr. remained in suborbital
flight for 15 minutes and 22 seconds, with an accumulated distance of 116 miles.
The second and final suborbital mission of the Mercury Project was launched on July 21,
1961. Gus Grissom navigated his ship, Liberty Bell 7, through flight for just 15 seconds longer
than the previous mission.
The next Mercury flight was accomplished using an Atlas booster. On February 20,1962
it fired up and launched John Glenn, Jr., inside Friendship 7, into orbit. Glenn orbited Earth three
times and when he returned the country celebrated.
Just three months later on May 24 Scott Carpenter also orbited Earth three times in Aurora
7.
On October 3, 1962 Walter Schirra, Jr. entered Earth's orbit in his ship, Sigma 7. He
completed 6 orbits and then completed the first splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. All previous
splashdowns and recoveries were performed in the Pacific.
The final Mercury mission was the longest. Launched into orbit on May 15, 1963, Faith 7,
with Gordon Cooper, Jr. inside, went around Earth 22 times in 34and a half hours. On May 16 it
too splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean where it was recovered, successfully ending the Mercury
Project.
The Mercury Project, five years and $392.6 million dollars after it began, came to a close.
The entire project was highly successful, achieving both of its goals. It paved the way for the next
generation of NASA spacecraft: Gemini.
on October 7, 1958. The Mercury Program was given two main but broad objectives: 1. to
investigate man's ability to survive and perform in the space environment and 2. to develop basic
space technology and hardware for manned space flight programs to come.
NASA also had to find astronauts to fly the spacecraft. In 1959 NASA asked the U.S.
military for a list of their members who met certain qualifications. All applicants were required to
have had extensive jet aircraft flight experience and engineering training. The applicants could be
no more than five feet eleven inches tall, do to the limited amount of cabin space that the Mercury
modules provided. All who met these requirements were also required to undergo numerous
intense physical and psychological evaluations. Finally, out of a field of 500 people who met the
experience, training, and height requirements, NASA selected seven to become U.S. astronauts.
There names, Lieutenant M. Scott Carpenter; Air Force Captains L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Virgil
"Gus" Grissom, and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton; Marine Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr.;
and Navy Lieutenant commanders Walter M. Schirra, Jr., and Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Of these, all
flew in Project Mercury except Deke Slayton who was grounded for medical reasons. He later
became an American crewmember of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
The Mercury module was a bell shaped craft. Its base measured exactly 74.5 inches wide
and it was nine feet tall. For its boosters NASA chose two U.S. military rockets: the Army's
Redstone, which provided 78,000 pounds of thrust, was used for suborbital flights, and the Air
Force Atlas, providing 360,000 pounds of thrust, was used for orbital fights. The Mercury craft
was fastened to the top of the booster for launch. Upon reaching the limits of Earth's atmosphere
the boosters were released from the module, and fell into uninhabited ocean.
The first Mercury launch was performed on May 5, 1961. The ship, Freedom 7, was the
first U.S. craft used for manned space flight. Astronaut Alan Shepard, Jr. remained in suborbital
flight for 15 minutes and 22 seconds, with an accumulated distance of 116 miles.
The second and final suborbital mission of the Mercury Project was launched on July 21,
1961. Gus Grissom navigated his ship, Liberty Bell 7, through flight for just 15 seconds longer
than the previous mission.
The next Mercury flight was accomplished using an Atlas booster. On February 20,1962
it fired up and launched John Glenn, Jr., inside Friendship 7, into orbit. Glenn orbited Earth three
times and when he returned the country celebrated.
Just three months later on May 24 Scott Carpenter also orbited Earth three times in Aurora
7.
On October 3, 1962 Walter Schirra, Jr. entered Earth's orbit in his ship, Sigma 7. He
completed 6 orbits and then completed the first splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. All previous
splashdowns and recoveries were performed in the Pacific.
The final Mercury mission was the longest. Launched into orbit on May 15, 1963, Faith 7,
with Gordon Cooper, Jr. inside, went around Earth 22 times in 34and a half hours. On May 16 it
too splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean where it was recovered, successfully ending the Mercury
Project.
The Mercury Project, five years and $392.6 million dollars after it began, came to a close.
The entire project was highly successful, achieving both of its goals. It paved the way for the next
generation of NASA spacecraft: Gemini.
The life of Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
His Life:
Throughout history people have always looked up at the sky and wondered about the universe. Some just wonder while others attempt to solve this mystery. One of the people who had endeavored to solve it was Nicolaus Copernicus.
Copernicus was born in the present day town of Torun, Poland in February of 1473. While still a young boy, Copernicus was put in custody of his uncle when his father died. His uncle made sure that his nephew got the best education they could obtain. This is how Copernicus was able to enter the University of Krakow, which was well known for its mathematics, and astronomy programs. After finishing in Krakow, he was inspired to further his education by going to the University of Bologna in Italy. While there, he roomed with Domenico Maria de Novara, the mathematics professor. In 1500, Copernicus lectured in Rome and in the next year, obtained permission to study medicine at Padua. Before returning to Poland, he received a doctorate in canon law from the University of Ferrara.
Copernicus lived with his uncle in his bishopric palace. While he stayed there he published his first book which was a translation of letters written by the 7th century writer, Theophylactus of Simocatta. After that he wrote an astronomical discourse that laid the foundation of his heliocentric theory; the theory that the sun is the center of our solar system. However, it was 400 years before it was published.
After leaving his uncle, he wrote a treatise on money, and began the work for which he is most famous, On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres, which took him almost 15 years to write. It is ironic that what he devoted a good part of his life would not be published until he was on his deathbed.
His Theory:
To understand the contribution Copernicus made to the astrological community, you first need to understand the theory that had been accepted at the time of Copernicus.
The question of the arrangement of the planets arose about 4000 BC. At this time the Mesopotamians believed that the earth was at the center of the universe and that other heavenly bodies moved around the earth. This belief was synonymously know as geocentric. They believed this, but they had no scientific proof to support it.
It was not until the 2nd century that the famous astronomer, Ptolemy, gave an explanation for the movement of the stars across the sky, that the geocentric theory began to become creditable.
That was the theory that existed at the time of Copernicus. Copernicus was not the first one to come up with the idea of a sun-centered (heliocentric) universe. Not too long after Ptolemy theorized about the movement of the stars there was a man by the name of Aristarchus of Samos. He was the first one to propose the idea of a sun-centered universe.
The stipulations of Copernicus's theory are:
· The earth rotates on its axis daily and rotates around the sun yearly
· The other planets circle the earth
· As the earth rotates it wobbles like a top
· The stars are stationary
· The greater the radius of a planet's orbit, the more time it takes to make one complete circuit around the sun
All these concepts seem totally logical to us, however most 16th century readers were not ready to accept that the earth rotated around the sun. It may seem weird but the calculations that Copernicus made were not much more accurate than his predecessors, however most of his theory was accepted, while the radical ones were omitted.
The one concept that was not liked was that the earth moved around the sun. To deal with this dilemma, Tycho Brahe met Copernicus and Ptolemy halfway by making the earth a stationary object while the planets orbited the sun in the center.
The rotating earth idea was not revived until the English philosopher Isaac Newton started explaining celestial mechanics.
Nicolaus Copernicus
His Life:
Throughout history people have always looked up at the sky and wondered about the universe. Some just wonder while others attempt to solve this mystery. One of the people who had endeavored to solve it was Nicolaus Copernicus.
Copernicus was born in the present day town of Torun, Poland in February of 1473. While still a young boy, Copernicus was put in custody of his uncle when his father died. His uncle made sure that his nephew got the best education they could obtain. This is how Copernicus was able to enter the University of Krakow, which was well known for its mathematics, and astronomy programs. After finishing in Krakow, he was inspired to further his education by going to the University of Bologna in Italy. While there, he roomed with Domenico Maria de Novara, the mathematics professor. In 1500, Copernicus lectured in Rome and in the next year, obtained permission to study medicine at Padua. Before returning to Poland, he received a doctorate in canon law from the University of Ferrara.
Copernicus lived with his uncle in his bishopric palace. While he stayed there he published his first book which was a translation of letters written by the 7th century writer, Theophylactus of Simocatta. After that he wrote an astronomical discourse that laid the foundation of his heliocentric theory; the theory that the sun is the center of our solar system. However, it was 400 years before it was published.
After leaving his uncle, he wrote a treatise on money, and began the work for which he is most famous, On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres, which took him almost 15 years to write. It is ironic that what he devoted a good part of his life would not be published until he was on his deathbed.
His Theory:
To understand the contribution Copernicus made to the astrological community, you first need to understand the theory that had been accepted at the time of Copernicus.
The question of the arrangement of the planets arose about 4000 BC. At this time the Mesopotamians believed that the earth was at the center of the universe and that other heavenly bodies moved around the earth. This belief was synonymously know as geocentric. They believed this, but they had no scientific proof to support it.
It was not until the 2nd century that the famous astronomer, Ptolemy, gave an explanation for the movement of the stars across the sky, that the geocentric theory began to become creditable.
That was the theory that existed at the time of Copernicus. Copernicus was not the first one to come up with the idea of a sun-centered (heliocentric) universe. Not too long after Ptolemy theorized about the movement of the stars there was a man by the name of Aristarchus of Samos. He was the first one to propose the idea of a sun-centered universe.
The stipulations of Copernicus's theory are:
· The earth rotates on its axis daily and rotates around the sun yearly
· The other planets circle the earth
· As the earth rotates it wobbles like a top
· The stars are stationary
· The greater the radius of a planet's orbit, the more time it takes to make one complete circuit around the sun
All these concepts seem totally logical to us, however most 16th century readers were not ready to accept that the earth rotated around the sun. It may seem weird but the calculations that Copernicus made were not much more accurate than his predecessors, however most of his theory was accepted, while the radical ones were omitted.
The one concept that was not liked was that the earth moved around the sun. To deal with this dilemma, Tycho Brahe met Copernicus and Ptolemy halfway by making the earth a stationary object while the planets orbited the sun in the center.
The rotating earth idea was not revived until the English philosopher Isaac Newton started explaining celestial mechanics.
His Life:
Throughout history people have always looked up at the sky and wondered about the universe. Some just wonder while others attempt to solve this mystery. One of the people who had endeavored to solve it was Nicolaus Copernicus.
Copernicus was born in the present day town of Torun, Poland in February of 1473. While still a young boy, Copernicus was put in custody of his uncle when his father died. His uncle made sure that his nephew got the best education they could obtain. This is how Copernicus was able to enter the University of Krakow, which was well known for its mathematics, and astronomy programs. After finishing in Krakow, he was inspired to further his education by going to the University of Bologna in Italy. While there, he roomed with Domenico Maria de Novara, the mathematics professor. In 1500, Copernicus lectured in Rome and in the next year, obtained permission to study medicine at Padua. Before returning to Poland, he received a doctorate in canon law from the University of Ferrara.
Copernicus lived with his uncle in his bishopric palace. While he stayed there he published his first book which was a translation of letters written by the 7th century writer, Theophylactus of Simocatta. After that he wrote an astronomical discourse that laid the foundation of his heliocentric theory; the theory that the sun is the center of our solar system. However, it was 400 years before it was published.
After leaving his uncle, he wrote a treatise on money, and began the work for which he is most famous, On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres, which took him almost 15 years to write. It is ironic that what he devoted a good part of his life would not be published until he was on his deathbed.
His Theory:
To understand the contribution Copernicus made to the astrological community, you first need to understand the theory that had been accepted at the time of Copernicus.
The question of the arrangement of the planets arose about 4000 BC. At this time the Mesopotamians believed that the earth was at the center of the universe and that other heavenly bodies moved around the earth. This belief was synonymously know as geocentric. They believed this, but they had no scientific proof to support it.
It was not until the 2nd century that the famous astronomer, Ptolemy, gave an explanation for the movement of the stars across the sky, that the geocentric theory began to become creditable.
That was the theory that existed at the time of Copernicus. Copernicus was not the first one to come up with the idea of a sun-centered (heliocentric) universe. Not too long after Ptolemy theorized about the movement of the stars there was a man by the name of Aristarchus of Samos. He was the first one to propose the idea of a sun-centered universe.
The stipulations of Copernicus's theory are:
· The earth rotates on its axis daily and rotates around the sun yearly
· The other planets circle the earth
· As the earth rotates it wobbles like a top
· The stars are stationary
· The greater the radius of a planet's orbit, the more time it takes to make one complete circuit around the sun
All these concepts seem totally logical to us, however most 16th century readers were not ready to accept that the earth rotated around the sun. It may seem weird but the calculations that Copernicus made were not much more accurate than his predecessors, however most of his theory was accepted, while the radical ones were omitted.
The one concept that was not liked was that the earth moved around the sun. To deal with this dilemma, Tycho Brahe met Copernicus and Ptolemy halfway by making the earth a stationary object while the planets orbited the sun in the center.
The rotating earth idea was not revived until the English philosopher Isaac Newton started explaining celestial mechanics.
Nicolaus Copernicus
His Life:
Throughout history people have always looked up at the sky and wondered about the universe. Some just wonder while others attempt to solve this mystery. One of the people who had endeavored to solve it was Nicolaus Copernicus.
Copernicus was born in the present day town of Torun, Poland in February of 1473. While still a young boy, Copernicus was put in custody of his uncle when his father died. His uncle made sure that his nephew got the best education they could obtain. This is how Copernicus was able to enter the University of Krakow, which was well known for its mathematics, and astronomy programs. After finishing in Krakow, he was inspired to further his education by going to the University of Bologna in Italy. While there, he roomed with Domenico Maria de Novara, the mathematics professor. In 1500, Copernicus lectured in Rome and in the next year, obtained permission to study medicine at Padua. Before returning to Poland, he received a doctorate in canon law from the University of Ferrara.
Copernicus lived with his uncle in his bishopric palace. While he stayed there he published his first book which was a translation of letters written by the 7th century writer, Theophylactus of Simocatta. After that he wrote an astronomical discourse that laid the foundation of his heliocentric theory; the theory that the sun is the center of our solar system. However, it was 400 years before it was published.
After leaving his uncle, he wrote a treatise on money, and began the work for which he is most famous, On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres, which took him almost 15 years to write. It is ironic that what he devoted a good part of his life would not be published until he was on his deathbed.
His Theory:
To understand the contribution Copernicus made to the astrological community, you first need to understand the theory that had been accepted at the time of Copernicus.
The question of the arrangement of the planets arose about 4000 BC. At this time the Mesopotamians believed that the earth was at the center of the universe and that other heavenly bodies moved around the earth. This belief was synonymously know as geocentric. They believed this, but they had no scientific proof to support it.
It was not until the 2nd century that the famous astronomer, Ptolemy, gave an explanation for the movement of the stars across the sky, that the geocentric theory began to become creditable.
That was the theory that existed at the time of Copernicus. Copernicus was not the first one to come up with the idea of a sun-centered (heliocentric) universe. Not too long after Ptolemy theorized about the movement of the stars there was a man by the name of Aristarchus of Samos. He was the first one to propose the idea of a sun-centered universe.
The stipulations of Copernicus's theory are:
· The earth rotates on its axis daily and rotates around the sun yearly
· The other planets circle the earth
· As the earth rotates it wobbles like a top
· The stars are stationary
· The greater the radius of a planet's orbit, the more time it takes to make one complete circuit around the sun
All these concepts seem totally logical to us, however most 16th century readers were not ready to accept that the earth rotated around the sun. It may seem weird but the calculations that Copernicus made were not much more accurate than his predecessors, however most of his theory was accepted, while the radical ones were omitted.
The one concept that was not liked was that the earth moved around the sun. To deal with this dilemma, Tycho Brahe met Copernicus and Ptolemy halfway by making the earth a stationary object while the planets orbited the sun in the center.
The rotating earth idea was not revived until the English philosopher Isaac Newton started explaining celestial mechanics.
The Future of NASA
The Future of NASA
One hundred years from now, NASA's space program will not be so far
advanced that people will be able to beam around the Universe or travel through
time. However, unless something goes terribly wrong with the world, it is
expected to advance tremendously. New, high-tech designs for rockets will
make them more environmentally safe. Rockets will also be recycled and
reused. Systems retrieving parts of rockets that are today, left behind in space,
will be created. Astronauts will be well on their way to exploring Mars from a
hands-on perspective. Because of the overpopulated Earth, scientists may even
be considering ways to alter life on Mars, so that people would be able to live
there some day.
Some products developed in NASA's space program that we now
incorporate in our daily lives include the vacuum cleaner, pacemaker, pens that
can write upside-down, and the zero-gravity training system. The vacuum
cleaner was originally a great tool for astronauts in outer space. It is now a very
helpful tool for cleaning our homes. The pacemaker is a form of life-support on
spacecrafts, helping astronomers' hearts pump while they are outside of the
Earth's atmosphere. It is used, on Earth, for those who's hearts have problems
with pumping blood. Pens that write upside-down are used in space, where
there is no gravity and writing with pens would otherwise be impossible. They
are convenient tools on Earth when we are trying to write on vertical surfaces. A
zero-gravity training system is used to help astronauts become more comfortable
with the conditions in space. It is used in places such as Sportsland, for kids to
twirl around in.
In the future, telephones with picture screens, much like those used to
see astronauts in space with, will become common on Earth. Rooms with no
gravity may become a part of amusement parks. More solar-powered energy
sources will also be available. Space Internet may be created, so that
astronomers and anyone else that happens to be in space can upload pictures
and chat with the rest of the world while they are actually in outer space. In
general, there is a bright future in store for NASA, with new and advanced
technology waiting around the bend of the twenty-first century.
One hundred years from now, NASA's space program will not be so far
advanced that people will be able to beam around the Universe or travel through
time. However, unless something goes terribly wrong with the world, it is
expected to advance tremendously. New, high-tech designs for rockets will
make them more environmentally safe. Rockets will also be recycled and
reused. Systems retrieving parts of rockets that are today, left behind in space,
will be created. Astronauts will be well on their way to exploring Mars from a
hands-on perspective. Because of the overpopulated Earth, scientists may even
be considering ways to alter life on Mars, so that people would be able to live
there some day.
Some products developed in NASA's space program that we now
incorporate in our daily lives include the vacuum cleaner, pacemaker, pens that
can write upside-down, and the zero-gravity training system. The vacuum
cleaner was originally a great tool for astronauts in outer space. It is now a very
helpful tool for cleaning our homes. The pacemaker is a form of life-support on
spacecrafts, helping astronomers' hearts pump while they are outside of the
Earth's atmosphere. It is used, on Earth, for those who's hearts have problems
with pumping blood. Pens that write upside-down are used in space, where
there is no gravity and writing with pens would otherwise be impossible. They
are convenient tools on Earth when we are trying to write on vertical surfaces. A
zero-gravity training system is used to help astronauts become more comfortable
with the conditions in space. It is used in places such as Sportsland, for kids to
twirl around in.
In the future, telephones with picture screens, much like those used to
see astronauts in space with, will become common on Earth. Rooms with no
gravity may become a part of amusement parks. More solar-powered energy
sources will also be available. Space Internet may be created, so that
astronomers and anyone else that happens to be in space can upload pictures
and chat with the rest of the world while they are actually in outer space. In
general, there is a bright future in store for NASA, with new and advanced
technology waiting around the bend of the twenty-first century.
The Creation of the Universe
The Creation of the Universe
This paper will go over the creation of the universe. There are many theories about this
issue. I will briefly summarize a few of them, and then give whatever evidence is available for or
against each.
There are many theories regarding the creation of the universe, for example, there is an
ancient Egyptian legend that says that Osiris Khepera created himself out of a dark, boundless ocean
called "Nu". Then out of this ocean, he created the universe. I will be writing about these theories:
The Big Bang theory is what most people believe, also there is a theory called "Steady State", which
is the opposite of the Big Bang theory. There is the theory of an "Oscillating Universe", which is sort
of a compromise between the Big Bang theory, and the Steady State theory. There is also the
religious theory, in which God created everything.
There are a lot of different theories regarding the creation of the universe. It is a very
controversial topic, because most theories don't follow the story of Genesis in the bible. There is the
"Big Bang" theory, the "Steady State" theory, and the religious theory. The theory that best explains
creation is the Big Bang theory,
This paper will go over the creation of the universe. There are many theories about this
issue. I will briefly summarize a few of them, and then give whatever evidence is available for or
against each.
There are many theories regarding the creation of the universe, for example, there is an
ancient Egyptian legend that says that Osiris Khepera created himself out of a dark, boundless ocean
called "Nu". Then out of this ocean, he created the universe. I will be writing about these theories:
The Big Bang theory is what most people believe, also there is a theory called "Steady State", which
is the opposite of the Big Bang theory. There is the theory of an "Oscillating Universe", which is sort
of a compromise between the Big Bang theory, and the Steady State theory. There is also the
religious theory, in which God created everything.
There are a lot of different theories regarding the creation of the universe. It is a very
controversial topic, because most theories don't follow the story of Genesis in the bible. There is the
"Big Bang" theory, the "Steady State" theory, and the religious theory. The theory that best explains
creation is the Big Bang theory,
The Big Bang Theory
It is always a mystery about how the universe began, whether
if and when it will end. Astronomers construct hypotheses called
cosmological models that try to find the answer. There are two
types of models: Big Bang and Steady State. However, through
many observational evidences, the Big Bang theory can best
explain the creation of the universe.
The Big Bang model postulates that about 15 to 20 billion
years ago, the universe violently exploded into being, in an
event called the Big Bang. Before the Big Bang, all of the
matter and radiation of our present universe were packed together
in the primeval fireball--an extremely hot dense state from which
the universe rapidly expanded.1 The Big Bang was the start of
time and space. The matter and radiation of that early stage
rapidly expanded and cooled. Several million years later, it
condensed into galaxies. The universe has continued to expand,
and the galaxies have continued moving away from each other ever
since. Today the universe is still expanding, as astronomers
have observed.
The Steady State model says that the universe does not
evolve or change in time. There was no beginning in the past,
nor will there be change in the future. This model assumes the
perfect cosmological principle. This principle says that the
universe is the same everywhere on the large scale, at all
times.2 It maintains the same average density of matter forever.
There are observational evidences found that can prove the
Big Bang model is more reasonable than the Steady State model.
First, the redshifts of distant galaxies. Redshift is a Doppler
effect which states that if a galaxy is moving away, the spectral
line of that galaxy observed will have a shift to the red end.
The faster the galaxy moves, the more shift it has. If the
galaxy is moving closer, the spectral line will show a blue
shift. If the galaxy is not moving, there is no shift at all.
However, as astronomers observed, the more distance a galaxy is
located from Earth, the more redshift it shows on the spectrum.
This means the further a galaxy is, the faster it moves.
Therefore, the universe is expanding, and the Big Bang model
seems more reasonable than the Steady State model.
The second observational evidence is the radiation produced
by the Big Bang. The Big Bang model predicts that the universe
should still be filled with a small remnant of radiation left
over from the original violent explosion of the primeval fireball
in the past. The primeval fireball would have sent strong
shortwave radiation in all directions into space. In time, that
radiation would spread out, cool, and fill the expanding universe
uniformly. By now it would strike Earth as microwave radiation.
In 1965 physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected
microwave radiation coming equally from all directions in the
sky, day and night, all year.3 And so it appears that
astronomers have detected the fireball radiation that was
produced by the Big Bang. This casts serious doubt on the Steady
State model. The Steady State could not explain the existence of
this radiation, so the model cannot best explain the beginning of
the universe.
Since the Big Bang model is the better model, the existence
and the future of the universe can also be explained. Around 15
to 20 billion years ago, time began. The points that were to
become the universe exploded in the primeval fireball called the
Big Bang. The exact nature of this explosion may never be known.
However, recent theoretical breakthroughs, based on the
principles of quantum theory, have suggested that space, and the
matter within it, masks an infinitesimal realm of utter chaos,
where events happen randomly, in a state called quantum
weirdness.4
Before the universe began, this chaos was all there was. At
some time, a portion of this randomness happened to form a
bubble, with a temperature in excess of 10 to the power of 34
degrees Kelvin. Being that hot, naturally it expanded. For an
extremely brief and short period, billionths of billionths of a
second, it inflated. At the end of the period of inflation, the
universe may have a diameter of a few centimetres. The
temperature had cooled enough for particles of matter and
antimatter to form, and they instantly destroy each other,
producing fire and a thin haze of matter-apparently because
slightly more matter than antimatter was formed.5 The fireball,
and the smoke of its burning, was the universe at an age of
trillionth of a second.
The temperature of the expanding fireball dropped rapidly,
cooling to a few billion degrees in few minutes. Matter
continued to condense out of energy, first protons and neutrons,
then electrons, and finally neutrinos. After about an hour, the
temperature had dropped below a billion degrees, and protons and
neutrons combined and formed hydrogen, deuterium, helium. In a
billion years, this cloud of energy, atoms, and neutrinos had
cooled enough for galaxies to form. The expanding cloud cooled
still further until today, its temperature is a couple of degrees
above absolute zero.
In the future, the universe may end up in two possible
situations. From the initial Big Bang, the universe attained a
speed of expansion. If that speed is greater than the universe's
own escape velocity, then the universe will not stop its
expansion. Such a universe is said to be open. If the velocity
of expansion is slower than the escape velocity, the universe
will eventually reach the limit of its outward thrust, just like
a ball thrown in the air comes to the top of its arc, slows,
stops, and starts to fall. The crash of the long fall may be the
Big Bang to the beginning of another universe, as the fireball
formed at the end of the contraction leaps outward in another
great expansion.6 Such a universe is said to be closed, and
pulsating.
If the universe has achieved escape velocity, it will
continue to expand forever. The stars will redden and die, the
universe will be like a limitless empty haze, expanding
infinitely into the darkness. This space will become even
emptier, as the fundamental particles of matter age, and decay
through time. As the years stretch on into infinity, nothing
will remain. A few primitive atoms such as positrons and
electrons will be orbiting each other at distances of hundreds of
astronomical units.7 These particles will spiral slowly toward
each other until touching, and they will vanish in the last flash
of light. After all, the Big Bang model is only an assumption.
No one knows for sure that exactly how the universe began and how
it will end. However, the Big Bang model is the most logical and
reasonable theory to explain the universe in modern science.
ENDNOTES
1. Dinah L. Mache, Astronomy, New York: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 1987. p. 128.
2. Ibid., p. 130.
3. Joseph Silk, The Big Bang, New York: W.H. Freeman and
Company, 1989. p. 60.
4. Terry Holt, The Universe Next Door, New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1985. p. 326.
5. Ibid., p. 327.
6. Charles J. Caes, Cosmology, The Search For The Order Of
The Universe, USA: Tab Books Inc., 1986. p. 72.
7. John Gribbin, In Search Of The Big Bang, New York: Bantam
Books, 1986. p. 273.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boslough, John. Stephen Hawking's Universe. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1980.
Caes, J. Charles. Cosmology, The Search For The Order Of The
Universe. USA: Tab Books Inc., 1986.
Gribbin, John. In Search Of The Big Bang. New York: Bantam
Books, 1986.
Holt, Terry. The Universe Next Door. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1985.
Kaufmann, J. William III. Astronomy: The Structure Of The
Universe. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1977.
Mache, L. Dinah. Astronomy. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
1987.
Silk, Joseph. The Big Bang. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company,
1989.
----------------
if and when it will end. Astronomers construct hypotheses called
cosmological models that try to find the answer. There are two
types of models: Big Bang and Steady State. However, through
many observational evidences, the Big Bang theory can best
explain the creation of the universe.
The Big Bang model postulates that about 15 to 20 billion
years ago, the universe violently exploded into being, in an
event called the Big Bang. Before the Big Bang, all of the
matter and radiation of our present universe were packed together
in the primeval fireball--an extremely hot dense state from which
the universe rapidly expanded.1 The Big Bang was the start of
time and space. The matter and radiation of that early stage
rapidly expanded and cooled. Several million years later, it
condensed into galaxies. The universe has continued to expand,
and the galaxies have continued moving away from each other ever
since. Today the universe is still expanding, as astronomers
have observed.
The Steady State model says that the universe does not
evolve or change in time. There was no beginning in the past,
nor will there be change in the future. This model assumes the
perfect cosmological principle. This principle says that the
universe is the same everywhere on the large scale, at all
times.2 It maintains the same average density of matter forever.
There are observational evidences found that can prove the
Big Bang model is more reasonable than the Steady State model.
First, the redshifts of distant galaxies. Redshift is a Doppler
effect which states that if a galaxy is moving away, the spectral
line of that galaxy observed will have a shift to the red end.
The faster the galaxy moves, the more shift it has. If the
galaxy is moving closer, the spectral line will show a blue
shift. If the galaxy is not moving, there is no shift at all.
However, as astronomers observed, the more distance a galaxy is
located from Earth, the more redshift it shows on the spectrum.
This means the further a galaxy is, the faster it moves.
Therefore, the universe is expanding, and the Big Bang model
seems more reasonable than the Steady State model.
The second observational evidence is the radiation produced
by the Big Bang. The Big Bang model predicts that the universe
should still be filled with a small remnant of radiation left
over from the original violent explosion of the primeval fireball
in the past. The primeval fireball would have sent strong
shortwave radiation in all directions into space. In time, that
radiation would spread out, cool, and fill the expanding universe
uniformly. By now it would strike Earth as microwave radiation.
In 1965 physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected
microwave radiation coming equally from all directions in the
sky, day and night, all year.3 And so it appears that
astronomers have detected the fireball radiation that was
produced by the Big Bang. This casts serious doubt on the Steady
State model. The Steady State could not explain the existence of
this radiation, so the model cannot best explain the beginning of
the universe.
Since the Big Bang model is the better model, the existence
and the future of the universe can also be explained. Around 15
to 20 billion years ago, time began. The points that were to
become the universe exploded in the primeval fireball called the
Big Bang. The exact nature of this explosion may never be known.
However, recent theoretical breakthroughs, based on the
principles of quantum theory, have suggested that space, and the
matter within it, masks an infinitesimal realm of utter chaos,
where events happen randomly, in a state called quantum
weirdness.4
Before the universe began, this chaos was all there was. At
some time, a portion of this randomness happened to form a
bubble, with a temperature in excess of 10 to the power of 34
degrees Kelvin. Being that hot, naturally it expanded. For an
extremely brief and short period, billionths of billionths of a
second, it inflated. At the end of the period of inflation, the
universe may have a diameter of a few centimetres. The
temperature had cooled enough for particles of matter and
antimatter to form, and they instantly destroy each other,
producing fire and a thin haze of matter-apparently because
slightly more matter than antimatter was formed.5 The fireball,
and the smoke of its burning, was the universe at an age of
trillionth of a second.
The temperature of the expanding fireball dropped rapidly,
cooling to a few billion degrees in few minutes. Matter
continued to condense out of energy, first protons and neutrons,
then electrons, and finally neutrinos. After about an hour, the
temperature had dropped below a billion degrees, and protons and
neutrons combined and formed hydrogen, deuterium, helium. In a
billion years, this cloud of energy, atoms, and neutrinos had
cooled enough for galaxies to form. The expanding cloud cooled
still further until today, its temperature is a couple of degrees
above absolute zero.
In the future, the universe may end up in two possible
situations. From the initial Big Bang, the universe attained a
speed of expansion. If that speed is greater than the universe's
own escape velocity, then the universe will not stop its
expansion. Such a universe is said to be open. If the velocity
of expansion is slower than the escape velocity, the universe
will eventually reach the limit of its outward thrust, just like
a ball thrown in the air comes to the top of its arc, slows,
stops, and starts to fall. The crash of the long fall may be the
Big Bang to the beginning of another universe, as the fireball
formed at the end of the contraction leaps outward in another
great expansion.6 Such a universe is said to be closed, and
pulsating.
If the universe has achieved escape velocity, it will
continue to expand forever. The stars will redden and die, the
universe will be like a limitless empty haze, expanding
infinitely into the darkness. This space will become even
emptier, as the fundamental particles of matter age, and decay
through time. As the years stretch on into infinity, nothing
will remain. A few primitive atoms such as positrons and
electrons will be orbiting each other at distances of hundreds of
astronomical units.7 These particles will spiral slowly toward
each other until touching, and they will vanish in the last flash
of light. After all, the Big Bang model is only an assumption.
No one knows for sure that exactly how the universe began and how
it will end. However, the Big Bang model is the most logical and
reasonable theory to explain the universe in modern science.
ENDNOTES
1. Dinah L. Mache, Astronomy, New York: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 1987. p. 128.
2. Ibid., p. 130.
3. Joseph Silk, The Big Bang, New York: W.H. Freeman and
Company, 1989. p. 60.
4. Terry Holt, The Universe Next Door, New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1985. p. 326.
5. Ibid., p. 327.
6. Charles J. Caes, Cosmology, The Search For The Order Of
The Universe, USA: Tab Books Inc., 1986. p. 72.
7. John Gribbin, In Search Of The Big Bang, New York: Bantam
Books, 1986. p. 273.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boslough, John. Stephen Hawking's Universe. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1980.
Caes, J. Charles. Cosmology, The Search For The Order Of The
Universe. USA: Tab Books Inc., 1986.
Gribbin, John. In Search Of The Big Bang. New York: Bantam
Books, 1986.
Holt, Terry. The Universe Next Door. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1985.
Kaufmann, J. William III. Astronomy: The Structure Of The
Universe. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1977.
Mache, L. Dinah. Astronomy. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
1987.
Silk, Joseph. The Big Bang. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company,
1989.
----------------
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)